Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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Can someone please explain me why there are (so many) people eating SAD with little to no variation in their diet AND don't have any nutrient deficiencies showing up from their blood test

WHILE

there are (so many) people eating paleo + taking supplements to deal with (a truckload) of deficiencies. I really don't get it.

I can eat loads of bread, pasta, fries, junk-food, a few vegetables and highly processed meats and have a perfect blood test.

BUT when I eat whole foods, add in a wide variety of vegetables and meat and healthy fats etc., I suddenly have to incorporate offal to make sure I get enough Vitamin [X], I have to add [insert food] to get enough Vitamin [X], I should take a heap of Vitamin D pills cause suddenly I'm in lack of that too, etc. while I never ate does foods on the SAD and had none of these Vitamin deficiencies.

Isn't this supposed to be the other way around? What kind of sorcery is this?

edited Jan 31 2012 at 18:46

asked Jan 31 2012 at 16:36

Sam
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Are there any nutrients you are thinking about in particular? – Matt Jan 31 2012 at 16:44

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Most people start paleo because they have deficiencies. I never heard of a deficiency that got worse on a paleo diet compared to a SAD diet. Except maybe calcium. – Korion Jan 31 2012 at 16:49

Your tags are entertaining, but not very useful. – Dragonfly Jan 31 2012 at 18:22

@Matthew: not really. It's just that I never had any deficiencies and am a bit anxious that I'll end up with some if I don't eat organ meats etc. (things I never did when eating a standard western diet). @Korion: I never had any. I did/do have a messed up gut (flora), thyroid, skin, brain fog,... @Dragonfly: You are absolutely right. It's okay for them to be funny as long as they are useful too. – Sam Jan 31 2012 at 19:02

+ paleohacks.com/questions/79772/… Didn't find this at first – Sam Jan 31 2012 at 19:10

James · Accepted Answer · 2012-01-31 18:13:07Z UTC

A few things.

1) A lot of the things you mention have vitamins added (fortified cereals for example). This is BECAUSE they're so deficient after processing. So you're still taking the vitamins, just in the foods vs in pills.

2) You assume your blood tests are "perfect". Pefect in respect to what? The regular SAD population? In a nation of the blind, being blind is consistent with the population, and you could be considered "perfect" if you were blind. But I think you'll agree, life is better if you can see... :)

3) Specific to Vitamin D. My understanding is people are deficient on SAD as well as on Paleo diets. You need more, period. You just may never have thought about it before.

citrusfire · Answer 2 · 2012-01-31 17:35:48Z UTC

1) People turn to paleo because they realize they are nutrient deficient

2) People eating paleo are more conscious of possible deficiencies, as they're constantly reading about K2, Magnesium, Selenium, etc.

3) People on the SAD do have nutrient deficiencies but don't connect what they're eating to their health in the same way, or are not as health-conscious and never realize that their symptoms (e.g. constant stuffiness, getting sick in the winter all the time) are related to nutrient deficiencies

And what do you think you're deficient in that you weren't on the SAD?

The Quilt · Answer 3 · 2012-01-31 18:19:04Z UTC

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Iodine and K2 are the biggies I see in my own patients. I also see a lot of B vitamin issues because many changing into paleo have pre existing leaky guts. They cant assimilate the good nutrients from foods for a variety of issues that need to be cleared up first.

answered Jan 31 2012 at 18:19

The Quilt
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	Let's assume that they are Leptin Resistant too. Will your reset work with their leaky guts? – Sam Jan 31 2012 at 19:23
	IF you go to my leaky gut Rx there is a comment there asking the same question. And yes you can do both. – The Quilt Jan 31 2012 at 20:06

Bread-Eating Beelzebub · Answer 4 · 2012-01-31 16:42:48Z UTC

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A lot of processed foods are fortified. In my past diet, I was drinking soy milk (almost always fortified), bread (if you buy from the regular store, always fortified)...even soda has some added vitamins.

However, personally I've never had a vitamin deficiency on paleo. What kinds are you having?

answered Jan 31 2012 at 16:42

Bread-Eating Beelzebub
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Thanks. I was afraid it'd be something like this. – Sam Jan 31 2012 at 19:14

Wcc Kamal Stabby fan · Answer 5 · 2012-01-31 16:43:02Z UTC

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I believe people eating SAD definitely have nutrient deficiencies.

For example, with so many women developing osteoporosis it seems apparent that they are not absorbing enough calcium and minerals from their diet. They might be eating enough calcium and minerals but there is a good chance that the phytic acid in their SAD diet is blocking the absorption of these nutrients.

answered Jan 31 2012 at 16:43

Wcc Kamal Stabby fan
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My money is not on phtyic acid, it's on vitamin D/K deficiency. – Matt Jan 31 2012 at 16:59

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I agree with you Matt, Vit D and K play a big role in bone health. wholehealthsource.blogspot.com/2009/03/… – Wcc Kamal Stabby fan Jan 31 2012 at 17:22

@RichfrmTx: But is it possible for these women to have enough Ca according to their blood test? – Sam Jan 31 2012 at 19:16

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RichfrmTx-I agree with with you. I would have said I was healthy and didn't have any dificiencies. However, what I do have (psoriasis, heart disease, no enamel on my teeth, bad eye-sight) is all heredity...or so I thought! – Heather Jan 31 2012 at 21:01

Beth-WeightMaven · Answer 6 · 2012-01-31 17:40:18Z UTC

So a teenager eats only Chicken McNuggets for 15 years before she collapses. Seems like an anecdote that suggests that the younger you are, the more resilient you are. Real nutrient deficiencies are hard to come by in a reasonably modern diet, so while SAD folks aren't dropping like flies on that diet, that doesn't mean that their diets are optimal.

OTOH, you have paleo folks who are all about achieving optimum diets. Sometimes this tilts a little too far to something akin to the so-called orthorexia.

I think most folks are in the middle. I think it's better to get nutrients from food, but that means that you do need to eat the foods that contain them! Grass-fed beef is great, but if all you eat is flank steak or burger, you're missing out on an opportunity to get valuable nutrients (known and unknown).

Supplements seem like a great shortcut to optimum health, but I think in many cases it's a crap-shoot (I suspect we will see a dark side to all of this artificial boosting of serum vitamin D levels for example).

Joshua · Answer 7 · 2012-01-31 18:10:09Z UTC

The Paleos that truly "hack", i.e. (most of the members of this site), are going to be the ones that are trying to address specific needs, maybe it's sort of a "next level" between going "Ancestral" to going "Optimal" (The difference between say, "Neanderthin" or the "Paleo Solution", and the "Perfect Health Diet" or "Archevore").

However, there are many Paleos out there that do not augment their diet at all and are completely, utterly healthy. In fact, I would venture to say that most "hacking" (with exceptions for weightloss, athletics, and depression or other serious illnesses) is quite minimal impact on someone who already has their diet pretty much dialed in...

If you are actually getting tested and showing deficiencies in your diet, as opposed to when you ate a standard western style diet, I would assume a combination of one or more of the following...

Your current Paleo diet isn't varied enough.
Your expenditure of energy is exceeding your vitamin/mineral needs.
Your previous diet included a ton of synthetically-fortified foods (bread, cereal, and meal replacement shakes/bars specifically).
You are eating nutrients that conflict with each other (i.e. Calcium absorption interfering with Magnesium uptake, Zinc/Copper imbalance, Vit. A/D imbalance, etc)

Eating tons of synthetically fortified foods makes sure the "masses" won't drop over from undernourishment. But chances are, you are doing things right - you just aren't getting the surplus of your calories from foods that have had a chemical grab-bag added to their roster of ingredients just so the world doesn't shut down and die.

Nutrient deficiencies when Paleo

7 Answers