Profile

The World’s Foremost Authority on the Evolutionary Basis of Diet and Disease

Dr. Cordain received his Ph.D. in Health from the University of Utah in 1981, and has been a Professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University since 1982.  He is married and has three sons.

Featured on Dateline NBC, the front page of the Wall Street journal, and the New York Times, Loren Cordain is widely acknowledged as one of the world’s leading experts on the natural human diet of our Stone  Age ancestors.  He is the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed scientific articles and abstracts.  His research into the health benefits of Stone Age Diets for contemporary people has appeared in the world’s top scientific journals including the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the British Journal of Nutrition, and the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition among others.  Dr. Cordain’s popular book, The Paleo  Diet, has been widely acclaimed in both the scientific and lay communities.  His next book, The Paleo Diet for Athletes, was published in October 2005, and discusses how the Paleo Diet can be modified for  the high-performance endurance athlete, and lead to improved health and performance. His latest book, The Dietary Cure for Acne, is available in paperback and as an instant download ebook.  He is the  recent recipient of the Scholarly Excellence award at Colorado State University for his contributions into understanding optimal human nutrition.

Q: When did you first become interested in nutrition?

A: I suppose it probably began in my childhood, from my mother encouraging me to eat my fruits and veggies and from my father giving me books about Stone Age people and how they lived off the land from  wild plants and animals.  In the late 60’s and early 70’s I was involved in intercollegiate athletics and became more interested in diets that could improve my performance.  I read a wide variety of popular and  now classic health books on vegetarian dieting such as Frances Moore Lappe’s book, Diet for a Small Planet, and books by Norman Walker, Paavo Airola, and others.  Later, as a graduate student at the University  f Nevada-Reno, and as a doctoral student at the University of Utah, I became involved in research involving body-fat measurements.  As a young professor at Colorado State University, I initiated a  wide variety of research projects involving diet and athletic performance with the help of my graduate students.  I was introduced to the Paleo Diet concept in about 1987 when I read Dr. Boyd Eaton’s seminal  New England Journal of Medicine paper, Paleolithic Nutrition.  It made perfect sense to me at the time, and I voraciously read everything I could about the concept and related topics.  A number of years later, I  gave Dr. Eaton a call and invited him to speak at Colorado State University.  We hit it off after our meeting, began writing together, and the rest can be found in the scientific literature.

EDUCATION

Ph.D., 1981, University of Utah, Health – Physical Education, Minor: Exercise Physiology

M.S., 1978, University of Nevada-Reno, Physical Education, Minor: Exercise Physiology B.S., 1974, Pacific University, Health Sciences

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Title	Institution	Dates
Professor	Colorado State University, Department of Health and Exercise Science	1990?Present
Director, Human Performance Lab		1981?1997
Director, Graduate Studies		1983-1996
Sabbatical Leave		1989, 1996, 2003
Associate Professor		1985-1990
Assistant Professor		1982-1985
Lecturer		1981-1982
Graduate Research Assistant	University of Utah	1979-1981
Graduate Teaching Assistant	University of Nevada-Reno	1976-1978

AWARDS AND HONORS

The American College for Advancement in Medicine’s annual ”Denham Harmon Lecture,” May 2004.  This lecture is awarded to a scientist whose research was judged to have the greatest national impact upon  complementary medical care by the American College for Advancement in Medicine.

Scholarly Excellence Award, College of Applied Human Sciences, April 2002.

Nomination to “American Men and Women of Science,”Fall 1994.

Nomination to Marquis Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, 12 October 1993.

Supervisor, M. Bizeau’s Master’s thesis, “Metabolic Responses to Submaximal and Maximal Exercise Following Three Weeks of Dietary Fish Oil Supplementation” which was chosen to represent CSU from a  University-wide selection process at the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools, 1993 Distinguished Master’s thesis award.

Supervisor, H. Reynolds Master’s thesis, “Influence of Post?Exercise Glucose Ingestion on Plasma Potassium Levels and ECG Measurements” which was chosen to represent CSU from a University-wide selection  process at the Midwest Association of Graduate Schools, 1992 Distinguished Master’s thesis award.

Induction into the University of Nevada?Reno, Sports Hall of Fame, 10 October 1991.

College of Professional Studies, Faculty Service Award (Department of Physical Education Outstanding Teacher), Fall 1984.

Colorado State University Chapter, Phi Delta Kappa, Outstanding Researcher Award, 1983.

College of Professional Studies, Faculty Service Award (Department of Physical Education Outstanding Teacher), Fall 1982.

Colorado State University Alumni Award for Outstanding Faculty Member in the College of Professional Studies, Spring Commencement, 1982.

Assistant Coach, AIAW Small College National Swimming and Diving Champions, 1979.