Low Carb Diet – High in Protein
The Paleo Diet is different in its approach than the “average” low carb diet. Like others it is higher in protein, but it is premised firstly on a historical basis: because for millions of years our ancestors ate substantially less carbohydrates (i.e., less grains, refined sugars, starch, bread, processed carbs, etc.) than in the modern, western diet. In fact, they ate virtually none of the above foods. Then, the agricultural revolution came with cities, civilizations, and different foodstuffs.
If you are like most people, the agricultural revolution is some dim historical event that you haven’t given a second thought to since about 6th grade. It may seem to have little or no relevance to you in your busy work-a-day world. However, modern civilization as we know it with our cities, our cultures, our technological and medical achievements and our knowledge of the world and universe would never have arisen were it not for agriculture. Ironically, we can give credit to the agricultural revolution for bringing us much of the chronic disease and obesity that are epidemic in our modern world. Many of these problems can be alleviated or diminished by following The Paleo Diet – and much of it has to do with the fact that this is a natural lower carb diet. The foods that agriculture brought us (cereals, dairy products, fatty meats, salted foods, and refined sugars and oils) are disastrous for our bodies which are essentially unchanged from that of our Stone Age ancestors – bodies that are ideally adapted to a diet of lean meats, fresh fruits and veggies.
Recent scientific research has indicated that our ancestors ate even more of a low carb diet than previously thought. While different cultural groups ate different animal/plant food ratios, the research has shown that before the agricultural revolution the average human caloric distribution was about two thirds animal foods, and only about one third of our caloric intake was being derived from plant foods. Mass agriculture brought with it a boatload of nutritionally related diseases that were unknown to hunter-gatherers. New foods continue to wreak havoc in our Stone Age bodies and these foods fundamentally vary from the healthful foods our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate.
So, the basic concept behind the Paleo Diet will always be that the foods that best promote health and optimum functioning are the foods that we evolved to eat. More and more research is showing that we evolved to eat low carb … in a Paleolithic sort of way! Humans evolved over 2.5 million years as hunter-gatherers, and it is only very recently that we have been eating grains, dairy, sugar, vegetable oils, high fructose corn syrup, and other modern foods. Because evolution moves so very slowly, the standard American diet (and even so-called “healthy” diets) wreaks havoc with our Paleolithic constitutions.
117 Responses to “Low Carb Diet – High in Protein”
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Dr. Loren Cordain is a member of the faculty of the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University. During the past two decades he has researched the effects of diet on human health and specifically examined links between modern diets and disease. He is the author of numerous scientific articles examining the link between diet and health, and has published three popular books, The Paleo Diet, The Paleo Diet for Athletes, and The Dietary Cure for Acne. Additional information and specifics may be found in the articles, books, and materials listed on this web site, and through The Paleo Diet Newsletter.
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Great website, but I don’t believe in evolution. You could just as easily argue the case without ideaology that alienates a lot of people who would disagree with why the diet is successful. You don’t have to go back millions of years, just go back 200 or more years and see how much better people ate. More proteins (fish, lean meat) and fruits and veggies. Basically what you are advocating. There’s a whole world of obese, unhealthy people who reject the idea of evolution who need to hear this message as well. Otherwise, good stuff…
And yet they all died in their 30′s and early 40′s. Great diet, plenty of exercise, (labor) and still died young???
Dying at such a young age has nothing to do with diet, it has to do with other things like increased work load, poor living conditions and lack of medicines.
Agreed,
The shorter lifespan of our ancestors was due in no small part to poor knowledge of medicines, unless one was well learned in using herbs and plants to treat ailments.
Remember too that one of the world’s leading illnesses today is tooth decay, as was also the case before the widespread dissemination of proper dental hygiene.
People suffered immensely from rotten teeth and gum disease brought on by a lack of oral health.
Bad teeth and/or gums will strike down the most robust of men and women through infection, blood poisoning and organ failure.
Healthy diets are not immune to the effects of teeth problems because fructose – the main sugar component found in fruits, berries and some vegetables – can attack tooth enamel over time, leading to an ideal entry point and breeding ground for bacteria.
Earlier humans who utilised saliva after eating (by chewing and/or brushing with benign plant materials) often had brilliant teeth with very little maloccusions.
A good example are rural Africans who possess stark white teeth, despite not having access to toothbrushes and toothpastes. Sure, their diet may encompass a lot more natural and less refined foods that reduces their exposure to sugar but (and here’s an interesting fact) many would actually chew on sugar cane to clean their teeth. Go figure.
If done long enough, the sucrose in sugar cane is neutralised by saliva and then the fibrous ends of the chewed cane would be used as a brush.
Indians too used small branches of the Neem tree to achieve the same thing.
Myself, I use a toothbrush but no toothpaste – I am untrusting of it to a large degree since saliva is more than adequate to clean my teeth and it is provided to me for no cost. I can live without the foam and flavour… Plain saliva works a charm.
Partake in the calcium/fluoride scare of not using toothpastes at your own risk – a Paleo diet can give you enough of the minerals and trace elements (alongside saliva production) to maintain healthy bones and teeth.
Happy living
In the 1950s a study showed that the healthiest people were those with the healthiest teeth and gums. Those same people had great cardio vacular health and diets devoid of carbohydrates, ate few, if any, vegetables and no tobacco or alcohol. The study was published in a book called “Strong Medicaine” A friend of mine who was dying of heart disease became a healthy active man after going on a meat and animal fat diet in portions as described by his physician. It is strong medicine for those with strong discipline. In my friend’s case it was a matter of life or death – not much choice there.
This is SO interesting! Thank you for the long response and all of the info. I feel smarter now.
Touche….
um nope our ancestors did not live until they were 34-40…according to history 5,000 years ago people lived 120+ years. We are the ones killing ourselves with a poor diet and LACK of work load. They were healthy based on their lifestyle and diet, not by choice but by design
Well, Johnny, they didn’t all die young. The mortality rate is calculated on the average life expectancy at the time a person is born. Up until the early to mid 20th century, infant mortality was very high related to childhood illnesses that we hardly see today. Also, there were no antibiotics and, thus, people died from things that are reasonably easy to cure today. If one averages all of those factors together, that is where the statistics come from. A number of people in the 1600s, 1700s, 1800s lived well into their 70s or 80s; however, it was the number of young people who died that skewed the percentages.
Lack of any medical care would more than attribute to a short life span.
People from that time period who lived beyond infancy also were void of many of the current, high carbohydrate diet related illnesses that plague our societies today (colon cancer, alzheimers, diabetes). Whether or not you believe in evolution is irrelavent, but if you believe as most biologists and nutritionists do that your body will burn sugar (carbs) before fat, then diets such as this work because they eliminate or regulate the carb intake, forcing your body to convert your stored fat as energy (since there are no easy carbs to burn first).
I concur! Intaking less carbs also controls random spikes in the blood surgar level, therefore giving individuals more consistant energy and stimulating the brain cells.
blunt force trauma and infection #1 & #2 reasons for death.
Why could not the evolution also be part of God’s creation, and integrated w/ the religious beliefs?
The first issue one has to answer is whether or not they believe the Bible to be true. If they do, then they should accept what it says. If one tries to use the “gap theory” to mix evolution and creation, they find more problem then simply believing in faith. It takes faith to believe in evolution as well since no one was there when all of what evolution teaches took place. Both theories are religious. One, creation, places its faith in a supreme being, God, the other places its faith in the idea that thing just happen without a god’s intervention. If you believe the Bible, you can’t believe in the gap theory. The Bible teaches that trees were created on day 3, and the sun on day 4. If a day were millions of years, then all of the trees would be dead from the lack of sunlight. Check out http://www.drdino.com for scientific support for creation as it is stated in the Bible.
Steve,
Ah, Dr. Dino, “Dr.” Kent Hovind, astounding a**clown extraordinaire, who is currently in federal prison for 50-some-odd counts of tax evasion and obstruction of justice. The same guy who got his “doctorate” from a degree-mill. Seriously, have you read his “doctorate” thesis? It could have been written in crayon by a 3rd grader and it would have been just as competent.
Anyways, now that we’ve identified how lacking your scientific credibility is, let’s look at what you wrote:
Faith: belief without evidence. In other words, if you actually had evidence to support your claims, you wouldn’t need faith. Scientists have the evidence, that’s why they don’t rely on faith to accept evolution as fact.
“No one was there when all of what evolution teaches took place…” What are you, f*****g 5? Would you sentence a person to jail if the DNA evidence, the murder weapon, alibis, security camera footage, etc. all point towards person X committing the murder? Of course you would. But wait, you weren’t there! Jacka**.
And yet you didn’t really respond to him. You just made a lot of noise and used vulgarity (I suppose to exert yourself).
No scientist has ever been able to replicate the Big Bang or any other scientific theory of origin. What’s the problem with him stating that? You sound like someone with an axe to grind.
Stick to the subject. Just because someone goes off doesn’t mean you have to.
Is that a joke?
You should feel alienated. It makes no more sense to avoid math when balancing a checkbook, than it does evolutionary science when considering biology. “Belief” is simply not the same thing as knowledge.
Booyahkesha!
theroy called fact that is knowledge? Have you ever made anything evolve? Evolution in its “modern” form always produces a negative affect – a deformity. Usually when we create, it is intentional, making something beautiful and purposeful. How can we be so intelegent on our own? Why did evolution stop…who or what made it stop? if evolution was a process over millions of years why can we not be better? why are we not all evolving into better beings, ones that do not gain weight, that are “beautiful” and without flaws? It just does not make sense.
Evolution hasn’t “stopped” in humans, it is simply slowed (and the idea that it always gives you a negative effect is just silly). Evolution can go quickly, or it can go very, VERY slowly. It all depends on the situation. Isolation in certain populations can lead to a species remaining unchanged, while another group of the same species may change to meet changing environments/food supply/predator changes. It is a very complicated thing, evolution, but that doesn’t mean there needs to be a higher being who dictates what happens.
You clearly do not understand evolution.
If you want to make yourself evolve, go stand in the direct sun on a hot day for 5+ hours. You will receive a pretty nasty sun burn. This is your skin reacting to it’s environment and changing. If this occurred to you, repeatedly, over your entire lifetime you skin would be definitively darker than it would be if you were housed inside for your entire life.
There. Evolution occurring in a single generation.
No stop reading your damn fairy tales and get, at least, a weak grip on reality.
No Tim, it is YOU who do not understand evolution. What you’re citing here is Lamarckian evolution, something that Darwin himself upended. Giraffes aren’t tall because their parents stretched their necks. They’re tall because successive mutations within genomes provided height advantages to a few, and those alleles survived because the individuals had access to more food. If you would do any amount of research yourself, outside of your church bulletin, you’d probably know this difference between Lamarckian evolution and evolution via natural and sexual selection. Genetic tests are getting cheap enough that we can test parent/offspring pairs to see actual genetic mutation rates, and it’s exactly as predicted by the Theory of Evolution. Individuals don’t “make themselves evolve,” evolution happens over successive generations. You’re wrong, Tim.
Easy killer. I understand that your atheism probably comes from years of Dungeons and Dragons and an inability to get laid. I’m trying to show this lady (who does not believe in evolution) that some type of evolutionary trait can, in fact, happen in a single generation.
You might do well to get off your high horse instead of insulting people about their ‘church bulletins’ (I’m not a part of any church, I search for answers myself and do not exclude religion, science, or theory)
Here’s a bulletin for you: You are part of the reason people have a negative image of atheists. You crack down on anyone who doesn’t exactly align with your theory (even though I was AGREEING WITH YOU) and insult them with degrading remarks.
Loosen up your confirmation bias a bit, sweetheart. Being a jerk about science is exactly the same as being a jerk about Christianity. You’re still a jerk.
Oh, and here’s a link to a Scientific American article proving single-cell to multi-cell evolution in yeast over just 60 generations.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=test-tube-yeast-evolve
Now go beat off to that Hentai that you just downloaded in your mom’s basement, and stop being a complete and insufferable jerk to everyone you meet.
You know what, you’re right, I’m giving atheists a bad name by being so negative. My mother died in a car accident a few years ago, so I can’t go to her basement. And this last year has been pretty rough, as I’ve been shot in the leg in Afghanistan and am still going through PT, my father died in March of a heart attack, and three weeks ago my wife and one-year old daughter were both also killed in a car wreck. I’ve lost everything, and it seems like every time I come across stupid people I have an incredibly short fuse. I probably shouldn’t have requested to receive email alerts when someone else posted to this article, huh?
Who cares what you believe, or whether the facts alienate you? Some of us are actually interested in the truth. That’s why the scientific consensus and all the evidence supports evolution. Nothing in biology makes sense except through the light of evolution. Read a book. Other than your bible.
Why don’t you just pray for better health instead of researching diets?
The first Homo Sapiens (the same kind of humans as we are today) lived during the Paleolithic (Stone) age. We have not evolved since then biologically. You do not need to believe in evolution to understand that humans have existed since the Stone Ages. You just need to understand that humans have lived on the planet for millions of years.
what made us stop evolving? why cannot we still evolve? why do we have to blindly believe that we have been here for millions of years? just because everyone says so…I cannot and will not believe that I evolved from a primordial soup…or a ape for that matter. I believe that I was fearfully and wonderfully created by God, and looking at my children I cannot turn my eyes away from such a beautiful and completely complex miracle called life…it does not just happen.
That may be the most inherently retarded thing that has ever been said in the history of man. You essentially stripped the entire explanation of the paleo diet of its key historical significance. The agricultural evolution didn’t happen two-hundred years ago. Nor did it happen millions of years ago (pre-humanoid). It begin with the neolithic revolution about ten-thousand years ago.
Think, then believe…never the other way around.
Sam
I agree wholeheartedly. No need to push an evolutionary thought process here. The father of evolution himself, Darwin, said, ““To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.”
Seems as if even he had trouble believing his own agenda so why do educators and science continue to push it?
Fergs, how’s the temperature down there in that quote mine? Do you understand why I would ask you that? Do you know how I know you’ve never read “On the Origin of Species”? Because you just quote mined the crap out of it. Yes, that quote is correctly pulled from the book. BUT, what you’re leaving off is the fact that he used that line to set himself up to completely prove how it could be done, absurdness notwithstanding. Yep, he devoted the entire rest of the chapter showing exactly how eyes evolve, intermediary stages, etc. What people like you fail to realize is this: what if Isaac Newton, on his deathbed, said “my Theory of Gravity is a lie!” Would objects magically start floating upward? No. So, even IF (and he didn’t) Darwin claimed his ideas were dumb, it wouldn’t change the empirical evidence, of which there are mountains.
Folks, the topic of evolution wouldn’t keep coming up were it not for some geniuses saying, “yeah well, that makes sense, but I don’t believe in evolution,” as if believing something makes it true. Those people need to actually do some research
There seems to be a lot of people who either have not read the BIBLE or people who have problem with a creator? In any event if you read the Bible you may find that what is being express here may not be far off of what the BIBLE says as far as foods and health is concerned.
Have Blessed Day Everybody!
Lol, nice try Pat, but consider this–when was the bible written? Bronze Age and Iron Age, 1,500-10,000 years ago. When was the Agricultural Revolution? Several HUNDRED years ago. So if diets didn’t change too much until a few hundred years ago, it kind of makes sense that the diet might seem like it falls in line with what we’re discussing.
Not accepting the theory of evolution is irrational. The Earth is over-run with irrational people. By denying evolution, one is denying science on every level from a molecular level up through an ecological level. Most people are eager to accept science’s revelations when it comes to medicine or technology, but when it comes to a subject that contradicts the Bible (a book written a couple thousand years ago by ignorant individuals), they are quick to deny its legitimacy.
Not sure how you’re going to use scientifically-derived research if you don’t believe in scientific evolution. You cant trust science if you can’t trust science.
btw, the bernoulli effect is what powers your toilet’s flush. That’s science. Might want to chuck it out along with your other household technologies.
Evolution is not a matter of “belief”, it is FACT, backed up with overwhelming evidence. Why is it that Dr. Francis Collins, a Christian and the head of the human genome project, understands that evolution is reality? It’s because he is a scientist and he knows it is undeniable. See Youtube for his video “The Language of God”. He will explain in detail the reality of evolution and what tracing the human genome has taught us.
People who don’t ‘believe’ in evolution shouldn’t be allowed to graduate from high school. Evolution is a basic truth about our existence. Desert myths are not.
I agree. I am a creationist and don’t believe in evolution, but this diet makes sense.
what do you mean you DONT believe in evolution?? religious books were not ORIGINALLY designed to be taken as more than stories, allegories … they were written 2000 years ago by people who today would not be up to the speed of my 9 year -old son — look at the word ORIGIN carefully – it starts with OR – the hebrew word for light ( found in english words like MORNING TORCH and AURA ) .. GENERATOR WORD .. like GENES or even MACHINES …ORIGINAL means light-generated … and when it syas in the Bible — first there was LIGHT … they really mean – “first came the SUN” … every cave man knew that” – i think the writers of the bible would think it sill y that people took some of their tales ( basically designed for children ) so seriously – when in fact THEY knew better … we were scientists first … you have been duped by the biblical tale that speaks of the tree of knowledge ( designed by rulers to keep their constituency dumb ..so they could rule OVER them ..and it works .. ) still does … sorry to be so blunt .. but folks are getting tired of fundamental christians … look what they just did in norway ..
do you feel akin to this person??
Evolution is science. It’s “theory” like gravity is a theory. If you don’t believe in gravity, you still don’t fall off the earth – and it still exists.
It’s no one else’s problem if you don’t like science, pal. Evolution is not ideology, it’s science. It’s not scientifically controversial. It’s only controversial amongst the uneducated.
If you want to turn a blind eye to science then I don’t know why you are so interested in this to begin with. The Paleo diet isn’t simply low-carb as the article explains. It’s eating like our ancestors 2 million years ago. 200 years ago people were still eating grains and breads, which I believe is the worst offender to peoples health today.
But then again I’m told by family members that I should eat bread because Jesus did.
You don’t believe in evolution.. which is based in scientific research and fact.. Why would you then be ready to embrace the science of dietary requirements? You either trust science or you don’t.. can’t have it both ways
Interesting read though.
Maybe if you read Darrin’s post, you would see how he could “embrace the science of dietary requirements.” He is saying it is common sense based on life even a couple hundred years ago. Evolution is a theory and the part that most Creationists do not believe is the “origin of life” part. This does not make us “anti-science” nor does it mean we do not believe in adaptation of a species or “natural selection.” It means that we do not believe that humans evolved from apes, etc. There are too many missing links.
Yes, it does make you anti-science. All of science is theories, tested with experiments vs controls (the “scientific method”). Either you believe that is a valid approach, or you don’t. Convincing arguments can be made that the earth is flat, that the moon landing was fake, that mankind has no effect on climate change, and that evolution is flawed. You’re believing what you WANT to believe, choosing to trust the facts/arguments that support your belief. Science is letting the facts speak for themselves. Ergo, you are “anti-science”, because you choose to let other beliefs override generally accepted science.
Is there a scientific experiment that demonstrates evolution across species? I think I know the answer to that but what is the most valid experiment that would support evolution. I am not a believer in evolution but I respect what others believe to be true. Not trying to attack anyone just curious.
12345
Ever heard of breeding?
Dogs, horses, cows, plants and so on have been “evolved” by the human hand over decades. I’don’t suppose you do not believe that you can change for example a breed of dogs over the generations. That is quite firm evidence that species are not at all static. Do you believe that two tall people are more likely to have tall children than two short people would?
These are’nt possibilities, they are facts!
Human’s didn’t evolve from apes. We share a common ancestor with apes.
Even if you don’t believe in something you should educate yourself about it so you don’t come off as a rhetoric spouting moron.
“This does not make us “anti-science” nor does it mean we do not believe in adaptation of a species or “natural selection.” It means that we do not believe that humans evolved from apes, etc. There are too many missing links.”
You say this with such certainty, and yet fail to realize that this is a strawman – most often perpetuated by those ideologically opposed to, but ignorant of, evolutionary science. You’re apparently never heard of, or misunderstand, common ancestry. Even Darwin does not hold this to be the case!
Furthermore, if you’re pro-science and pro-reason enough to realize that DNA replication is a flawed process (odd for an intelligent process), and that natural and sexual selection choose the “optimal” traits for a given environment, then it is actually quite a A LARGE DEPARTURE from science – not say nothing of logic – to hold that man is unique in not having evolved from an ancestry of lower species.
Parton,
do me a favor and open up a 6th grade science book and tell me what a Scientific Theory is. I’ll give you a hint: it’s better than a Scientific Law. It means that it’s supported by ALL evidence. It’s watertight. It’s FACT.
If you go against scientific consensus and the mountains of evidence, you are anti-science, plain and simple.
Humans didn’t evolve from apes, nobody is claiming they did. Oh, but you don’t believe humans came from dirt, do you? Get over the missing links, man. Check out the actual evidence, like DNA comparisons, phylogenetic trees, symbiotic relationships, etc. Even if we had zero fossils, there would still be mountains of evidence supporting evolution. But, as it turns out, we currently have over 6,000–yep, you heard that right, 6,000–different individual HUMAN transitional forms. Stop promoting bad ideas dude.
Based on the comments above, I’d be more apt to agree with Steve rather than TheGreatestApe simply because an accusatory argument chock full of obscenities and put-downs tends to come from a poor source of information. Or, if I MUST translate for you, “GROW UP, A**HOLE!”
Aww, did someone get their feelings hurt? How does that have any bearing on the truth, Lindsey? My statements are based on what’s reported in legitimate, peer-reviewed journals, specifically Science, to which I have a subscription. Maybe I should have included that I grew up in a home that taught that the earth was 6,000 years old, that creationism was true, and that Darwin renounced evolution on his deathbed, that it wasn’t until the age of 22 that I discovered I was lied to all my life, and that only by doing my own real research I discovered how amazing evolution really is, or that trying to reason with these people who think that evolution is the biggest conspiracy theory ever is like trying to argue with a 5 year old about quantum physics. Maybe then you’d realize that the most effective way to get a point through other people’s heads is to actually make them think, not make them feel safe.
there are no missing links .. zero ..that is a myth … we slowly evolved … escaped africa 75,000 years ago …
humans are animals as much as snails … animals with brains … no more ..
get over it … trust your own eyes and reason ..not what has been hammered down your brain by quasi-religious people with major political agendas …
Fox News .. Holy Roman Church … same thing … different era .. they keep people feeling below a super power, dumbed down … with no apparent answers that make much real common sense .. so they can RULE over them and tax them ..
@ Scott, you should study the assumptions of evolution before you state everything it teaches is fact. The fact is, professors of “science” cannot explain many of the tenenants of evolution. Evolution can not explain how to fit the “big bang” with the first and second laws of thermodynamics. Creationism can. Bottom line is that evolution, like atheism, requires faith. Faith is a belief in something you can’t see or prove. Microevolution, changes between species, is natural and common. Macroevolution, changes between species, has never been seen nor is there an example in any of the fossil record. If you are genuinely interested in science, then the scientific method could be used to prove the theory of evolution if it were valid. Laws over rule theories. Evolution is still called a theory because many laws counter its premise. Creationist point to a Designer not happenstance. Creationist allow you to believe whatever you want if you don’t agree with us, then we won’t degrade you. Unfortunately, most, not all, evolutionists do not take the higher road of tolerance.
Steve very good post. I struggle immensely with the big bang theory… It takes an extreme amount of faith to believe something came from nothing.
“The absurd is the essential concept and the first truth.” A. Camus
Religion and Science are simply ideations of human beings devoid of meaning, purpose, or logical sense. Anyone ignorant enough to believe absolutely in either is quite a large fool…
it was designed by the forces that be – the forces of nature .. because it was designed ..does not mean there was a designer … it sounds like some guy … it makes no sense at all that a human-like spirit designed the earth or universe … i can be tolerant however .. i just think we need people working on the Real problems of mankind ..all on the same page ..not distracted by stuff that hardly matters ,,and thats what all this religion .. is mainly about if you ask me .. it separates people — it seems to be its prime goal ..because it does such a good job of it –its uncanny …
how can a watch be made with out a designer? all the parts cannot get together and somehow make a precision instrument…we are so much more complex and in short evolution tells me that somehow we just all came together over millions of years…how did all of our parts figure out the right place? how did we male and female pro-create if maybe there was a problem? we are designed to fit perfectly together…how can that evolve? how can love and emotions evolve…we hurt we feel…animals are not this way.
well this really isn’t the forum for this debate but Evolution is still a theory…. and you can quite easily say that the paleo diet is very similar to a kosher one which has nothing to do with evolution
People take the word “theory” lightly, evolution a “THEORY” based on FACTUAL observation. The word theory just means we do not understand it fully, but still means it is factual..say unlike religion.
if you look at the word THEORY carefully – you also see the OR word for LIGHT … in fact – the THE part of THE-ORY – is the same THE ( originally DE ) that is in THEISM – DEISM – DEITY – DE represents the GIVING OR DONATION ( the don ) of GOD .. THEORY means GOD’s LIGHT ..not sure if it says that gods light is a theory … or that theory is light inspired by god ..
but TheORy and God are joined etymologically –
Any scientific theory must be based on a careful and rational examination of the available facts. However, there is a distinction between actual facts (which can be observed/measured) and theories (which are explanations that attempt to correlate and interpret the facts). Facts are supported by UNMISTAKABLE evidence. True, there have been fossils found that APPEAR to link humans and apes, dinosaurs and birds, etc.; but there are too many “missing links” and not enough FACTUAL EVIDENCE to solidify the Theory of Evolution as fact itself. As for science proving things? Events in the Bible have been proven by science as well so you need to do research before you start bashing people’s beliefs. Anyway, Evolution and religion – apples and oranges. This is supposed to be about nutrition so quit trolling.
In case it was unclear, this was directed at Pardon, not Holly.
Speciation (that is, macroevolution for the anti-science) happens and has been observed. We’ve seen it in African cichlids and prosimians.
Evolution happens; that is a fact. We also posses a good deal of knowledge (which is epistemically SOUND, unlike your BELIEF!)of the modes of operation (flaws inherent to DNA replication, natural, sexual selection etc), in addition to genomic evidence, homology etc. There really is a wealth of facts out there for those who aren’t ideologically opposed to the science. The fact that we lack a 100% full record of every ancestery does not, in any way, imply that evolution does not happen, or that higher species do not evolve from lower species; every single shred of SCIENTIFIC evidence points to the exact opposite.
Anti-evo is anti-science, as it ignores the empirical heuristic in favor of dogma.
WOW…I SIGN ON TO FIND INFORMATION AND COMMENTARY ABOUT A DIET AND WHAT DO I FIND IS AN ANGRY DEBATE OVER CREATIONISM -VS- EVOLUTION. I’LL BE BLUNT AND HONEST PEOPLE…IS THIS REALLY WHAT IS IMPORTANT HERE? IT HAS ALWAYS AMAZED ME THAT MORE BLOOD…WHETHER LITERAL OR LITERARY HAS BEEN SPILLED OVER RELIGION AND RELIGIOUS THOUGHT. GET OVER THE EMOTIONS AND CONCENTRATE ON WHAT MOST OF US SIGNED ON THE SITE TO EXPLORE…THE ACTUAL DIET AND HOW IT CAN BE OF USE TO EACH OF US. I WILL MAKE FURTHER REPLY AFTER I TRY THE PLAN A FEW WEEKS.
TO ALL BE WELL…
I’m with Bullbear. I was looking for information about nutrition. I have yet to find it here.
If people don’t engage in this fight (creationism), maybe it will go away?
it’s called the PALEO diet. as in PALEOLITHIC. the implication is pretty clear from the name. if you don’t like it maybe you should avoid the website…maybe try the CREATIONIST diet or something lol
Thank you. My sentiments, exactly. I signed on to get info, found a religion vs science debate with lots of judgmental comments. Eek. I just want some info about the dietary plan!
Amen!
With all this religious banter I am surprised there was not a lot of talk about the Flying Spaghetti Monster diet where you eat nothing but pasta. The followers have health problems and are usually obese, but incredibly happy. On a serious note, I think the Paleo diet makes sense and easier to maintain than some of the others. Billions are spent on surgery and miracle pills and it almost seems like people are of the mindset that they will do anything to lose weight EXCEPT diet and exercise.
Love it! What about the Celestial Teapot Diet where you drink tea before each meal?
Yeah what “wow” said.
Haha is what I wanted to add
Your welcome and owe him money for like 20 college credits.
Don’t believe in evolution? LOL How do you feel about evaporation, oxidation, or bouncing?
All species evolve, all the time. There is nothing you can do to change that.
are you all dumb go eat a piece of chicken this is about diet not apes
So – aside from the rhetoric – has anyone tried this diet? Is it working for you?
Hey Kevin,
While it is easy to get caught up in studies and debates etc. I decided to simply try it for myself. I had been vegetarian for about 19 years and while I ate well and exercised pretty intensely, I carried a lot of body fat.
I personally have had great results.
I wouldn’t assume there is one diet that is right for everyone, but I do think at the end of the day it is up to each of us to test and measure things for ourselves if we aren’t in experiencing the health we most want.
More than happy to share my own experiences if you have any questions my friend.
Holly has a very good poit. I wonder what the correlation might be between a kosher diet and a paleo diet might be.
A kosher diet doesn’t differ greatly from a non-kosher diet. In fact, a kosher “diet” isn’t a diet at all – it’s just a bunch of restrictions of what can and can’t be eaten food-wise, not particularly for health reasons but for law-reasons, which don’t stem from health reasons. For example, we don’t eat any mammal that doesn’t have cloven hoofs or chew its cud (like a pig or a horse), and we only eat certain parts of any animal that *is* considered kosher. We don’t eat fish that don’t have fins or scales (swordfish, catfish) or are bottom-feeders (shellfish). We don’t eat insects. We don’t eat an animal with it’s mother’s milk, which is why we don’t eat meat and dairy together. We also have tons of processed and packaged foods available to us now. So, no, this Paleo diet and Kashrut are not similar. I could easily do this diet while keeping kosher, which I am happy to see, however.
this article seems a little outrageous at best.
i have no doubt that this diet helps you lose weight, of course it does. as does a vegan/vegetarian diet and other low carb diets.
but lets get real, a “normal” diet does NOT “wreak havoc” in our bodies. looking at even the newly developed food pyramid grains is still the largest food group that is suggested should be consumed. (not combining fruits and veggies) dairy is the second largest. why would this be suggested if these food “wreak havoc”?
let’s get real.
so yes, i’m sure this diet works. but there is no reason to imply the assumption that a normal diet is internally killing us.
common.
Hmmm. Not sure about this. My steady consumption of whole grains, fruit etc. has resulted in pretty bad triglycerides and HDL. At least for me and what I have researched the best and only way to fix that (outside of medicine) is through less carbs (including those whole grains and fruits)
What do you call cancer, diabetes, heart disease? All evidence of a conventional diet wreaking havoc with our bodies.
@Mary – The “newly developed food pyramid” is developed by the US Department of Agriculture (i.e. The Government). Your optimal health is far less valuable to them than the profits being made from the industry.
and I will leave all the religeous rebuttals to the rest of you, as I am easily frustrated. lol
I don’t see this as an evolutionary article. The bottom line is that high carbs and sugar are bad for our bodies and need to be brought under control.
I’ve haven’t been following any particular low carb diet, but I have eliminated all processed food and most bread, pasta, and potatoes from my diet. I eat lean meat, lots of veggies, and some fruit, eggs, and cheese.
Until the U.S. and other countries get wise to this fact, people are only going to get sicker and sicker.
I agree. If we leave scientifically altered, edible foodlike substances out of our diets, eat foods that are close to their source of origin and eat in moderation we would have no need for the modern “diet”.
Keepin’ it simple, clean and debate free…
Bravo!!
I want to know why there is so much advertising on TV shoving dairy products down our throats. What do all of these councils have to gain by smashing the public over the head with this three a day stuff.
Money! The “National Dairy Council” sounds like a government agency whose purpose is to look out for our health, right? Actually, it is a component of a business called Dairy Management Inc. The purpose of this business is to increase sales of dairy products on behalf of US dairy producers. Sneaky, eh?
Does anyone here actually have a nutrition/dietetics degree, how awfully misinformed some of the comments are. Good luck getting enough carbohydrate from veges to allow your body to perform at is potential…staples in diets 200+ years ago were generally high carb, high fibre, low protein..did all those races die out? dont think so. The healthiest race in the world are the Japanese, they consume more rice than any other region, hmm must be destroying their bodies…
Great Post! We need to consume plenty of carbs to fuel any decent amount of exercise. Carbs are the first substances are body uses to fuel exercise. We store carbs as muscle glycogen. When are muscle glycogen levels become depleted we may start to use fat for fuel. The problem is fat breaks down slowly and we often feel fatigued while we are trying to burn fat. This is why in marathons and cycling events you see the athletes eat, or drink gatorade. Glucose can be consumed and is ready to be burned immediately during bouts of exercise. I can go on longer about this. If you want to work out regularly, not only do you need carbs, but you need to increase your carb intake. Especially if you are training like an athlete.
Replying to my own post. I meant to say our not are. Don’t know why I was doing that. Also, I see that there is a Paleo Diet for athletes that adresses some of these carb questions. Essentially saying that you need to go against the rules of the typical Paleo Diet and eat plenty of carbs before a workout/race because you’d be putting a stress on your body that our ancestors probably didn’t experience. So, the low-moderate glycemic carbs fuel you through the exercise and the high glycemic carbohydrates help you recover post-exercise. In my opinion, people should be eating healthy and exercising plenty. With regular exercise you need to eat more carbs.
Enough about evolution and creationism!!! This is about a diet that works!! So far, I’ve lost about 60 lbs. easily, about 2 lbs./week with NO exercise! Not that I don’t believe that exercise helps, because it does, but I had considerable joint pain when I started this diet, so I couldn’t exercise without major discomfort. I’ve tried many diets over my lifetime, but this beats them all. I truly believe that it’s all the grains and dairy that’s making us fat. Add the crap of a conventional diet and that only makes it worse. Once I started the Paleo Diet, the weight came off easily and no, I was never hungry. Since I love fresh fruits and vegetables anyway (organic only), it wasn’t difficult. I lightly steam my veggies and usually eat all my fruits raw. Smoothies are great too. For liquids, it’s either fresh water or almond milk. I drink decaf coffee and herbal teas, but no juices or sodas. I eat eggs occasionally, but I don’t eat as much meat as the author suggests. I found research that showed we don’t need 80 grams of protein to be healthy. We can do very well with half of that amount. So, I’ve reduced my intake of lean meats, especially beef. My BP has dropped considerably, as well as my cholesterol. Joint pain is minimal now, directly due to eating no grains. I tested that theory by adding grains to my diet for one week and all my joint pain returned. So, NO MORE GRAINS! The least you can do is try this diet, which will become a lifestyle. No weighing your food, no diet clubs, no journals, just eating! I believe that this is the way that humans were supposed to eat to stay healthy. I can only vouch for myself and my daughter, since we both went on this diet, but it DOES work! I’m even exercising now with minimal pain and getting toned. It’s certainly worth giving it a try!
Congratulations on your success! That is awesome!
If arguing the toss burnt up as many calories as walking – half of you here wouldn’t need a diet.
Why does “belief” have to come into the equation? Or even why the need to understand and agree with the science? Make your own mind up whether the diet works for you or not. You can chomp your way through quarter pounders whilst “debating” creation/evolution/the Simpsons – but sitting on your backside is one of the major problems here.
For those interested in some good paleo info, check out the North American Paleo Network on Facebook! It’s an excellent resource that posts daily current articles and research from the paleo and nutrition science world. Go to http://www.facebook.com/napaleonetwork
Wish the religious zealots would stick to the diet’s merits, though I know that pains you. Evolution is seen within God’s creations or science’s over time, there’s ample proof but this is a tiresome thing to debate in this forum. Point is well made that our ancestors, hunter/gatherers were healthy and industrious. Shorter life span in times past was due to disease/lack of medicine, harsh living conditions/starvation and warfare. Hard to argue that lean meats and fruits/vegetables aren’t healthier than grain heavy diets (not sure what a “normal” diet is, does it exist?). Since I cut down carbs and went to lean meats veggies and fruits I feel a lot better. Good health to you all!
how does this diet differ from the atkins or Susan summers diet?
I eat a whole, unrefined, low fat, high fiber, plant based diet, keeping animal protein to under 10% of my daily calories (with plenty of protein from plants). This diet works for me: returned blood pressure to normal, ended my arthritis, increased my vascular function (if you know what I mean), gives me more energy and stamina, and I keep getting stronger. Since this is a topic on nutrition, I don’t want to guess about what humans ate millions of years ago (but I suspect hallucinogenic mushrooms were part of their diet based on the frozen cave men discovered), because we have no real proof, so I recommend those interested in nutrition study this university textbook: Ninth Edition, Nutrition for Health, Fitness & Sport, by Melvin H. Williams.
I’ve been on lo carb for 7 years.I added weight resistance at the same time. I lost 30 lbs in the 1st 4 months and kept it off since. My triglycerides dropped in half in 3 weeks, cholesterol dropped,no more digestive problems or tooth decay.Lo carb was very easy for me to follow. Lo fat diets always left me hungry and always failed. I’m new to Paleo diet. I had cut back on grains but was still eating lo carb bread and oatmeal. When I eliminated all grains I felt even better.
Don’t trust the food pyramid. It’s promoted by the Agriculture Department for there on purposes.Nutritionists seem to be woefully out of touch with latest studies.
Yes you need more carbs if you over exercise.
Read Mark Sisson’s book “The Primal Blueprint”. He found out the hard way that being a Marathon runner and an Iron Man took a huge toll on his health. Over exercising can be nearly as unhealthy as not exercising.
I feel everyone can benefit from this diet, Evolutionists and Creationists a like. We’re all just trying to get healthy.
I agree to take the food pyramid with a “grain of salt!” as it is developed with input and pressure from the food industry so that each gets represented without loss of representation, profits. Nutritionists have argued its emphasis on grains in the past as they know it leads to obesity and disease. Its worth a try and if it works, great, and not all bodies funcion the same or have the same needs, so one size doesn’t always fit all. Regarding origins and mechanisms and timelines, I recommend keeping an open mind on a still open book. There are many facts of course, yet many missing pieces. Some of what we call evolution is still at this point an adaptive, reactionary mechanism design, and the scientists including Darwin did not reach a full conclusion, and many retain(ed) their belief in God, or at least like Einstein understood the religiosity of something so magnificant that is beyond our comprehension. Some of the early paleontologists agendas were to rid the world of Moses, so their findings conceivably may be a bit slanted. Dating methods may not be infallible and science often “evolves”, is proven wrong, modified and replaced with new facts and findings. There are some things we will never know until the end, and it seems best to keep an open mind and give the tolerance of respect for individual beliefs and conclusions as we would like for our own.
Doesn’t agriculture include fruits and nuts too? We wouldn’t have near as much access to fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts (proteins) without the agricultural revolution. I’m not sure why the author of this article leaves that out. In fact the author completely sidesteps that whole side of agriculture. The organic produce in your storekeeper at your local farmer’s market has been brought to you courtesy of farmers and agriculture. Let’s take a moment to name some of my favorites: peaches, grapes, squash, tomatoes, broccoli, peppers, strawberries, avocados, limes, almonds. Just to name a few.
Right on!!
Natural meat comes from animals(agriculture). Natural vegetables come from farming(agriculture). Please do not blame “agriculture” for unhealthy foods and obese people. Blame “industrial agriculture.” Or wait…blame the population for growing so large that agriculture had to intensify in order to provide enough food to feed everyone. I’m not dissing the paleo diet, but as someone who is educated in agriculture I do not appreciate it being blamed the way it is in the article. Agriculture and Mass production agriculture are two different things..Thanks
Its the durn twinkie, chipsters, cookie, donut, cereal, pizza, superburger makers that tainted whole foods agriculture that did it!…not to mention our more sedentary lifestyles…
It’s this simple. Burn more calories than you eat and you will lose weight. I think we all know what ‘bad’ foods are by now. If your great great great grandmother would not recognize it as a food, then you probably should’ve be eating it. Eat less processed food, lean protein, fruits and veggies, and whole grains. Human have a way of making things much much harder than they have to be. I think we all know what we ‘need’ to do. It’s doing it that’s the problem. Buck up and do what you need to do to be healthy and lose weight.
Why does this diet focus solely on carbs and protein(lean meat, muscle only)? What about fat? I don’t think our ancestors before science could define carbs, protein and fat. How the heck could they figure out if their food was high in saturated fat or not? Just b/c game animals are leaner than farm animals, doesn’t mean they don’t have fat on them.
Try eating rabbit or squirrel for 2 weeks, leanest animals to my knowledge. Traditional Native Americans knew if you did this, you’d suffer from what is known as “rabbit sickness”. Fat and protein go hand in hand with their digestion and assimilation into our bodies.
On another note, it would seem like an awful waist to kill an animal solely for its muscle meat back in caveman times. There’s a whole lot left that could be eaten(i.e.-the organs, and bones(bone stocks)). North American Indians knew this.
I use the Native Americans for example b/c many of their tribes were hunter/gather types.
Check out Viljahmur Stefansson. He replicated the diet of some of the Inuit’s he lived amongst for about a year. There was one difference. The meat choices were more local to the US rather than the Artic north. But he at everything and all of the animals provided. Organs, fat, muscle meat. Some cooked, boiled or raw. He showed no issues, minus when he purposely ate only a lean meat diet. Got sick, similar to “rabbit sickness”. Prolonged it for a couple of days. As soon as he ate some fat, instantly got better.
Cheers
Points taken on the fats…we know we need the fatty acids from fish/seafood (or some plants). The other fats have gotten a bad rap lately. Maybe its the short term feel good versus the long term harm of heart disease that is the reason for the restrictions. Again, maybe our indoor, sedentary lifestyles play a role in this, not just the animal fats.
A friend has just suggested that I look into the paleo diet and I’m going to give it a try.
It just seems so obvious now that it’s been pointed out: don’t eat anything that’s industrialised including alcohol, imagine what our ancestors had available to them and do lots of exercise.
I don’t need to lose weight, but I desperately need to increase my energy levels.
@John, my son and his girlfriend have been following the Paleo diet faithfully for months; my son did not need to lose weight, but his girlfriend wanted to. They’ve been on it for probably 8 months and the girlfriend has lost >40lbs and looks great; my son probably lost a few pounds but more importantly his energy level has increased quite a lot, which helps as he has a very physical job.
So I would advocate it for you.
Too bad an early good discussion devolved (or disbelieved?) into another pointless debate between the thinkers and the sheep, I was trying to see if this diet would be good for me as well.
i guess i got carried away … i am a big fan of rational diets .. we are what we eat .. at age 63 – i know this as fact ..
wow is it that far of a reach to beleive that we was created an then evolved
Wonderful! First non-idiotic post I ran across all day.
Thank you for the read.
The maximum human lifespan has not changed significantly in recent centuries; the change in AVERAGE life expectancy has been a result in the recent increase in the number of people who live to their natural old age. For example, John Adams lived to be 91, and Thomas Jefferson died at 83.
I strongly recommend everyone RESEARCH diet and lifestyle changes, before jumping into them head on. I have been on a quest the last 4 years to constantly improve my diet and lifestyle. I first heard of a version of the paleodiet in a book called “ultrametabolism”. And have been actively researching ever since. There are 2 videos I would like to share with the forum, “Food Matters” and “The Gerson Miracle.” Both are available for free at Hulu.com and Documentaryheaven.com and I believe they are both on Netflix as well. I strongly recommend these videos, as a supplement to the knowledge you’ve already acquired. I dont believe there is a “perfect diet for everyone” but by exploring the research and experimenting with it, everyone can find a healthy, satisfying diet that suit them. The paleodiet, which I found out about in a book called “ultrametabolism” 4 years ago, is just one of many lifestyle changes I’ve implemented since then.
Curious, the ratio taught in anthropology for hunting and gathering societies is 75% gathered material not meat. Hunted game is only noted as being one quarter to a a third of the intake. Unless by press ag revolution you mean going back to proto-hominids?
Hey guys, I want to apologize publicly for being such a negative, spiteful person. This is not the venue to take out my frustrations, even if I have had a rough time lately. I’m sorry for giving atheists a bad name, and I’m sorry for the name calling. It wasn’t deserved, and I won’t be posting here any more. Enjoy the new year.
Iove how quickly a creationism vs. Evolution debate gets heated, especially on the Internet. While I understand the argument that this diet is essentially based on the idea to eat as we have *evolved* to eat, I think its easiest to explain Creationists believing in this diet as simply eating as God designed our bodies to eat. (A popular sentiment against dairy is we are the only animals who drink milk after weaning and drink other animals milk)
It is easy to look around at the World (regardless of beliefs) & see that certain things were obviously put here (or grew here) to be what we are SUPPOSED to eat. The same mindset and reasoning dog owners use for feeding a raw / BARF Diet.
I’m not trying to speak for one group specifically but wanted to give some perspective for those that are struggling with how or why Creationists would embrace this diet.
And for the record, I believe in a “higher power” / loving embrace but definitely believe in evolution. I don’t think religion and science need to contradict each other at every turn, but yet the Judeo Christian ethic seems Hell bent on it a lot of times. Above all else I believe in everyone having their own right to believe (or not) – Expressing divinity above all else and that everyone who doesn’t believe exactly as you do are going to HELL is extremely stigmatizing and one of the things that pushes people away from embracing the concept of “God” at all.
End rant. Got a little side tracked there.
I think the original poster apologized and left the topic, I should have acknowledged that before posting.
Just trying to broaden the horizons of the conversational piece by offering a different viewpoint.
My bad. And if you’re referencing my post with vulgar language, unless I’m missing something the only word I used was Hell.