Praise for The Paleo Diet

"Dr. Loren Cordain, a highly respected, innovative investigator, has clearly articulated an approach to nutrition that is logically compelling, readily understood, and at the cutting edge of health science. Dr. Loren Cordain's original insights, encyclopedic knowledge, and painstaking research have made critical contributions.... Not all scientists can translate their concepts into a straightforward, accessible format, but Cordain has accomplished this feat brilliantly."

-S. Boyd Eaton, M.D., Clinical Assistant Professor, Emory University; former Medical Director, Olympic Village Polyclinic, 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games (considered the godfather of the Paleolithic nutrition movement)

"The Paleo Diet is at once revolutionary and intuitive.... Its prescription provides without a doubt the most nutritious diet on the planet. Beautifully written, The Paleo Diet takes us from the theory to the day-to-day practice of the native human diet."

-Jennie Brand-Miller, Ph.D. Co-author of the bestselling The Glucose Revolution and The Glucose Revolution Life Plan; Professor of Human Nutrition, University of Sydney

"Dr. Cordain offers a recipe for improved health based on his assessment of a range of information from modern medicine, anthropology, archaeology, and nutrition science. The Paleo Diet is a compelling read for anyone interested in diet and its linkage to health."

-Clark Spencer Larsen, Ph.D.; Distinguished Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences and Chair, Department of Anthropology, Ohio State University

"The Paleo Diet not only lays out the basic nutrition plan for weight loss and good health, but also for peak performance in athletic competition. It works."

-Joe Friel, author of The Triathlete's Training Bible and endurance coach

"Finally, someone has figured out the best diet for people - a modern version of the diet the human race grew up eating. Dr. Loren Cordain's easy-to-follow diet plan cuts right to the chase and reminds us that the healthiest foods are the simplest ones."

-Jack Challem, coauthor of Syndrome X: The Complete Nutritional Program to Prevent and Reverse Insulin Resistance

"In a world where we're surrounded with an information overload of dieting, this is a commonsense and effective weight-control approach that's easy to follow."

-Fred Pescatore, M.D., author of Thin For Good and Feed Your Kids Well

"Sound nutritional and health advice from the world's leading expert on the paleolithic diet. If you want the real lowdown on why the protein-rich diet of early man is the best diet for modern man, this is the book for you. Filled with delicious recipes and meal plans, The Paleo Diet will open your eyes, trim your waistline, and improve your overall health. We found Dr. Cordain's scientific writings indispensable in the writing of The Protein Power LifePlan. We can't recommend The Paleo Diet highly enough!"

-Michael R. Eades, M.D., and Mary Dan Eades, M.D., authors of Protein Power

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Reviews From Other Readers

Reviewer: A reader from Sydney, Australia
Man's original diet by the world's leading expert. Get it!
Written especially for the general reader in a light clear style, this book is based on the diet that all people ate for 2.5 million years, until farming started some 10,000 years ago (in some parts of the world). It is flexible, tasty and easy to follow. It gives rapid weight control and rapid improvement in exercise tolerance. Why be confused by diet?- here's one that's got 4 to 10 times the normal level of vitamins (without supplements), is high in good omega 3 fats, low in harmful fats, is very low in toxins (lectins, phytates etc), tastes great and makes you healthy. It effortlessly combines every thing proven to be good in food and excludes all the bad things. But wouldn't you expect that from man's original diet? Many authors from Pritikin to Atkins claim that their diet is best because it is based on man's original diet, but few come close to it, and nobody can compare to Professor Cordain who is the world's undisputed grandmaster of Paleolithic and Hunter-Gatherer Diets. There's no muesli, bran, buckwheat or yoghurt. You will find out how grains undermine your health. Grains etc entered the diet 10,000 years ago and are your key to bad health. If you want to find out what was really eaten in the Garden of Eden, then read this book. Start on it for weight loss, but above all, stay on it for your health!

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Reviewer: A reader from Columbus, OH, United States
A smart, healthful book
I am fascinated by this diet book -- it makes so much sense! Eating lean meats and fish, veggies, and fruit, and cutting out all the other stuff that is so unnatural and unhealthy for you -- processed grains, refined sugars, and dairy products -- it's a really healthy way to eat and live, even if you don't need to lose weight. And the recipes and meal plans are so helpful and delicious; this book is a real inspiration to begin eating healthfully once and for all.

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Reviewer: A reader and RN
Weight Loss with Bonuses!
I am an RN who has had an interest in nutrition for many years, and have eaten similar to the "Paleo" way for some time and have felt great for years (and look younger than my age!). The big excitement for me is the improvement in my family's health since converting to Paleo. My sister (who has been on chemo for 6 years) found this book (and told us all about it), has lost 35 pounds in 6 months, and has improving lab values with her thyroid, cholesterol. She has increased energy, no indigestion, and glows in a way she never did before. My husband, recently diagnosed with Type II diabetes, has lost 20 pounds in 3 months, and his blood sugars are totally controlled by this diet alone, and his blood pressure is now within normal limits. My daughter, having stopped the dairy products and wheat, is not longer suffering from severe reflux. She never has to take medication for that now. Ever. My mother has lost 33 pounds, has increased mobility and strength, easily controlled blood sugars (may go off meds soon, with md's supervision), and is never hungry. Along with all these benefits, you don't ever have to go hungry again. In fact, after eating the Paleo way, your hunger decreases because you are truly nourishing your body probably for the first time in your life! My boss, an internal medicine/allergy specialist, lost weight, and now has little to no arthritis pain that drove him to take pain meds on a daily basis. He recommends this diet in his practice. I love this book. It has changed lives. Try it for one month and you will become a believer.

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Reviewer: A reader from Jeffersonville, IN, United States
This is a great plan. Not your typical starvation diet. This plan makes great sense. You can adapt this to your everyday life and make it a habit for the rest of your life. Create muscle and loose weight and feel great doing it. It was recommended to me by my boss who is a diabetic and it has helped him stay off insulin injections and maintain his blood sugar. It helps with cholesterol problems also. I have recently begun the program and am feeling better each day. I like it so well that I have bought a copy for my salesman and his family.

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Reviewer: A reader from New York, NY, United States
I love protein -- fish, chicken, lean beef and lean pork. And I have missed fruits and vegetables. How terrific that Dr. Cordain has shown that the proteins I love can be combined with non-starchy fruits and vegetables -- while I'm still losing weight. This is a clear, simple, effective weight-loss plan that has helped me in my daily eating plan and I'm sure it will help you as well.

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Reviewer: A reader from San Francisco, CA, United States
This is one of the most influential books I've read - definitely in the top 5. In following the doctrines outlined here, I've lost about 12 pounds of body fat, gained ridiculous amounts of energy, and can lift more weight in the gym than ever before - all in about 2 months. The title is slightly misleading - this is really less of a "diet" book and more of a "lifestyle" book. On the three or four times I have departed from this Paleo lifestyle (usually just for a meal or two), I noticed a dramatic decrease in my energy level. For the first time in my life, I believe I "get" the whole nutrition thing. Don't confuse the Paleo approach with Atkins - although there are similarities, the differences are critical (i.e., salt, quality of fats, etc.).

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Reviewer: A reader from Aurora, CO, United States
In watching my sister endure the merry-go-round of Atkins, I think Cordain's 'Paleo Diet' makes a lot more sense.

His proposal of fresh, natural foods and omitting grains, sugars and salt makes much more sense than consuming heinous quantities of saturated fatty meats and expecting pounds to shed without consequences. I am much more intrigued by this book than the ramrod approach of gurus like Atkins and, I think, this is the ONE diet plan I will be very happy to try out for real. I would have to agree that the pre-cultivation diet was likely more healthy than the cereal-based diet that began some 10,000 years ago. This grain-based diet has created [my opinion] havoc and its effects have made itself felt since.

Another reviewer cited that this will likely offend everyone. I know very well that the purveyors of all grain-based items will be screaming at what is proposed in this book. They will have fewer buyers if more will take on this lifetime eating plan and will lose money. Some reviewers have correctly brought up the kinds of meat permitted. Dr. Cordain advocates free-range and grass-fed but a budget like mine won't permit this luxury. I'll have to settle for plain ol' store bought in that department. Any nastiness from chemical buildup I think will pale compare to what would be there if I didn't omit grains, sugars and salt.

If it honestly works [don't see where it cannot] Dr. Cordain will have another very happy convert. Then, my only concern will be in convincing my relations that Atkins is more detrimental in the long-run than going back to paleo-foods.

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Reviewer: A reader from Victoria, BC, Canada
I laughed out loud when I read the customer review that said "I lost too much weight". What, are people jealous?

I've been on this diet for about four months now and have lost 30 lbs, and regained my fitness and health, as well as putting more muscle on than I've ever been able to do before. Sure, don't go on this diet if you don't like being incredibly fit.

I was a sub 3 hr marathoner at age 35 when I started to inexplicably gain weight. I was eating very little protein at the time, around 20 grams a day, despite running about 100 km a week at the time. Dumb, I know, but it worked for a long time. I wasn't getting injured, nor did I have any health problems (except a problem with acne that started at age 30). I ate a lot of grain-based foods, which is typical for endurance athletes.

My health deteriorated, and I gained 35 lbs in less than six months. I also got pneumonia twice, and developed asthma. My LDL level was twice the maximum that is acceptable. All of these problems are accounted for in this book.

I first saw Cordain's work mentioned in Joe Friel's Mtn. Bike Training Bible, and followed up.

All of my symptoms have disappeared. Not only have I lost the weight, my blood work is excellent, and I'm putting on muscle faster than I did even in my early 20s (I'm 38 now). I'm up to 200 crunches, for example, only two months after barely being able to manage 5. My average run pace has dropped from 8:30 per mile to sub 6 minutes per mile in only two months, on 3 hrs of training a week. After only 3 sessions on my track bike (all around 10km in length), I was able to crank out 36 km/hr over 10km on my track bike. That's on ZERO mileage over the past three years.

Others have asked me how I did it, and they are getting similar results and feeling great.

This research makes a tremendous amount of sense, and it's given an athlete his body (and hope) back. Thanks, Dr. Cordain.

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Reviewer: A reader from Wrightwood, CA, United States
The Paleo dietary theory is looking better and better as time passes. I've been successfully losing weight by following principles similar to Cordain's, even before I read his book. Cordain should be commended for defending a thesis that is politically incorrect on many levels.

The Paleo theory offends Creationists, because it assumes an evolutionary explanation for human origins and why our bodies seem to thrive better on hunter-gatherer foods than on "our daily bread."

It offends free-market zealots, because it implies a criticism of the way American capitalism produces the toxic waste it calls "food."

It offends the charlatans in the weight-loss industry, who offer the simplistic explanation that Americans are getting obese because they are "eating too much," instead of scientifically looking at the consequences of WHAT they are eating.

It offends the American medical and pharmaceutical industries, because it argues that a proper diet to prevent cancer, "Syndrome X," and other degenerative diseases makes more sense than developing exorbitantly expensive (i.e., profitable) therapies and drugs to treat them after the fact.

It offends the social-engineering goody-goods (mostly on the Left) who had the government dictate carbohydrate-heavy nutritional guidelines to us which have proved disastrous in practice.

It offends vegans, because it argues that humans need to eat animals for optimum health.

It offends technological cornucopians of the Julian L. Simon school, because it challenges common beliefs about "progress," and whether our planet can produce enough of the proper sorts of foods for human well-being. Cordain points out that with current technology, only about ten percent of the world's population could be adequately sustained on a Paleo-compatible diet. Unfortunately, the world's impoverished billions have to take their chances with their sub-optimal grain-based diet.

In light of this, about the only ideologues this theory doesn't offend are the neo-Malthusians who have been arguing all along that the world is way over-populated. It's not often that a diet book presents a worldview radically at odds with the usual range of beliefs in our society. Cordain's message deserves a wide and thoughtful hearing, for what is more important than our health and the food we eat?

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Reviewer: A reader from Cocoa, FL, United States
Before I found this book, I'd heard of the Stone Age diet and wished I could adopt it. The restrictions--no grains, legumes, dairy products, or processed foods--sounded formidable, as did the requirements--fresh meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit, the wilder/more organic the better. But my health problems have recently goaded me into adopting a rough form of this diet, and I've needed a diet manual to focus and refine my new food choices. Voila! I found The Paleo Diet just yesterday and am already convinced it's the right diet book for me. I do feel better since I started eating more animal protein and no starch a few weeks ago, but I've been having trouble with fatty meats, and Loren Cordain's book explains why.

The reviewers here who argue that saturated fat has been getting a bum rap, that our Stone Age ancestors undoubtedly ate the whole bird and not just the breast, etc., appear to have read the book cursorily, if at all. Cordain clearly explains that the animal protein prehistoric people thrived on had nowhere near the amount of saturated fat found in today's domestic meats, poultry, and dairy products. Quoting from the book, "Paleolithic people couldn't eat fatty meats if they tried--they had nothing like the tubby grain-fed animals that produce our steaks today." Readers who want more science may consult the 20-page bibliography in the back of the book.

The Paleo Diet is primarily a diet manual, a nutritional primer, and a cookbook, loaded with practical information (e.g. "How to Be a Savvy Shopper for Fish," "Dining Out, Travel, and Peer Pressure," etc.) for readers who want to adapt the Stone Age diet to the 21st century. What's more, the book is engagingly written and extremely readable. Above all, Cordain makes the Stone Age diet seem simple. If I could give his book an extra five stars, I would!

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Reviewer: A reader from Hampton, VA, United States
I have tried every diet known to man. At least I thought so until I read about the PALEO DIET. It just makes so much sense! Haven't you ever noticed that when you see people in old pictures that there are so few "fat" people. And the older the pictures, the less likely you are to see people who are overweight. This books explains how our diets have changed through the centuries with inventions, discoveries, and "improvements" in our lifestyles. I have tried before to "get back to basics" as far as my eating was concerned, but NEVER got it right. This outlines everything very clearly. I am actually enjoying coming up with new menus and recipes using Dr. Cordain's suggestions. I can hardly wait until my next health checkup when my family doctor sees how much weight I have lost! My muscle tone has improved and I have more energy too!

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Reviewer: A reader from Springfield, MO, United States
This is a wonderful book. I have a degree in dietetics, and I have tried to follow the Food Guide Pyramid for years. For years, the weight has just kept on piling up. This book really does make eating easier. You don't have to count calories, carbs, or anything else.

As a nutritionist, I know the dangers of high protein, high fat, no carb diets. These dangers include calcium loss from the bones, excess ketone buildup, constipation and other problems. For those reasons, I do not recommend high protein diets and would never go on one. But this book is different. You can eat all the carbs you want, as long as they are the right kind--fruits and non-starchy veggies. You get lots of fiber and adequate calcium. This diet is truly healthy. I analyzed several days worth of meals with the FoodWorks program, and this diet is very high in vitamins and minerals, as well as fiber. It has also cut my calories in half, and I've lost four pounds this first week. For those who are worried about giving up favorite foods forever, the diet allows two open meals a week, at which you can eat grains and dairy.

I also ordered "Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy" by Walter Willett, an M.D. at Harvard who heads up some long term nutrition studies. I recommend this book to those who are interested in research or a second opinion. Many of the paleo diet points are echoed in Dr. Willett's book. After reading these two books, I don't see how they could fail to convince anyone.

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Reviewer: A reader from Fort Collins, CO, United States
I found Dr. Cordain's presentation very credible and well done. He presents the basics and then offers a plethora of references to support his claims and for additional reading. I never felt bogged down in detail. The recipes and meal plans are thoughtful and delicious. They have allowed me to stick to this new approach without hunger or "cheating." Best of all, I feel great. In the future, this is how we all will eat.

... after increasing protein consumption and lowering high-glycemic carbohydrate consumption in my diet, my blood lipid analysis improved (i.e., HDL, triglycerides), but my LDL cholesterol remained elevated until I also cut back on saturated fats. Many of my friends had the same experience. Dr. Cordain insists in his book that reducing saturated fat intake, in addition to carbohydrate control, is critical to improving your blood chemistry. I don't speak for everyone. But in my case, Dr. Cordain has it right!