David Whiteside

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David Whiteside lives with his beautiful wife Kathleen in southern Utah near Zion National Park. He spent 26 years giving financial advice on funding retirement and long-term care costs, including 10 years as a Medicaid case manager.

Unexpected, dramatic personal success on The Paleo Diet spurred him to investigate Paleo’s implications for healthy aging. He now devotes his time to researching and promoting awareness of Paleo and ancestral dieting in the senior community.  

David’s core mission is to simplify science for casual readers in order to reveal how conventional Western dietary norms cause most chronic disease—and their enormous, unnecessary costs.

Meet The Expert

What makes you an expert on The Paleo Diet?

I've lived the diet every day for over four years, and read numerous books, studies, and papers during that time. I browse ancestral diet and fitness news daily. Paleo living is relatively simple, but understanding it—and advocating for it—requires skull sweat.

Describe the impact The Paleo Diet has had on you and/or your family's life?

Transformative. Revolutionary. Between us, Kathy and I lost 80 pounds. I’m rarely ill. Three wardrobes later, I really don’t get tired anymore (at age 62!)—I just know it’s time to sleep at day’s end.

What does “healthy living” mean to you? And what’s your favorite cheat food? 

It means no processed foods, sugar, seed oils, or foods with multiple ingredients. Ever. All our food is fresh, whole, organic, or grass fed. Regular workouts! Cheating? Maybe red wine and cheese, or, rarely, “paleo friendly” baked goods.

What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing for The Paleo Diet?

I enjoy big-batch cooking to support our on-the-go Paleo lifestyle. I also do one to two hours of daily gym time or weighted walking. We live in a hiker’s paradise, so we venture into the desert or mountains weekly. I also collect and tinker with Old West firearms.

See The Articles

Protein, Fasting, and the mTOR Pathway

Over-eating, especially of protein, activates the mTOR pathway which some researchers associate with increased cancer risk and shortened lifespan. Balancing macronutrients, like protein, can be challenging, but by looking at our hunter-gatherer ancestors lifestyles we can see that fasting may be one way to help keep mTOR in check.

By David Whiteside

Heart Disease, Stress, and Nanoparticles

Dr. Malcolm Kendrick proposes that arterial plaques result from endothelial dysfunction brought on by stress. Read more about his research at The Paleo Diet®.

By David Whiteside

Healthy Aging: Study Shows High-Carbohydrate Diets Promote Dementia

Take a deep dive into research showing how eating a diet high in sugar can contribute to the onset of dementia and how a Paleo Diet can be protective

By David Whiteside

Paleolithic Aging: Exercise for Brain, Biceps, and Longevity

Evidence is quietly accumulating that our brains and immune systems need exercise as much as our muscles. Find out the facts about Paleolithic aging.

By David Whiteside

Looking “Beyond Keto” with Dr. Terry Wahls

Dr. Terry Wahls has been developing a nutritional strategy for M.S. Her most recent book applies Paleo Diet principles with intermittent fasting.

By David Whiteside

Thomas Seyfried’s metabolic theory of cancer, and how our ancestral diet could help curtail the disease

Important new discoveries about cancer cells - including their reliance on glucose for fuel, is showing an important role of diet in managing the condition.

By David Whiteside

View All Articles By David

Paleo Leadership

Trevor Connor

Dr. Loren Cordain’s final graduate student, Trevor Connor, M.S., brings more than a decade of nutrition and physiology expertise to spearhead the new Paleo Diet team.

Dr. Mark J. Smith

One of the original members of the Paleo movement, Mark J. Smith, Ph.D., has spent nearly 30 years advocating for the benefits of Paleo nutrition.

Nell Stephenson

Ironman athlete, mom, author, and nutrition blogger Nell Stephenson has been an influential member of the Paleo movement for over a decade.

Dr. Loren Cordain

As a professor at Colorado State University, Dr. Loren Cordain developed The Paleo Diet® through decades of research and collaboration with fellow scientists around the world.

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David Whiteside

What makes you an expert on The Paleo Diet?

Describe the impact The Paleo Diet has had on you and/or your family's life?

What does “healthy living” mean to you? And what’s your favorite cheat food?

What do you enjoy doing when you are not writing for The Paleo Diet?

Describe the impact The Paleo Diet has had on you and/or your family's life?

What does “healthy living” mean to you? And what’s your favorite cheat food? 