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Category Archives: Blogs by Loren Cordain
Dr. Cordain Interview for Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
I was recently interviewed by a reporter representing “The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics” which was formerly known as “The American Dietetic Association (ADA)” http://www.eatright.org/. This organization certifies registered dietitian nutritionists in the United States. University level nutrition students must have met academic and professional requirements including an earned bachelor’s degree with coursework approved by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND). The official magazine of The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, is called “Food and Nutrition” https://foodandnutrition.org/ which reaches a readership of approximately 40,000 Registered Dieticians. Unfortunately, due to the length…
Fresh Sardines or Canned Sardines: No Longer an Option for Americans
Introduction From 2006 to 2017 a dramatic collapse occurred in the Northern Pacific Sardine population (extending from Baja California to British Columbia, Canada), amounting to a 95 % decline in the entire sardine population (Figure 1, Info graphic 1) (1-3). Figure 1. The Pacific sardine population (biomass in millions of tons) has declined 95 percent since 2006 and it is now below the minimum level required to support a commercial fishery (called the “cutoff”) (1, 3). This fishery collapse caused biologists at the West Coast Region of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries to impose a moratorium on…
The Sodium to Potassium Ratio in Cheese: Clearly, a Non-Paleo Food
Introduction As more and more people get into Paleo Diet lifestyles, a frequent question comes up – How do I know which foods are permitted and those which are not part of contemporary Paleo Diets? The Paleo Diet movement has become so large and fractionated in recent years that many versions of “Paleo” have now arisen. An interesting, but flawed adaptation of present day Paleo Diets frequently permit regular/daily consumption of dairy products (including cheese). So how can you easily determine if any common modern day food mimics the nutritional characteristics of those foods our Stone Age ancestors would have…
Why Olives Are Not Paleo, But Olive Oil Is
Introduction The olive tree (Olea europaea) is native to the Mediterranean basin and is cultivated in many other parts of the world. The fruit of the olive tree is a drupe (a stone fruit) in which a hard inner seed is surrounded by a fleshy outer portion. The olive has a low sugar content (2.6 – 6%) compared with other drupes (apricots, peaches, plum etc., which may contain 12% or more sugar). Olives maintain a high oil content (12 – 30%) depending on the time of year and variety of olive harvested (1). The olive fruit generally cannot be consumed…
Physiological Mechanisms: Underlying High Salt Diets and Cancer
Introduction I recently received a question from Bill, “I would also like to know what the purported mechanism for low sodium and low cancer is?” Let me first preface this question with my original blog that precipitated the question. Dr. Jansson sent me this in his unpublished book manuscript on May 10, 1997 (Found here: //thepaleodiet.com/a-rare-and-never-before-published-book-chapter-concerning-salt-and-cancer/). Accordingly, the information in his book is now more than 20 years old and unfortunately, Dr. Jansson died on May 23, 1998. Dr. Jansson’s book runs about 300 pages in length, is hand typed, double spaced, and contains the following 10 Chapters: 1.…
Processed, Cured and Smoked Meats: Definitely Not Paleo!
As more and more people adopt the Paleo Diet, controversy has arisen as to which dietary elements actually comprise a contemporary “Paleo Diet”. Or more precisely, which current foods, food groups or food additives should be included or excluded in modern day diets as we try to emulate the nutritional characteristics of our pre-agricultural ancestors? A number of popular-day and charismatic bloggers suggest that processed meats such as bacon and other cured, processed and smoked meats should be part of contemporary Paleo Diets on a daily basis (1-3). Surprisingly, one of the contested elements that charismatic bloggers advocate…
Dr Cordain Answers a Reader’s Question About Egg White Lysozyme
Hi Dr. Cordain, I read the lysozyme article and I am wondering if you could please indicate if egg white lysozyme is more readily bio-available raw or cooked? If egg whites are consumed by eating them raw or cooked, does the body actually have the ability to put it into bloodstream and utilize the lysozyme? In other words – what is the big deal if a human cannot even utilize it if it is digested and broken up or if it cannot be absorbed if raw or cooked? How would evolution have made lysozyme more available – cooking, selection of…
Further Evidence Against a High Sodium Paleo Diet
An ongoing controversy about dietary salt (either refined salt or sea salt) in human ancestral diets represents a significant point of contention for the Paleo Diet community. Some popular bloggers contend that ingested high levels of dietary salt have no adverse effects upon our health and wellbeing1-10. My scientific colleagues and I disagree with these conclusions11-34. The Table below clearly demonstrates that high sodium diets (greater than 2300 mg/day) are virtually impossible to achieve when eating a 2000 to 2500 kcal/day diet consisting of normal selections of un-adulterated, non-salted wild or domesticated foods. References [1] Kresser C. Shaking Up…
The Sea Salt Controversy: Important Updates for Your 2017 New Year’s Resolution
Introduction: The Belief that Added Salt is Paleo Look no further than the increasing number of bestselling “Paleo” diet cookbooks1-7, or “Paleo” diet website recipes8-16 and you can fully appreciate the near unanimity of authors whose recipes embrace sea salt or salt as fundamental ingredients in an otherwise Paleo-friendly meal. Somehow, somewhere most people in the Paleo community have been led to believe that added sea salt or salt can be safely included in contemporary Paleo diets with no long-term, adverse health effects, and that high salt intakes were a normal part of ancestral, hunter-gatherer diets. At least, this is…
Dr. Cordain Responds to Critics of a Recent Paleo Diet Study
[Part One in our Series on Why the Paleo Diet is a Nutrient Dense Diet] In April, news of a recent two-year study exploring the effects of a Paleo diet on postmenopausal women was presented at the 2016 Endocrine Society Annual Meeting. Soon afterwards, an article hit the web detailing the positive results, but quickly shifted its focus to interviews with members of the nutrition community who focused more on their issues with the diet. In this part 1 of our Nutrient Density Series Dr Cordain addresses these critiques and shows that when you just delve a little deeper into…
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