The Truth About Paleo
Is the paleo diet for you? Make sure you’re aware of these common misconceptions before diving into your new paleo lifestyle!
Diets have become like religion for many. They identify themselves by it. They swear by them. They live by them and die by them – literally and figuratively. And like I respect all religions, I respect most people’s diet choices. For me, what’s important is how much you eat and the quality of what you eat. Beyond that I cater to personal preference, for the most part.
I respect all diet choices and encourage people to live in a way that makes them feel their absolute BEST! I offer meal plans that range from vegan to omnivore and paleo / gluten free to vegetarian. However, I must admit that there are some things about the paleo diet I struggle with.
As stated on my Nutrition Coaching Page, I don’t believe in diet trends, food trends, counting calories or having a “good food” / “bad food” list. Eliminating any food or food group typically results in binging later on, or developing an unhealthy relationship with food. I believe in a traditional diet, enjoying all foods in moderation and prioritizing ingredients over the nutrition label.
So…
Let’s go over things to be mindful of if you choose to adhere to this lifestyle choice.
First, I must have read at least 10 different versions of the Paleo diet when researching it for this post. Some Paleo people eat fruit, some don’t. Some eat different types of fruit only. Some eat honey, some don’t. Some eat nuts, some don’t. And the list of inconsistencies goes on.
First Issue: Food Quality
With that said, my first issue with Paleo is quality. Paleo devotees advocate meat… and lots of it. However, only some of them speak to the significance of meat quality. As registered dietician, Cheryl Forberg, likes to say “If the cow isn’t paleo neither are you”.
The quality of your food is far more important than the macro-nutrients you consume. So, if you follow this diet be sure you pay close attention to quality of your proteins.
{P.S. Have you tried my honey garlic crockpot chicken recipe yet!?}
Second Issue: Paleo encourages too much meat consumption
And, while we are on the topic of meat consumption, the paleo diet pushes the over consumption of meat in my opinion. Unless you have been living under a rock you know that the farming and fishing of animal protein is terrible for the environment, expensive, unnecessary for good health and likely hard on your body to process overall.
{ be sure to follow along on instagram for daily creative snack, meal + dessert ideas! }
Third Issue: dairy foods, whole grains, and legumes are off-limits
DAIRY: Should you really eliminate such rich calcium sources from your diet as organic low-fat Greek yogurt? Besides that, research suggests that three to four daily servings of low-fat dairy products can actually boost your body’s fat-burning potential.
WHOLE GRAINS: The rationale against consuming grains is that they can cause inflammation, resulting in heart disease and other health conditions. Well, the facts don’t support this theory. Wheat products are only a health concern for people with celiac disease, and to put this into context, that’s 1 percent of the population.
{ pictured: the FUDGIEST vegan black bean brownies }
LEGUMES: As for legumes (which include beans, chickpeas, and peanuts), the idea is that they contain “anti-nutrients” like lectins and phytates that supposedly reduce their nutritional value to zero. But studies prove this suggestion is misleading. Cooking eliminates a lot of the anti-nutrient effects. Bottom line is the benefits of the protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals you get from legumes far outweigh the argument against them.
In addition, a diet that recommends a lot of animal protein, but rules out many high fiber foods like whole grains and legumes is really a double whammy to your overall health.
FOURTH ISSUE: Paleo is founded upon mistruths.
Paleolithic man was not a raging carnivore. In fact, many of the ancient human remains from this time that researchers studied show the Paleolithic man died from severe anemia. Anemia is caused by lack of iron and a person who eats a ton of meat certainly isn’t anemic.
{ get the dEATs on this salad over here! }
In fact, research has shown us that they ate much like apes of today. And apes of today eat lots of fruits, bark, and even insects. Paleolithic man took advantage of whatever food was available, but was not capable of intellectually eating what was “ideal” for his or her physiology. In addition, they ate what they had access to.
Plus, Paleolithic man had a life expectancy of 33 years. Modern man today lives to around 70.
PIN ME FOR LATER!
The bottom line:
- You don’t need as much meat as the paleo diet recommends. If you choose to go paleo be sure that the majority of your meals are plant based.
- You must be sure you get enough fiber if you pull out whole grains and legumes.
- Be sure the quality of your proteins are top notch – no hormones, antibiotics, preservatives, artificial coloring etc.
I hope you found this article beneficial and not too harsh! I respect all diet choices and encourage people to live in a way that makes them feel their absolute BEST!
Happy Friday friends!
x, elizabeth
There are any type of dieting trends now, the paleo, keto, etc. Sometimes i am confused! My diet is simple. I eat less rice, and more vegetables, less meat, chicken meat is okay. And lots of water and walking!
There is no ONE SIZE FITS ALL approach to eating. Everyone processes food differently, thus a paleo lifestyle really not be for some, that being said, it does focus on HEALTHY foods so I am very much PRO PALEO!
This was a very informative read. I personally have never bought into the fad nutritional hype. I believe it is all about moderation. You can eat or drink anything you want as long as it is in moderation. I agree that today’s society has become very stringent with rules that may or may not actual benefit them in the long run. Good job for getting the word out there.
I really didn’t know much about paleo, so this post was very informative for me! I’m with you on avoiding diet tends. A healthy balance and lifestyle change is where you will see lasting results.
Hi Elizabeth! Thanks so much for opening my eyes to this side of the paleo diet. I do eat a mostly paleo based diet, except I don’t have tons of meat and I have 2 servings of dairy a day. I’m am mostly plant paced and I feel great. I guess what I try to cut out is processed grains and sugar. Haha. I’m all over the map here. My point is I learned a lot from this post! ❤️
good new information here. I’m not really a paleo eater but I prefer organic food and herbs.
I have to admit my first experience with Paleo not so good. I had some carb anger even with sweet potatoes. This time around I added extra carb subs that are AIP and Paleo friendly, and it has been so much better. Great ideas here too
I have never considered following a diet. I generally just eat right and it has worked well for me. However I might consider trying this one
I admit I never tried any diets before. I hear some great things about paleo but there’s a lot I didn’t know about it! I’ll have to share this with some of my paleo friends! Thanks!
I am not a diet person and have wondered about so many that are out there because I don’t know much about many of them. This was really helpful to me in understanding the Paleo route. What you shared sounds so wise and I appreciate you clarifying all the facts and offering important insights for us to consider. Thank you for this great information!
You made some really good points here, it was definitely interesting to hear your thoughts on this diet.
Thank you for writing this all out. It is hard to keep up with all of the different types of diets and what they mean. This is a great, informative post.
There are so many diets out there that I have a hard time keeping up with them and what works and doesn’t work. What works for me is eating fresh fruit, veggies, lots of it, grain, fish, chicken and our red meat is venison. For those that want to know more about this diet, this is very informative.
I have never been a fan of ‘diets’ but I always find myself on one! lol Thanks for this info as this is one I have never been on – I think it’s important to try different ones until you find the one for you
Great information. I never really looked into the paleo diet – very interesting!
Heard so much about Paleo and its misconception so was glad to read your posts, clearing many of my doubts
I agree with this 100%. As someone who has recently switched to a plant-based diet I really enjoyed reading through this article. Thank you for writing.
I agree with you. Enough with all the trends. Just making healthy decisions is the way to go. There’s nothing special to it. Although I don’t follow a paleo diet, this was informative. And those black bean brownies look amazing!
I could never go paleo. I have always been a firm believer in intuitively eating, so I love that you wrote about this!
Thank you for this informative post. I have been thinking about going on a paleo diet for awhile. Blessings … ❤
A refreshing and honest read! We don’t follow any diet in our house either…other than trying to prepare things fresh daily.
Deb
http://www.bookinspiredplay.com
I have been eating mostly “paleo” for about six months now, and it has made a world of difference in my life. I feel so much more energetic and really like it. I am already gluten free for medical reasons, so it’s not as hard for me as it might be for others.
Sorry! My comment decided to submit itself before I was done!
I just wanted to say that there is archaeological evidence of Paleo era humans eating grains and legumes. There’s also the question of whether there can actually be one set of dietary guidelines that are truly Paleo, if humans beings were dispersed across many different lands with different climates, vegetation, and animal food sources.
And of course, trying to replicate a truly Paleolithic diet using today’s much evolved plants and animals is a problem. Beside which, the human digestive system has evolved since the Stone Age. And that begs the question of whether a Paleo diet could really be good for us, even if we could recreate it accurately.
Thank you so much for writing this! As much as I love the idea that ancient hunter-gatherers were probably healthier on the whole than we are today, I also struggle with the specifics of the Paleo diet.
We don’t lean toward any special diets. We grow almost all our own food and cook from scratch totally. Guess you could say that is our diet. Natural.
In general, I think sticking really hard to a diet that is difficult to maintain isn’t a good idea. But I definitely think that the Western diet has way too many carbs. A treat now and then isn’t horrible, but our bodies need way more fiber and protein than we tend to give them. Paleo is one great way to do that, as you say. Love the pictures and insight!
Thank you for bringing clarity to these widely believed myths of the Paleo diet. I love diets that focus more on the quality of food as you suggested. More greens and veggies with quality, not overly fatty meats are what we do in my house.
Good post, I must say though those photos of the food just makes me hungry!! Are they meals you have prepared and taken photos of?
Hi Stacey! Thank you so much! Yes they are 🙂 They’re either recipes on my blog or instagram!