All Things I Love (And Hate) About the Paleo Diet

Chances are you’ve either tried the Paleo diet or know someone who has. It’s that popular. Also known as the “Caveman” diet, it’s a way of eating that’s supposed to be similar to what our hunting and gathering ancestors were munching on 10,000 years ago: plants and animals. The diet includes meat, fish, shellfish, poultry, eggs, veggies, roots, fruits and berries, while it excludes grains, refined sugars, table salt, dairy products and legumes (beans and peas).

The idea behind the diet is that our nutritional needs today are the same as they were thousands of years ago. Paleo followers believe that our bodies haven’t adapted to the changes in the food system over the centuries to include processed grains, legumes and dairy products. As a result of food processing, our modern, high-sugar, high-carb diet is said to be the main reason for the prevalence of chronic diseases like diabetes and heart disease.

So is it true that the Paleo diet is the solution to nutrition-related disease? Will the Paleo diet actually help us lose weight? Should we all be eating like our distant ancestors?

Let’s dive into the pros and cons of the Paleo diet from the perspective of a Registered Dietitian.

WHAT I LOVE

1) Encourages whole foods

Eating food as we recognize it in nature is the ideal of every healthy eater. Common sense tells us that an apple is healthier than an apple pie, but the Paleo diet provides black and white guidelines to eliminate the need for tough decision making. Recent research highlighted the importance of high quality foods for decreasing overall calorie intake.

2) High in protein

Multiple studies have shown that diets higher in protein tend to be more effective for weight loss. High protein foods help us feel satisfied longer and prevent spikes in blood sugar that affect our energy.

3) Low in added sugar

Our food supply is stocked with packaged foods that contain tons of added sugars. These sugars supply very little nutritional value and can contribute to weight gain and a variety of health problems when consumed in excess over time. The Paleo diet is great in that it restricts all sources of added sugar.

4) Forces more cooking at home

Because the Paleo diet restricts foods with added anything, most convenient foods are not even an option. This requires more planning and more food prep, of course. According to a 2014 study from Johns Hopkins, we eat healthier and we eat less calories when we eat at home frequently.

5) High in fruits and vegetables

The typical American consumes about 16 grams of fiber per day according to this study in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, which is much lower than the Institute of Medicine’s recommendation of 21-38 grams per day. Fiber is prevalent in fruits and veggies, so by eating a lot of produce on the Paleo diet, you will easily meet your needs for this nutrient that is super important for digestive health.

WHAT I HATE

1) Dogmatism

Out of all of the trendy diets right now, Paleo followers tend to be the most dogmatic. The claim that Paleo eating is THE ONLY way to eat well is nothing short of silly. There is simply not one right way to eat as nutrition is a highly individualized science.

2) Shaky science

The Paleo diet was voted the “Worst Overall Diet” in 2014 by a panel of experts in US News and World Report. The diet has only been truly evaluated in a few controlled trials, and the results are unimpressive. Not to mention the fact that eating what we ate in actual Paleolithic times is essentially impossible in modern society.

3) Elimination of beans

Beans are the cornerstone of every longevity diet in the world. The Blue Zones are areas throughout the world where the most people live to be over 100 years old. The only common denominator from a nutrition perspective is the fact that the people in of all of the Blue Zones eat beans. If this doesn’t disprove the fact that beans aren’t terrible for us, I don’t know what will.

4) Hard to follow

Any diet that eliminates entire food groups makes eating in a social setting extremely difficult. If you are able to cook at home for every meal, it would still take a lot of time to keep everything Paleo. This makes it very difficult to strictly follow the Paleo diet, which can set people up for failure from the onset.

5) Cost

As you’ve probably noticed, high quality meat often carries a higher price tag. If you’re eating meat twice a day, the cost can add up fast. Many people cannot afford to feed their families on the Paleo diet, and this inaccessibility is off-putting.

As with all diets, whether or not the Paleo diet is healthy for you depends on how you follow it. Vegetarianism can be extremely healthy for you if you load up on produce and plant sources of protein, but terrible for you if you stick to french fries and mac & cheese. A gluten-free diet can be very healthy when you eliminate baked goods like cakes and fried food like chicken tenders, but not so healthy when you switch to gluten-free cookies and gluten-free chips.

We have several clients who follow the Paleo diet with success. Our job is not to persuade you to eat one way or another; rather, we work hard to help you hit your goals and stay healthy within your preferred lifestyle and eating preferences. If you do go Paleo, stay away from nightly Porterhouse steaks and giant tubs of coconut oil. Instead, eat protein and produce at every meal, and make sure to include sufficient carbohydrates through fruits and vegetables. Consider using iodized salt in cooking and supplementing vitamin D if you don’t get a ton of sun.

All in all, I love the Paleo diet for its success in raising awareness around the importance of eating whole, healthy foods most of the time. We can all benefit from the lessons of the Paleo diet without having to follow it perfectly.