1. Certain groups of people have clearly adapted genetically to digest dairy products adequately.
Now, let’s make a few things clear. Dairy is probably the most controversial food group among nutritionists, and rightly so. On one end of the extreme, you have Weston A. Price followers who say all dairy must be served raw, non-homogenized, full-fat and fresh off the cow nipple (as well as body builders guzzling up to a gallon per day). On the other end, you have strict vegans who view dairy either as immoral because it relies on caging up cattle, or unhealthy due to casein, IGF-1 content, hormones/antibiotics in non-organic milk, etc. My position on dairy is this: certain forms are evidently very good, and certain forms are not. Cheese – for instance – culinary-wise, its delicious (and particularly high in opoid chemicals that make your brain feel pleasure and relaxation, incidentally). Nutrition-wise, it’s basically junk, save for a little calcium and protein (which is outweighed for the most part by the sodium and majority fat content). Some Paleo authors say cheese can be viewed as an occasional vice, while others condemn dairy altogether because it was only available in the very late Paleo period. Plain organic yogurt/kefir, however, can near universally be considered a good food. In populations studied who consume some form of fermented dairy such as yogurt (e.g., the Caucasus mountain natives) have longer lifespans than those who do not. The reasons are fairly simple – yogurt is a perfect vehicle for probiotic (i.e., healthy bacteria) delivery because of the high calcium content, which effectively buffers the acids in your stomach to ensure those good little critters make it into your gutty-works unharmed and ready to kick some ass. In addition, yogurt is already partially-digested thanks to said bacteria, and is therefore lower in lactose and more easily tolerated by those who can’t otherwise handle milk or cheese. Finally, yogurt is high in whey protein- and this has plenty of benefits for the athlete.
So, the logic of the Paleo diet follows this line of reasoning: eating a diet that our ancestors have adapted to over the span of millions of years will make you healthy, while eating a modern diet that man has not adapted to over 10,000 years (i.e. grains and legumes, the products of agriculture) results in many of the modern health problems we have today. Here’s the kicker: we know certain groups have adapted well to dairy consumption as a result of thousands of years of eating it. This stands mainly for Europeans. Many people of Asian and African descent, as well as native Americans, have problems digesting dairy (as a result of not having a history of ancestral consumption), and should therefore avoid it. So, my concluding message is this: if you are able to handle dairy consumption, reach for that plain yogurt and kefir (but keep the cheese as an occasional vice, and try to stay away from ice cream for the most part).
2. Omitting salt is not a practical guideline for athletes.
This is simple enough. Modern salt recommendations are based off the assumption that most people are sedentary. Athletes lose far more salt in a day than your average office-worker, and failure to replace this salt (as well as a few other electrolytes) leads to a nasty little problem called hyponatremnia. As a frequent salty-sweater and confirmed hot weather exercise wuss, I can tell you that hyonatremnia sucks ass. You feel like you’re floating (in a very uncomfortable, possibly PCP-like way), your hands and feet become clammy and your muscles feel useless and ready to cramp. Paleo authors restricting salt intake makes zero sense for the endurance athlete – those electrolytes need to be replaced, and fast! It’s almost universally accepted that the Paleolithic human was far more active than modern-day homo sapiens, and therefore had the problem of sweating out his precious bodily minerals. (Of course, if you’re an office worker and don’t walk more than the distance from your car to your computer chair, than by all means keep your sodium intake restricted.)
3. Do you care about being healthy or being Paleolithic?
This is a big one. Excepting morally-based veganism, the point of any diet is to improve your health – not fall into a seductive ideology that looks great on paper but doesn’t actually deliver (as happens with raw foodists and fruitarians, who are suffering from a dearth lack of logical faculties in thinking that their diet philosophy makes sense). In any case, following the Paleo diet can quickly turn into a slippery slope for some people. Just keep in mind when you’re eating what researchers currently believe constituted the diet of the Paleolithic man that you’re also (likely) using a refrigerator, oven, stove top, knives, running water and numerous other pieces of technology not available to the ancient man. In addition, you don’t have to run from hyenas and leopards on a daily basis, nor will you die if you don’t locate your next animal kill fast enough.
My point here is this: the Paleo diet is simply a reference point for what to follow. Becoming overly strict on the diet is not likely to end well. Paleo authors don’t wholly agree on what constituted the Paleo man’s diet. Give yourself some wiggle room. We’re trying to be healthy, not Luddites.
4. Leaves scarce room for condiments as a result of being overly rigid.
If one did decide to adopt a strict Paleo diet, they’d find themselves unable to eat a number of delicious modern condiments that make life and eating a lot easier – ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, Sri Racha (since they all contain vinegar and/or sugar and salt), to name a few. If you really want to be strict, the Paleo man didn’t have any oil (though animal fat was in full abundance), so no salad dressings or healthy cooking oils would be allowed either. And even something like almond butter would be pushing it. My point again is not to fall into the tempting slippery slope that the underlying ideology of the diet can foster. Make exceptions; it doesn’t matter how great a diet makes you feel – if it doesn’t also satisfy the essential taste-factor, you’re going to find yourself binging on chocolate cake and bacon doughnuts or later.
5. Advises to skip fatty cuts of meat, when Paleo ancestors almost certainly ate these cuts first.
Okay, I’m just picking straws here, but think about it – do you think the Paleo man, after stalking and slaughtering a wild game animal – politely declined a fatty slab of liver after being offered it? Hell no! If he’s anything like animals killing and eating other animals, he ate it first.
But seriously – modern fat-phobia is a very recent development. If you eat a diet high in unprocessed plants (as you should be on the Paleo diet), the fiber, micronutrient and antioxidant intake are negating a great degree of the negatives associated with animal fat intake. I’m not advocating to start chugging the bacon grease this instant – but don’t kill yourself so much over a little fat here and there. In addition, don’t forget to supplement with omega 3′s.
Another point worth making – our modern factory-farmed meat sucks. Like humans, cows were not adapted to eat corn over the course of millions of years – grass feed beef trumps corn-fed any day. Wild game animals were eating a variety of plants – lending to a variety of micronutrients in their meat. Eating it represented a concentrated source of nutrition – and according to archaeologists, one of the keys to our species’ evolution from Australopithecus, homo erectus and homo habilis into full-fledged homo sapiens. Can the same thing be said about modern factory meat, with its dearth absence of omega-3 fatty acids?
6. Extra prep time.
This is a con to any diet that has you eat more unprocessed foods. Get over it. You’ll save time and money in the long run.
7. Losing the convenience of grains.
Okay, let’s be honest. No bread means no sandwiches. That sucks. Pasta is nice from time to time, as is rice. But sandwiches are portable, and portable is nice.
Tomorrow, I’ll post a review of the upsides of the Paleo diet.
