The Paleolithic (Paleo) diet has surged into prominence as one of today’s popular dietary trends. Based on the premise that we need to eat a diet that’s as close as possible to that of our hunter gatherer ancestors, it is heavy on lean animal foods like meat and fish, along with eggs, fruit, vegetables and nuts, but bans dairy, legumes, grains, processed oils and sugar.
The diet has just as many proponents as critics for the validity of its approach. But rather than focus on “who’s right” regarding the science behind the Paleo diet, in today’s blog post, dietitian Zoe Nicholson outlines the pros and cons that someone thinking of trying this diet should keep in mind.
Being a dietitian, people often ask me what I think about the Paleo diet. The (modern) Paleo diet can be a healthy way of eating and no doubt many people have improved their eating and health by “going Paleo”. However, there are some important factors to consider and I have summarised a number of these with a few pros and cons.
Pros
1. You will significantly reduce your intake of many less healthy processed foods.
2. You will start eating more vegetables.
3. You will significantly reduce your intake of sugary processed foods.
4. You’ll significantly reduce your alcohol intake.
5. If you’re dedicated and happy to forgo many of the wonderful foods the modern world has made possible, you can achieve healthy eating and weight control.
Cons
1. It’s almost impossible to follow a true Paleo diet. Hunter-gatherer’s ate only wild game, not domesticated beef, lamb or chicken. Modern vegetables are very different to how they were 1000s of years ago and nuts didn’t come ready to eat in packets.
2. You need to be ultra organised to prepare all your own food from scratch. Most healthy convenient snacks are out.
3. You need to really know what you are doing to ensure you get enough calcium from non-dairy sources.
4. If you have a history of yo-yo dieting or disordered eating, going Paleo has the potential to make matters worse. I have seen this occur with a number of my clients.
5. It can be confusing as there are many different versions. One of my clients said she could eat sweet potato and 70% dark chocolate (not sure this was around 1000s years ago), while another said absolutely no carbs or sugar.
But the biggest reason against Paleo…7 billion people cannot follow a Paleo diet, it is simply NOT environmentally sustainable. Agriculture and the reliance on grains such as rice, corn and wheat is what has allowed so many people to live on this planet. Some may argue we have too many people, but does this stop them having their own children?
So think about it. How would the many millions in China and India survive without rice as their staple? How would the many millions in Africa and South America survive without corn as a staple?
While a Paleo diet may be a healthier way of eating for some people, it is not healthy for our planet. However we choose to eat, we need to consider whether or not it is ethical and whether or not it is environmentally sustainable.
A final important point to make is that while eating Paleo may have a number of pros and works well for some people, it is very possible to do all these things in the context of your “normal” diet (a dietitian can show you how).
Nearly all diets advocate less processed food (especially sugary foods), more vegetables and less alcohol. Therefore, given it’s impossible to eat as hunter-gatherers did, could the Paleo diet be just another fad diet rebranded?
About Zoe
Zoe founded her dietetics practice in 2004, and since then it has grown to become a very successful private practice with three locations across Melbourne (Malvern, North Melbourne and Coburg).
In addition to private consulting, Zoe conducts nutrition seminars and workshops for various workplaces and corporations. In June 2012, Zoe created her Facebook page where she takes great pleasure in providing balanced information on the latest food fads, nutrition topics and practical tips on eating well.
A passion for food is key to being a dietitian and one of Zoe’s primary goals is to help people enjoy all types of food, especially favourite foods. Zoe strongly believes we do not need to eat “diet” foods or deny ourselves and she educates on how to manage health without dieting.
You can find more information on Zoe’s approach to healthy eating by visiting https://lovewhatyoueat.com.au/ and she would love you to join her on Facebook and Twitter
shayne says
A great read…. Although I keep getting these two sided views of the diet.
Dietians that have taken the Paleo diet have said it works while dietians that havent taken it say theres more cons then pros. As for myself i am 11 days in and so far all iv noticed is positive things eg energy.
1. It’s almost impossible to follow a true Paleo diet. Hunter-gatherer’s ate only wild game, not domesticated beef, lamb or chicken. Modern vegetables are very different to how they were 1000s of years ago and nuts didn’t come ready to eat in packets.
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Maybe reconsider and realise that although we cant follow it 100 percent that we instead can take there diet and mordenise it.
Duncan Owen says
The Paleo diet is likely getting so popular because people are seeing marked improvements to their health. However this is most likely because they are generally eating healthier than what they were before commencing.
The real question is how long will the average person stick with this diet before regressing? I think there are 2 primary issues for people seeking a healthy diet.
While some committed people will stick with a Paleo diet long term, most people will regress to their old habits simply because it, like other diets, limits your available meal options and increases the amount of time you spend thinking about food.
Duncan Owen
Weeknight Healthy Dinners
weeknightdinners.squarespace.com
Kaitlyn says
Harry, I’m quite interested in the basis of your theories. Do you have research you could point us towards?
Wholegrains, legumes and dairy (which are excluded from the Paleo diet) have all shown to have beneficial effects on satiation. Another key to appetite regulation is behavioural (eg. mindfulness, chewing more slowly and not eating due to other triggers, such as emotional triggers). There is no clear evidence that eating foods that are ‘difficult to metabolise’ is in itself healthy- otherwise we might advocate a 90% fat diet or 90% roughage (tree bark, anyone?) It is far more important to consume a variety of nutrient-dense foods across each food group, and achieve energy balance through portion control and physical activity.
As for invertebrates… Are you suggesting that insects should be our main source of protein?
Surely that opens a very different can of worms!
Harry says
A good way to consider Paleo is as a solution for recalibrating hypothalamic appetite control due to Westernized dietary trends.
The metabolism must work harder to extract energy substrates from a Paleo diet and this is very beneficial on multiple levels.
in respect to grain derivatives (bread, pasta, rice) one would struggle to see any benefit from these in an obese or overweight patient. Clearly this would not apply to populations in developing countries that are struggling to obtain sufficient calories.
However, the problem of environmental sustainability will not be solved by induction of obesity and diabetes.
Invertebrates present an untapped highly nutritional food mass for humans that is consistent with paleo principles as well as being ethical and sustainable.
Steve says
Harry, what on earth do you think causes obesity and diabetes? pasta and rice? golly gosh. Harry, I like to also make stupid claims, I’m positive the raise in obesity and diabetes in the USA can be traced back to the popularity of lowcarb and paleo style diets. The last 15 years has been very telling.
Yes Harry, it’s a whacky opinion, but not near as whacky as thinking pasta or rice causes obesity and diabetes.
Tim Crowe says
Thanks for dropping by Thalia and agree, that the whole ‘anti-nutrient’ angle is overplayed in Paleo and it needlessly eliminates some pretty healthy foods, especially legumes
Thalia Eve says
This is a good, balanced overview of paleo. Something that always stands out to me as a con is the complete removal of grains and legumes from the diet (this seriously impacts one’s ability to consume enough fiber).