Comments on the Paleo Diet
(See my comments in blue.)
The Paleo diet should be high in fat, moderate in animal protein and low to
moderate in carbohydrates. Calorie counting is not encouraged, neither is portion
control.
I would be careful with an eating plan that states that portion control is not
encouraged.
Eat unlimited amounts of saturated fats like coconut oil and butter or clarified
butter. Beef tallow, lard and duck fat are also good, but only if they come from
healthy and well-treated animals. Beef or lamb tallow is a better choice than lamb
or duck fat. Olive, avocado and macadamia oil are also good fats to use in salads
and to drizzle over food, but not for cooking.
Eat generous amounts of animal protein. This includes red meat, poultry, pork,
eggs, organs (liver, kidney, heart…), wild caught fish and shellfish. Don’t be
scared to eat the fatty cuts and all meals with proteins should contain fat as well.
Learn to cook with bones in the form of stocks and broths.
It's true that saturated fat is only harmful to the arteries in the absence of
adequate HDL, adequate omega-3 intake, and lack of inflammatory
response in the system. Not too many people have all three of those
under control, so be careful about eating too much saturated fat if you are
a "normal" person. Remember the Atkins Diet argument? Same thing
here.
Eat good amounts of fresh or frozen vegetables either cooked or raw and served
with fat. Starchy vegetables like sweet potatoes and yams are also great as a
source of non-toxic carbohydrates.
Eat low to moderate amounts of fruits and nuts. Try to eat mostly fruits low in
sugar and high in antioxidants like berries as well as nuts high in omega-3, low in
omega-6 and low in total polyunsaturated fat like macadamia nuts.
Amen to all this.
Consider cutting off fruits and nuts altogether if you have an autoimmune
disease, digestive problem, or are trying to lose weight faster.
Nuts are common allergens for many people, and some people do not do
well with fructose, so I don't have a problem with the above if you fit the
described demographic.
Preferably choose pasture-raised and grass-fed meat coming from local,
environmentally-conscious farms. If not possible, choose lean cuts of meat and
supplement your fat with coconut oil, butter or clarified butter. Also preferably
choose organic, local and/or seasonal fruits and vegetables.
Good stuff, except you probably don't need to add more saturated fat to
your animal protein. Instead, spice it up with spices like rosemary,
oregano, cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, cloves, garlic powder and
paprika -- these antioxidants reduce the triglyceride response from fatty
foods.
Cut out all cereal grains and legumes from your diet. This includes, but is not
limited to, wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, brown rice, soy, peanuts, kidney beans,
pinto beans, navy beans and black eyed peas.
This is the kind of thing that makes "diets" unsustainable. Eating fewer
grains and more vegetables is a fine principle, but trying to cut out all
grains is very, very difficult, not to mention unnecessary. Additionally, one
will be hard-pressed to present a reasonable argument for legumes being
a problem.
Cut out all vegetable, hydrogenated and partly-hydrogenated oils including, but
not limited to, margarines, soybean oil, corn oil, crisco, peanut oil, canola oil,
safflower oil and sunflower oil. Olive oil and avocado oil are fine, but don’t cook
with them, use them in salad dressings and to drizzle over prepared food.
Correct.
Eliminate sugar, soft drinks, all packaged products and juices (including fruit
juices). As a rule of thumb, if it’s in a box, don’t eat it. At the grocery store, visit
only the meat, fish and produce sections.
Sound advice.
Eliminate dairy products other than butter and maybe heavy cream. You don’t
need dairy, but if you can’t live without, consider raw, full-fat and/or fermented
dairy.
Ah, the dairy argument. Given the available science, one can make a
reasonable argument both for and against, so I don't really have a strong
stand one way or the other. If you tolerate dairy well, go ahead, but use
hormone-free product from organic farms. If dairy gives you inflammatory
response, gastric upset, or mucus over-production, either skip it, or try an
alternative like sheep's milk or goat milk, or try dairy from European cows
– they are typically from a different genetic strain, and some folks with
lactose intolerance to milk from western genes can consume European
milk with no problems.
What if I told you that there was a chemical added to many foods that could cause brain damage in you and your children?