Paleo Diet Dangers

Dangers of the Paleo diet

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Note: this post has been updated in January 2023.

If you're considering trying the paleo diet, it's essential to be aware of the potential risks associated with this diet. The paleo diet, also known as the caveman or hunter-gatherer diet, is based on foods available to humans during the Paleolithic era; however, experts disagree over its health benefits and potential dangers.

Is the Paleo Diet Healthy?

The premise of the Paleo diet is if you follow this diet, you’ll lead a healthier, fitter, disease-free life. I want you to think about this and determine if this is true and consider the idea that there could be dangers of the Paleo Diet! Just something to consider.

In this article the Paleo diet is being recommended. According to the researchers, the Paleo diet is based on what early caveman ate. We need to go back – way back – to the Paleolithic period of more than 10,000 years ago. Paleo advocates say we should eat the way we ate when we were hunting and gathering and that is animal protein and plants.

If you are going to follow the Paleo diet, an ideal diet would be high in fat, moderate in animal protein and low to moderate in carbohydrates. In the diet calorie counting is not encouraged, neither is portion control. So, what can you eat on this Diet?  The Medical News today has an article Paleo diet meal plan: a simple plan which addresses some of the questions on what you eat when you are on this diet.

Paleo diet

Research Claims

Advocates of the Paleo lifestyle argue that our highly processed carb-obsessed eating pattern is the culprit behind many of our biggest health ills.  These illnesses include obesity, heart disease, and diabetes.  These health illnesses result from the modern diet and lack of exercise that we have in our modern society.

This article discusses research studies that looked at the Paleo diet as a big-picture dietary pattern of eating. The article looked at some of the studies measuring these dietary patterns. Followed with explanations of exactly what kind of “Paleo” diet was used in the studies and their strengths and weaknesses. This was done because the “Paleo” diet can have different variations and mean so many different things to people. The need was felt that this position needed some specifying.

Research Results of the Paleo diet

The researchers did provide data on the weight loss studies and have evidence that all subjects did lose weight and were able to keep if off after several years. It is suggested by the Paleo research that the Paleo diet isn’t simply good for dropping pounds. It is also effective for health problems associated with obesity, like diabetes and metabolic issues. The researchers found that a Paleo diet was much better than a diet full of “heart-healthy whole grains” for improving cholesterol profiles in men and women (lower LDL and triglycerides; higher HDL). One needs to be careful about this claim as heart health according to the researcher was more than whole food grains.

The methodology used in the study concerns me as I feel the methodology was weak! The Paleo diet was not compared to a Plant Based Whole Food Diet! The comparison made by the researchers is to what they called a “healthy reference diet” which includes whole grains and lots of low-fat dairy. That certainly is not a plant strong diet! I have not seen any studies comparing Paleo to a plant strong diet! - via Published Research on the Health Benefits of Paleo: a Look at the Studies

Paleo Diet by Christina Warinner (Video)

Christina Warinner is an archaeological scientist, who debunks the notion behind paleolithic fad diets. Christina claims the fad started in the 70’s with the Stone Age Diet, and then reappeared as the Primal Blueprint, Paleo, and Neander Thin diets. All of these diets are based on the idea that “we should abandon our modern agricultural diets, which are making us sick, and move far back in time to our paleolithic ancestors more than 10,000 years ago, and eat like them.”

Conclusion

Researchers have studied the Paleo diet for many years, and there is evidence that it does help you lose weight. The question is how sustainable weight loss over time is, and can you continue to eat a high-fat diet without contributing to other health conditions?

Science confirms that a diet rich in whole, plant-based foods can help you live to the fullest and still get adequate protein. A growing number of physicians advocate an entirely plant-based diet for many of their patients who have diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Now is the time to act

Check out these great sources Plant-Based Nutrition, 2E (Idiot’s Guides), Nutrition Facts: The Truth About Food and The Forks Over Knives Plan The Forks over Knifes, a simple plan that focuses on hearty comfort foods and does not involve portion control or worrying about obtaining single nutrients like protein and calcium.

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Express your opinion

How do you think?  Have you tried the Paleo Diet? If so, has it worked for you?

If I can answer any questions or if you have an opinion that you would like to express, please let me know your thoughts by leaving a comment below

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I am whole food plant-based vegan living in Maitland, Florida. Suppose you love reading and engaging in conversations about health and fitness, mainly the plant-based lifestyle. You will love my blog called "Revolutionize your Health." The blog posts are all related to health conscience individuals, where I bring cutting-edge material important to all of us, especially for the plant-based community.


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