Paleo Diet?

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   ThompsonPenposted 11 years ago

   Can someone explain this to me and why it is so popular? I looked into it, and the main thing that stuck out to me was the excessive amount of meat consumed and saturated fat. When I was learning about Nutrition, I was under the impression that saturated fat was the bad fat, and you wanted to stick to mmonounsaturated fats, with maybe 5% saturated and 5% poliunsaturated. What's the appeal?

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      Melissa A Smithposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      It's been a while since I've researched it but I was under the impression that paleo eaters do not need to eat fats excessively. It is simply a whole foods diet that avoids grains, oxidized vegetable oils and processed foods, supposedly emulating our hunter gather roots. Although they do not believe that animal fat that comes from free-range meats and raw milk is 'bad' like the anti-animal consumption lobby has perpetuated. It is often referred to as the 'cholesterol myth'.

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   Simone Smithposted 11 years ago

   The funny thing about the diet is that it was built around findings from an INCREDIBLY small study. Ridiculous. Still, people find it to be effective because it prevents them from eating most of the junk food that contributes to weight gain.
   
   As with all things it seems, Wikipedia is the best place to learn more: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paleolithic_diet

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      Melissa A Smithposted 11 years agoin reply to this

      Regardless, it certainly makes sense to me, at least a good starting point.

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         ThompsonPenposted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I agree that it is definitely a starting point. But the thing is that it is based on a diet that we supposedly had in the Paleolithic era. However, we don't live the same lifestyle, therefore our bodies are in need of different things. Sure back in those days, we needed more fat and more protein because we were moving more and we didn't know when our next meal was. In our modern day, we eat too much in a day, and if we're told that we need to be eating the fat and protein content that this diet suggests, then we're not going to be any better off except for larger and with more problems.
         However, having said all that, I agree greatly with the idea of no dairy or grains. There are certain grains we c an tolerate, but wheat is not the best for us, and we're not designed to consume dairy past a certain point in our lives.

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