"Scientists confirms Paleo diet is nonsense" anyone else see this article?
skysiebaby
Posts: 88 Member
SciBabe posted a link to the article this morning so thought I would share. Discuss.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/08/15/scientists-confirm-paleo-diet-nonsense
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/08/15/scientists-confirm-paleo-diet-nonsense
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The part about evolving amylase in our saliva stood out to me as an example of an evolutionary advantage that would have helped early man's brain change.
Because of yams, we had the brains to develop tools to hunt the animals better in more varied climates! At least that's my take away.0 -
Every diet out there is nonsense, and yet, you can lose weight on any diet. Personally, I get turned off anytime someone starts saying that we ought to do something because something about our ancestors lifestyle would've caused them to evolve a certain way.0
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Any diet that restricts food groupings will usually cause weight loss, unless you're replacing it with higher calorie foods.-1
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Love Science Babe, especially when she puts that silly (restraining my language A LOT) Food Babe in her place.
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The headline is a tad misleading, but thanks for posting.
Is the history/science behind eating a lower carb "paleo" diet wrong? Probably.
Is the science behind eating a lower carb, quality plant, quality fat, quality protein based diet wrong? I'd bet not.
Should we as modern humans living in our modern society reduce our consumption of heavily refined carbs (which happens automatically when one eats "paleo")? Probably.
If eating "paleo" got one of my family members to focus on eating whole foods, rather than all the heavily refined carbs? I'd say why not. They'd learn something about eating real food, and probably end up with a different approach to eating for the long haul (whole food based) after their "paleo" days ended.0 -
Some parts of paleo make perfect sense
Others not
Take what works and leave the rest0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »The headline is a tad misleading, but thanks for posting.
Is the history/science behind eating a lower carb "paleo" diet wrong? Probably.
Is the science behind eating a lower carb, quality plant, quality fat, quality protein based diet wrong? I'd bet not.
Should we as modern humans living in our modern society reduce our consumption of heavily refined carbs (which happens automatically when one eats "paleo")? Probably.
If eating "paleo" got one of my family members to focus on eating whole foods, rather than all the heavily refined carbs? I'd say why not. They'd learn something about eating real food, and probably end up with a different approach to eating for the long haul (whole food based) after their "paleo" days ended.
Only for many "paleo" followers, it really teaches nothing. I have seen "paleo" followers pretty much decide it meant a diet of greasy food with some more grease on top. Because since "paleo" really has no scientific basis and it is just a random fancy name to give to a set of eating rules, it is very easy to make your own not at all healthy version of paleo and then stare in amazement at your dr tell you that despite your "healthy" diet, you really are not doing well at all. The people who just understand the benefits of a whole food diet, do not really need a fancy name for what they are doing.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »The headline is a tad misleading, but thanks for posting.
Is the history/science behind eating a lower carb "paleo" diet wrong? Probably.
Is the science behind eating a lower carb, quality plant, quality fat, quality protein based diet wrong? I'd bet not.
Should we as modern humans living in our modern society reduce our consumption of heavily refined carbs (which happens automatically when one eats "paleo")? Probably.
If eating "paleo" got one of my family members to focus on eating whole foods, rather than all the heavily refined carbs? I'd say why not. They'd learn something about eating real food, and probably end up with a different approach to eating for the long haul (whole food based) after their "paleo" days ended.
This is how I feel. I eat lower carb, less refined sugar, watch my dairy, all because I have health conditions. I guess I kinda sorta inadvertently follow Paleo/lower carb/whatever the fad is this week. It helps my health problems when I eat that way and I feel a LOT better when I avoid dairy and soy other than trace amounts.
Someone told me, "Oh you eat Paleo" so I did some looking into it. I don't get the rationale behind the diet and I definitely don't follow it, but in the process of reading up on it I learned a LOT about the rationale behind why my doctor has me cutting these things out.
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I cringe a little every time I come across a diet that claims to represent what people ate tens of thousands of years ago. I've been seeing those claims since the 80's, and they've probably been around alot longer than that.0
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Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »The headline is a tad misleading, but thanks for posting.
Is the history/science behind eating a lower carb "paleo" diet wrong? Probably.
Is the science behind eating a lower carb, quality plant, quality fat, quality protein based diet wrong? I'd bet not.
Should we as modern humans living in our modern society reduce our consumption of heavily refined carbs (which happens automatically when one eats "paleo")? Probably.
If eating "paleo" got one of my family members to focus on eating whole foods, rather than all the heavily refined carbs? I'd say why not. They'd learn something about eating real food, and probably end up with a different approach to eating for the long haul (whole food based) after their "paleo" days ended.
Only for many "paleo" followers, it really teaches nothing. I have seen "paleo" followers pretty much decide it meant a diet of greasy food with some more grease on top. Because since "paleo" really has no scientific basis and it is just a random fancy name to give to a set of eating rules, it is very easy to make your own not at all healthy version of paleo and then stare in amazement at your dr tell you that despite your "healthy" diet, you really are not doing well at all. The people who just understand the benefits of a whole food diet, do not really need a fancy name for what they are doing.
The same thing could be said for MFP. There are people here who use the calorie counting portion without regard to micronutrients, and just eat whatever they want as long as it fits in their calories, including a diet of greasy food with more grease on top. There are people who, unfortunately, use MFP so they can starve themselves as part of an eating disorder.
The people who understand the benefits of a whole food diet, or who understand nutrition, are going to do well no matter what eating style they choose. The tool is not inherently flawed if someone chooses to misuse it, and the people who misuse it would probably misuse other methods in order to fit with what they really want to do as well.0 -
I think it would be interesting to see more evidence uncovered around the diets of The ancients. I don't think this thing we call Paleo is even close. I thought Paleo made sense as a diet too... Then I purchased a cookbook and Hated the results. To me it seems an unsatisfying and joyless way of eating. I really love to cook and prepare food. Having all the variety and seasonal foods as well as dairy makes me happy.
I tried making that cashew " cheese " in the Paleo cookbook. Gross. Just gross.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »The headline is a tad misleading, but thanks for posting.
Is the history/science behind eating a lower carb "paleo" diet wrong? Probably.
Is the science behind eating a lower carb, quality plant, quality fat, quality protein based diet wrong? I'd bet not.
Should we as modern humans living in our modern society reduce our consumption of heavily refined carbs (which happens automatically when one eats "paleo")? Probably.
If eating "paleo" got one of my family members to focus on eating whole foods, rather than all the heavily refined carbs? I'd say why not. They'd learn something about eating real food, and probably end up with a different approach to eating for the long haul (whole food based) after their "paleo" days ended.
The diet is horribly named. Overall, it's not a bad diet although I'd say for a majority of people without health issues a little overly restrictive (legumes and nightshades don't affect a lot of people, and can be a good source of a wide variety of micronutrients).0 -
I have noticed some very interesting things since starting to lose lots of weight using "calorie counting" in MFP (other than the fact that it has gotten me MAJOR results--47 lbs lost so far!!). And I know what I'm about to say is going to get some backlash, but I don't really care that much.
1) The people I know that are on fad diets (low carb, paleo, wheat belly, etc), for the most part, are still overweight, haven't made much progress at all if they've made any to begin with, and are mostly just miserable because they're depriving themselves of foods that are perfectly fine. Somebody on the news told them that gluten, carbs, fat, and sugar are all horrible for you, and they believe it. Many of them even think they're "allergic" to these foods. In my 38 years on this planet, I have never seen so many people "allergic" to so many foods. I find it 100% ridiculous. We are turning into a society of hypochondriacs who are absolutely insufferable at restaurants. What's more, these fad diets and made up ailments do NOTHING to help people lose weight because they still pig out and don't even do any kind of exercise to counteract it.
2) The people I know who have had success getting down to a healthy weight did it through calorie counting and exercising, and the people I know who have maintained the weight loss have done it by continuing to log their food and exercise.
3) The people I know who are already at a healthy weight and always have been, such as all the runners in my family, ALSO tend to count calories, log, and weigh and measure their foods when cooking at home. They also tend to not eat out nearly as much as most people I know.
The reason I have observed these things is that when people see that I've lost a lot of weight, they want to talk about it with me. I have learned a lot about the health of my friends and family that I didn't know before. The people that are already fit and healthy work at it JUST AS HARD as I am. They just made it seem effortless before becuase I was not someone they would have ever talked to about fitness.0 -
Oh yea?skysiebaby wrote: »SciBabe posted a link to the article this morning so thought I would share. Discuss.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/08/15/scientists-confirm-paleo-diet-nonsense
TELL THIS TO MY PERSONAL TRAINER!
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My problem with paleo is the shady people who came up with it, promising that their diet would cure cancer and schizophrenia. They're just the lowest of the low, trying to take advantage of the desperate.
I'm not against trendy diets (for others) and am very pro-healthy where food is concerned. I just don't like those paleo people,0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »The headline is a tad misleading, but thanks for posting.
Is the history/science behind eating a lower carb "paleo" diet wrong? Probably.
Is the science behind eating a lower carb, quality plant, quality fat, quality protein based diet wrong? I'd bet not.
There's no evidence that carb level matters much at all. (Nor is paleo necessarily a low carb diet, to its credit.)If eating "paleo" got one of my family members to focus on eating whole foods, rather than all the heavily refined carbs? I'd say why not. They'd learn something about eating real food, and probably end up with a different approach to eating for the long haul (whole food based) after their "paleo" days ended.
Sure, but I never understand why one must cut out whole foods like legumes or non-highly-processed foods like many whole grains or dairy to simply do something much more commonsensical -- eat a healthy, whole-foods based diet? Why not skip the false rationale and go right to focusing on the helpful stuff?
I do like the focus on sourcing meat and eating the whole animal, but seems to me a lot of newly paleo sorts ignore that and focus instead on the no grains (they usually aren't really eating lots of legumes anyway), and take advantage of the convenience products that are currently being made for the paleo market, as well as the "paleo treats" that replicate high cal low nutrient items but with alternative ingredients like almond flour. Kind of misses the point.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »The headline is a tad misleading, but thanks for posting.
Is the history/science behind eating a lower carb "paleo" diet wrong? Probably.
Is the science behind eating a lower carb, quality plant, quality fat, quality protein based diet wrong? I'd bet not.
There's no evidence that carb level matters much at all. (Nor is paleo necessarily a low carb diet, to its credit.)If eating "paleo" got one of my family members to focus on eating whole foods, rather than all the heavily refined carbs? I'd say why not. They'd learn something about eating real food, and probably end up with a different approach to eating for the long haul (whole food based) after their "paleo" days ended.
Sure, but I never understand why one must cut out whole foods like legumes or non-highly-processed foods like many whole grains or dairy to simply do something much more commonsensical -- eat a healthy, whole-foods based diet? Why not skip the false rationale and go right to focusing on the helpful stuff?
I do like the focus on sourcing meat and eating the whole animal, but seems to me a lot of newly paleo sorts ignore that and focus instead on the no grains (they usually aren't really eating lots of legumes anyway), and take advantage of the convenience products that are currently being made for the paleo market, as well as the "paleo treats" that replicate high cal low nutrient items but with alternative ingredients like almond flour. Kind of misses the point.
Paleo was designed as a diet for people with food allergies or food-related inflammations. Legumes are FODMAPs, as are wheat, rye, barley, and milk. So the rationale behind eliminating those things actually does have scientific-backing for the people for whom the diet was designed. The people jumping on the trend, not so much, but that doesn't make the diet itself wrong any more than a gluten-free diet for those with Coeliac's or gluten intolerance is wrong because people jumped on that trend.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »The headline is a tad misleading, but thanks for posting.
Is the history/science behind eating a lower carb "paleo" diet wrong? Probably.
Is the science behind eating a lower carb, quality plant, quality fat, quality protein based diet wrong? I'd bet not.
Should we as modern humans living in our modern society reduce our consumption of heavily refined carbs (which happens automatically when one eats "paleo")? Probably.
If eating "paleo" got one of my family members to focus on eating whole foods, rather than all the heavily refined carbs? I'd say why not. They'd learn something about eating real food, and probably end up with a different approach to eating for the long haul (whole food based) after their "paleo" days ended.
Only for many "paleo" followers, it really teaches nothing. I have seen "paleo" followers pretty much decide it meant a diet of greasy food with some more grease on top. Because since "paleo" really has no scientific basis and it is just a random fancy name to give to a set of eating rules, it is very easy to make your own not at all healthy version of paleo and then stare in amazement at your dr tell you that despite your "healthy" diet, you really are not doing well at all. The people who just understand the benefits of a whole food diet, do not really need a fancy name for what they are doing.
Sure. For many people (including those doing IIFYM) they learn nothing. For many people, eating IIFYM is just another name for eating crap within a calorie allotment.
For some, they learn something. But you're right, I didn't say SOME.
I should have.0 -
Paleo is just Nourishing Traditions without the raw dairy. Nourishing Traditions is just Atkins with an "eat like the native peoples" spin, SoBeach is a more glamorous Atkins with more fish. There's nothing new here, whole foods/clean eating/blah blah they're all essentially just a low carb high fat diet.0
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I am always surprised that anyone believes that the Paleo Diet actually bears resemblance to that of our Paleolithic ancestors. But I think many are well aware that it doesn’t. Bulletproof coffee, coconut oil, avocado oil, consuming both tropical and cold weather foods, modern day vegetables and farmed animals, etc. It’s pretty obvious this is not what Paleolithic man ate.
But the fact that the diet isn’t factually based on what our ancestors ate is, IMO, the least of the nonsense.0 -
My personal friends that are on Paleo diet love their meat. But when we meet up for dinner every few months, I see them devour the bread basket like a neanderthal. Thats science!0
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Fad diets are good business. It's easier to sell a book and/or a special food/shake if you claim that you know the "secret" or "short-cut."
Calorie and macro counting is bad business. It's not a "secret" nor a "short-cut." It's not sexy, trendy nor novel. It's just boring science.0 -
christineja wrote: »Paleo is just Nourishing Traditions without the raw dairy. Nourishing Traditions is just Atkins with an "eat like the native peoples" spin, SoBeach is a more glamorous Atkins with more fish. There's nothing new here, whole foods/clean eating/blah blah they're all essentially just a low carb high fat diet.
I wouldn't call SoBeach low carb, or high fat, but yes, it's kind of a spin off on the mediterranean diet.0 -
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Domicinator wrote: »I have noticed some very interesting things since starting to lose lots of weight using "calorie counting" in MFP (other than the fact that it has gotten me MAJOR results--47 lbs lost so far!!). And I know what I'm about to say is going to get some backlash, but I don't really care that much.
1) The people I know that are on fad diets (low carb, paleo, wheat belly, etc), for the most part, are still overweight, haven't made much progress at all if they've made any to begin with, and are mostly just miserable because they're depriving themselves of foods that are perfectly fine. Somebody on the news told them that gluten, carbs, fat, and sugar are all horrible for you, and they believe it. Many of them even think they're "allergic" to these foods. In my 38 years on this planet, I have never seen so many people "allergic" to so many foods. I find it 100% ridiculous. We are turning into a society of hypochondriacs who are absolutely insufferable at restaurants. What's more, these fad diets and made up ailments do NOTHING to help people lose weight because they still pig out and don't even do any kind of exercise to counteract it.
2) The people I know who have had success getting down to a healthy weight did it through calorie counting and exercising, and the people I know who have maintained the weight loss have done it by continuing to log their food and exercise.
3) The people I know who are already at a healthy weight and always have been, such as all the runners in my family, ALSO tend to count calories, log, and weigh and measure their foods when cooking at home. They also tend to not eat out nearly as much as most people I know.
The reason I have observed these things is that when people see that I've lost a lot of weight, they want to talk about it with me. I have learned a lot about the health of my friends and family that I didn't know before. The people that are already fit and healthy work at it JUST AS HARD as I am. They just made it seem effortless before becuase I was not someone they would have ever talked to about fitness.
I lost my weight following a low carb diet and am now happily in maintenance. I also count calories since no way of eating replaces CICO. So do I help or hurt your observational analysis of your brief time on MFP?
No matter what diet people follow, if they consistently maintain a caloric deficit they will lose weight. That is what my observation has told me.
I think what you're saying actually supports my observations. I have no problem with a "low carb diet". What I have a problem with is people saying "If I eat no carbs I will lose a zillion pounds and then I can just go back to eating them again when I'm at my target!"
I avoid unnecessary carbs myself, only because the foods they're in are usually high in calories for very little substance. For example, I love pasta, but I avoid it because I can eat more food if I DON'T eat pasta. But if you do low carb or no carb with the illusion that it's the magic key to getting healthy, I think you're in for failure.0 -
"Examination of 3-million-year-old teeth and the plant-life in the regions where our ancestors lived also signal that they were eating tubers and other starchy vegetables.
The root vegetables many modern Paleo dieters avoid likely played a key role in the original Paleo diet for a number of reasons. Because these plants grow underground, they were likely a key source of nutrition for our gathering forebears, who could dig them up as needed, the researchers say, and probably hunted much less than once thought."
Paleo-eating folks eat root vegetables. And carbs.0 -
I like my potatoes!0
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You haven't been keeping up with the latest paleo trends (yes, I realize how stupid that phrase is). Potatoes are fine as long as they are raw!TheSheepFollower wrote: »I like my potatoes!
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Domicinator wrote: »Domicinator wrote: »I have noticed some very interesting things since starting to lose lots of weight using "calorie counting" in MFP (other than the fact that it has gotten me MAJOR results--47 lbs lost so far!!). And I know what I'm about to say is going to get some backlash, but I don't really care that much.
1) The people I know that are on fad diets (low carb, paleo, wheat belly, etc), for the most part, are still overweight, haven't made much progress at all if they've made any to begin with, and are mostly just miserable because they're depriving themselves of foods that are perfectly fine. Somebody on the news told them that gluten, carbs, fat, and sugar are all horrible for you, and they believe it. Many of them even think they're "allergic" to these foods. In my 38 years on this planet, I have never seen so many people "allergic" to so many foods. I find it 100% ridiculous. We are turning into a society of hypochondriacs who are absolutely insufferable at restaurants. What's more, these fad diets and made up ailments do NOTHING to help people lose weight because they still pig out and don't even do any kind of exercise to counteract it.
2) The people I know who have had success getting down to a healthy weight did it through calorie counting and exercising, and the people I know who have maintained the weight loss have done it by continuing to log their food and exercise.
3) The people I know who are already at a healthy weight and always have been, such as all the runners in my family, ALSO tend to count calories, log, and weigh and measure their foods when cooking at home. They also tend to not eat out nearly as much as most people I know.
The reason I have observed these things is that when people see that I've lost a lot of weight, they want to talk about it with me. I have learned a lot about the health of my friends and family that I didn't know before. The people that are already fit and healthy work at it JUST AS HARD as I am. They just made it seem effortless before becuase I was not someone they would have ever talked to about fitness.
I lost my weight following a low carb diet and am now happily in maintenance. I also count calories since no way of eating replaces CICO. So do I help or hurt your observational analysis of your brief time on MFP?
No matter what diet people follow, if they consistently maintain a caloric deficit they will lose weight. That is what my observation has told me.
I think what you're saying actually supports my observations. I have no problem with a "low carb diet". What I have a problem with is people saying "If I eat no carbs I will lose a zillion pounds and then I can just go back to eating them again when I'm at my target!"
I avoid unnecessary carbs myself, only because the foods they're in are usually high in calories for very little substance. For example, I love pasta, but I avoid it because I can eat more food if I DON'T eat pasta. But if you do low carb or no carb with the illusion that it's the magic key to getting healthy, I think you're in for failure.
That's because so many people want a quick fix. They don't realize that there is no quick fix for weight loss, it involves retraining your brain and body to better eating habits. That's the whole point of MFP, or rather, what it SHOULD be. I don't have the healthiest diet out there, but I've still lost weight. I'm ended up subbing in some more nutritious foods for empty calories just so I can eat more, but I've never gone low-carb, no sugar, no processed foods, whole foods, etc. If that works for someone, that's fine, but it still isn't a quick fix. That's what's hard to get some people to understand.
What frustrates me is the people that will post asking about a fad diet, get honest responses about how it's probably not going to be sustainable and then get mad about it. If you want to do a fad diet, just do it! You do your thing if it works for you and is healthy (in that your doctor won't freak when he/she finds out about it), and we'll each do ours. There is no one diet that everyone should follow.0
This discussion has been closed.
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