"Scientists confirms Paleo diet is nonsense" anyone else see this article?
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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 -
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 -
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.
It happens over and over and over again here. People asking about fad diets, supplements, pills of all kinds, etc. They always get the same answer, and then get defensive about it.0 -
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.
So the people you know who are good about consistency and discipline with diet and exercise are successful, but the people who are not tend to fail? That's not the fault of the eating style, that's people choosing an approach that doesn't fit with the reality of their lives. That does make low carb or paleo a fad, people who are able to consistent and disciplined in following those ways of eating are able to do it long term as well. Success is determined by the individual finding what is right for them and sticking with it, not any one diet.
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(Worth noting: The researchers believe the tubers were collected by postmenopausal women, who shared them with the younger female relatives, which in turn, allowed them to have more babies. Men are not mentioned.)
I am as skeptical as can be of anything diet with the word "paleo" in it, but this statement is baloney. The archaeological remains cannot tell you information like this. Very little in the way of botanical remains have survived from this period, and you can only tell so much from bones and teeth (also rare to survive).0 -
I am trying the paleo-ish diet. I cut dairy due to increasing asthma attacks after dairy consumption. I had symptoms of lactose intolerance for years but I ignored because who wants to give up ice-cream and cheese (not this girl) so my body made sure I took notice. I also have auto immune thyroiditis so I am trying to see if cutting wheat helps since I also have some celiac symptoms. However I am eating potatoes and sweet potatoes. I measure everything I eat with a scale. I am staying at or below calorie level and am losing slow and steady. I however have found since cutting out processed foods and excess sugar my glucose levels are getting closer to normal fasting ranges. I have more energy and feel better. So I am going to keep doing what I am and slowly add grains back to see if I have reactions, regardless what the facts say. I am eating better than ever I am not tired all the time and I have tried multiple diets in the past that left me lethargic and starving all the time. So something must be going right.0
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Hilarious! This isn't science. This is supposition to "confirm" a preconceived conclusion.
Point #1 is laughable (1) The human brain uses up to 25% of the body's energy budget and up to 60% of blood glucose. While synthesis of glucose from other sources is possible, it is not the most efficient way, and these high glucose demands are unlikely to have been met on a low carbohydrate diet;
I guess all the Inuit eskimos and the countless people eating a ketogenic diet have brains that are not working! Imagine that. More ridiculous is these "scientists" appear to have skipped biochemistry class. I guess they never learned that more than sufficient glucose can be created through the gluconeogenesis pathway from the backbone of fats and from aminoacids from protein. Efficiency isn't the issue, it's availability.
Biologically, there is no essential need for carbohydrate. The same is not true for fatty acids or of course protein. DId prehistoric mane eat a "paleo" diet? I have no idea, but neither do the authors of this article.
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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.
I've read a good bit about the paleo diet and don't believe this is true. Some use it that way (there's an auto immune version which is different from the normal one), but if that were my issue I'd definitely follow the advice of a doctor vs. just cutting out foods that were (allegedly) not eaten by paleo era humans.
If you think I'm wrong, I'll pull out some stuff from Loren Cordain and Robb Wolf, and I'm open to seeing the sources you are referring to.
The idea behind paleo is that humans aren't well adjusted to grains, legumes, and dairy because we started eating them (again, allegedly) later than some other types of foods and (for legumes specifically) lectins.Legumes are FODMAPs, as are wheat, rye, barley, and milk.
So are tons of other things, many of which are more commonly an issue than legumes and dairy. More significantly, that's not the argument and the paleo diet doesn't exempt the claim that grains are to be given up for those of us (like most humans) who do not have issues with them.
I don't have a problem with paleo if it works for someone, but the rationale for it--that humans aren't evolved to eat grains et al. because we started eating it too recently--is ridiculous. So is the idea that we can even attempt to come close to a pre-agricultural diet.0 -
Sabine_Stroehm wrote: »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.
Isn't the intro period for SoBeach low carb?
I agree that after that it isn't, and paleo need not be either.0 -
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.
I think if you tell yourself that you can just be "done" and go back to eating as you did when gaining you are in for failure, but that has nothing to do with eating style.
Similarly, I think people should be honest with themselves and acknowledge that low carb and paleo and the like work (when they do) because they cut calories vs. how the person was eating before (for those trying to lose), but of course many are and understand this quite well.
I don't really like paleo because I don't like the idea that legumes or dairy or even grains are inherently unhealthy--I think all of those foods can add a lot to a healthy diet and that it's funny to pretend the issue is whole foods vs. not when those ARE frequently whole foods--but paleo (as well as the other diets referenced) can be enjoyable, healthy ways to eat and can help someone change their diet for the better. The particular rationale of paleo isn't what works for me. However, I have my own things, as do most people -- for example, I tend to find focusing on whole foods and local and so on, while not necessarily at all for healthy or inherently better than other ways to eat -- so who am I to say that someone shouldn't use what works for them.
I only object if someone incorrectly claims that the things that they find helpful are necessary to health or "better" than how others eat. That something works for me doesn't mean I should pretend like other ways of eating aren't a proper human diet, etc.0 -
lemurcat12 wrote: »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.
I've read a good bit about the paleo diet and don't believe this is true. Some use it that way (there's an auto immune version which is different from the normal one), but if that were my issue I'd definitely follow the advice of a doctor vs. just cutting out foods that were (allegedly) not eaten by paleo era humans.
I cannot tell to whom exactly kgeyser is referring to (maybe to dr Freed, who has coauthored this diet: http://www.salfordallergyclinic.com/pdf/stoneagediet.pdf ).
What is sure is that immunologists have been studying the effects of lectines for decades already. It is a branch of research that has been developed independently from the paleo movement.
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