paleo diet - uuuuhhhh!$%@##$@#
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Ange_
Posts: 324 Member
Just a little rant, but i'm so sick of the psudo-science that goes with the whole paelo diet!
It irritates me more than most propaganda for fad diets because
1. i'm an archaeologist and they use false claims about archaeological findings to support their diet
2. there are so many people following this diet on here, to the point that many people don't see it as a fad diet.
The main argument if find very irritating is the claim that paleolithic peoples were healthier than we are and they didn't eat grains so we shouldn't either.
This is ridiculous. For a start paleolithic peoples ate all sort of things. It completely depended on where they lived.
'Paleolithic' is also a very very long time period. When are they talking specifically? Because there are big chunks of time in the lower and middle parts where a lot of paleolithic peoples aren't even modern humans and had different physiologies. If that is so apparent in their bones, imagine how different their metabolisms must have been!
Also it is completely false that they were healthier than us. They definitely lived far shorted lives and that wasn't just because they didn't have doctors to treat viruses and the like. Their bones have lots of evidence of malnutrition and they were much shorter. As our diet improves our height has increased quite dramatically, even in the last 100 years.
Ahhh. So that's my rant. I figure this forum would be a much better place to do so as the regular community forums are full of people brain washed by the paleodiet propaganda.
Oh course i have no problem with people deciding they don't want to eat something because they feel it is bad for their body - such as due to an intolerance or wanting to avoid cane and corn sugars because of the extra calories and spikes in blood sugar etc. And by listening to your body and following medical advice you may end up with a diet a little similar to the paleolithic one. But it is for completely different reasons and i think that is what is important.
I don't think decisions should by following some diet religiously because someone who isn't an expert in paleolithic diets creates a restrictive diet cutting out scientifically supported healthy foods (whole grains i'm thinking of here) just because they think people did in the past and therefore this must somehow be better.
Ok end of rant.
It irritates me more than most propaganda for fad diets because
1. i'm an archaeologist and they use false claims about archaeological findings to support their diet
2. there are so many people following this diet on here, to the point that many people don't see it as a fad diet.
The main argument if find very irritating is the claim that paleolithic peoples were healthier than we are and they didn't eat grains so we shouldn't either.
This is ridiculous. For a start paleolithic peoples ate all sort of things. It completely depended on where they lived.
'Paleolithic' is also a very very long time period. When are they talking specifically? Because there are big chunks of time in the lower and middle parts where a lot of paleolithic peoples aren't even modern humans and had different physiologies. If that is so apparent in their bones, imagine how different their metabolisms must have been!
Also it is completely false that they were healthier than us. They definitely lived far shorted lives and that wasn't just because they didn't have doctors to treat viruses and the like. Their bones have lots of evidence of malnutrition and they were much shorter. As our diet improves our height has increased quite dramatically, even in the last 100 years.
Ahhh. So that's my rant. I figure this forum would be a much better place to do so as the regular community forums are full of people brain washed by the paleodiet propaganda.
Oh course i have no problem with people deciding they don't want to eat something because they feel it is bad for their body - such as due to an intolerance or wanting to avoid cane and corn sugars because of the extra calories and spikes in blood sugar etc. And by listening to your body and following medical advice you may end up with a diet a little similar to the paleolithic one. But it is for completely different reasons and i think that is what is important.
I don't think decisions should by following some diet religiously because someone who isn't an expert in paleolithic diets creates a restrictive diet cutting out scientifically supported healthy foods (whole grains i'm thinking of here) just because they think people did in the past and therefore this must somehow be better.
Ok end of rant.
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Replies
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*comfort*
I thought your reply to the most recent thread was quiet good. Lean proteins + veggies is not the worst idea in the world... but to suggest that somehow paleo man was magically more healthy than us... kinda silly.0 -
Thanks for your rational response on the Paelo thread, DBS - I have always been uneasy about the premise behind this "diet" and you summed it up beautifully.
(And nice to see you here too Rebekah - I seem to recall introducing myself to you using the words "thanks for your rational response" too, I must start getting more original!)0 -
I agree! I will say that some of the premises of so-called paleo eating are healthy...but as you point out, the justifications are about as accurate as scientific claims that humans are natural vegetarians. Cheers!0
