What is this Paleo Diet????

Ah, the well-trod ground of the "Are humans omnivores, herbivores, or carnivores?" debate. Older than hippies and more soundly blogged than nearly any other topic in the veganosphere (I just love that word and I think it sounds like something out of Flash Gordon, i.e. badass.), this question is like The Thunderdome of Vegan arguments. Serious business. Now, let's make one thing perfectly clear. "Omnivore" does NOT mean "creature that can eat an utterly carnivorous OR an utterly herbivorous diet naturally and be perfectly healthy." An omnivore is simply an opportunistic feeder, an organism that is well-suited for eating a bit of this and a bit of that, catch as catch can. Therefore, the argument that "Well, if humans were truly omnivores we would be able to eat a totally carnivorous diet but we can't so WE MUST BE HERBIVORES" is absurd. Besides, some people out there honestly seem to be doing just fine on a Paleo, Keto, or Zero Carb diet. Please look at this for what it is–for every ten people dying of clogged arteries from too many cheeseburgers, there are one or two subsisting on little more than lean meats and apparently doing just fine…and, for every healthy, happy Robert Cheeke out there, there are two or three very ill-seeming vegans.

Fellow vegans. I adore you. I do. But arguing that humans are "natural herbivores" really, really makes us all look foolish. Every time I hear the "Look at these grinding teeth and that long digestive tract and blah blah blah we are clearly herbivores," argument coming from a vegan, I wince in despair.

Ah, the well-trod ground of the "Are humans omnivores, herbivores, or carnivores?" debate. Older than hippies and more soundly blogged than nearly any other topic in the veganosphere (I just love that word and I think it sounds like something out of Flash Gordon, i.e. badass.), this question is like The Thunderdome of Vegan arguments. Serious business. Now, let's make one thing perfectly clear. "Omnivore" does NOT mean "creature that can eat an utterly carnivorous OR an utterly herbivorous diet naturally and be perfectly healthy." An omnivore is simply an opportunistic feeder, an organism that is well-suited for eating a bit of this and a bit of that, catch as catch can. Therefore, the argument that "Well, if humans were truly omnivores we would be able to eat a totally carnivorous diet but we can't so WE MUST BE HERBIVORES" is absurd. Besides, some people out there honestly seem to be doing just fine on a Paleo, Keto, or Zero Carb diet. Please look at this for what it is–for every ten people dying of clogged arteries from too many cheeseburgers, there are one or two subsisting on little more than lean meats and apparently doing just fine…and, for every healthy, happy Robert Cheeke out there, there are two or three very ill-seeming vegans.

Fellow vegans. I adore you. I do. But arguing that humans are "natural herbivores" really, really makes us all look foolish. Every time I hear the "Look at these grinding teeth and that long digestive tract and blah blah blah we are clearly herbivores," argument coming from a vegan, I wince in despair.

As a fellow vegan, I do not want to be the cause of your dispair. However, my argument is not what you said above. Just for clarification, I believe we are OBLIGATE HERBIVORES, for a very simple reason: Studies show that eating meat for humans is correlated with chronic diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. Just as cats will suffer retinal degeneration unless they get taurine, which to the best of my knowledge is only found in meat, so humans will get occluded arteries by eating meat. Just as some cats can survive without damage on a vegetarian diet, some humans can survive without damage on a meat centered diet. As an anthropologist you are probably familiar with Inuit and Lapplander cultures, where I believe genetic isolation has effectively created groups of humans not suseptible to diseases of meat eating. However, for humans in general, meat eating (at more than 70g per week, according to a recent British study) is harmful, just as for cats in general, a diet absent in taurine is harmful. Further, I understand your definition of Omnivore, which is a fairly standard definition, but I dislike and never use that definition, since by objective standards, bears (class carnivora) would be considered omnivores, as would just about every other living thing on the planet. The definition is so broad as to be meaningless.

Eat meat- get sick, cancer, blah blah,
Eat Vegetables - get sick, cancer , blah blah,

Every person is different and handles food in a different way. Humans are biologically Omnivores! PERIOD. If we were not, When i eat this slab of bacon i would get sick...right?.... but i dont! The human body can digest meat, grains, vegetables, and other food items properly without consequences.

The reason people have associated cancer and heart disease with meat is because sitting down and eating a preservative filled fat whopper from BK or a triple quarter pounder is not healthy thinking or eating. Everything you have tried to explain for some reason has the words: some cats.... and where your personal opinion has saying... your personal opinion has no weight behind it other than the fact that you yourself are a vegan defending your ways.

Very interesting post. Thanks for sharing!

What I don't understand about the Paleo diet is why someone would want to eat like cavemen that only lived to be 40.

Also, I believe in modern days in a first world country and all our abundance of healthy fruits, nuts & veggies that provide all the nutrition we need, there is no need to kill other living creatures for survival as it was years ago.

However, I think the Paleo diet that promotes grass-fed meat is a step up since it helps reduce the huge problem of the suffering of factory-farmed animals even if that isn't their intention. It is healthi-er than eating the diseased factory-farmed animals pumped full of hormones and pesticides from their feed, etc., even though they still have the clogged artery issue that only happens when you eat animals.

You could not be more right. Also from the poster who suggested a nutritiional site:

"Try this:
http://www.mercola.com/Nutritionplan/index.htm

it might help. He has an actual NT test to find out what your type is. Get it and take it. It really helped me find what I should and shouldn't eat for my type and body. I had allergies I didn't even know I had. Once I eliminated them I felt better."

Thanks I also thought that advice was good, and while I do not follow it completely, I do recognize that it is on track.

This is interesting reading. I'm not sure what the point of this post is. I couldn't tell. But, I read it all up to this point. I was searching for this topic becasue I have interest in this, although, I am beginning to quickly reject the idea for a very simple reason. In the way I think, Paleolithic man did not choose their diet. I doubt they were even healthy, since they all died at age 30, or whatever. I'm sure they would have been really happy to have a bag of rice hanging around to cook up when they ran short of food to eat.

So, I am rejecting it due to it's silly-ness. If the paleo man chose their diet, than I would have respect for it. But, because we now have shipping vessels and a world market, I can choose other options, like pasta or rice or other foods that have benefits for my body.

I do reject all processed foods as much as possible. But, don't get mad at me if I have a can of tuna for lunch.

Edited to add: I like the idea though. It helps me focus a little bit on my diet. When I reach for something in a bag, I will think twice about what a caveman might choose. I'm being serious, in a silly way. Just eat wholesome natural foods. Simple enough.

Do all humans eventually die of somethng? Well, duh yeah. But you die a lot faster if you eat things you were not designed to eat.