Why Paleo, Why Not?

Question 1

How is our industrial civilization different from the one that humans evolved in for millions of years?

Answer 1

For about 66K generations, we ate primarily meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and starchy tubers

Hunter-gatherer populations were active and did not sit for long periods

We lived in sync with natural rhythms of light and dark, in direct contact with nature and in in close-knit tribal social groups

These traditional populations were free of the chronic inflammatory diseases that plague us today - obesity, diabetes, autoimmune diseases, etc (Modern studies of contemporary hunter-gatherers suggest they are largely free of chronic inflammatory diseases)

Question 2

What happened to cause this change?

Answer 2

Agriculture and the Industrial Revolution

This profound mismatch between our genetic heritage and the environment that we live in is responsible for the epidemic of modern disease, and it also explains why the Paleo diet and lifestyle has helped improve the health and reverse chronic disease of so many people.

Question 3

What was the result of agriculture?

Answer 3

Agriculture
○ Increase in average carbohydrate intake.
○ Decrease in protein intake, including decreased quality of that protein, since
almost any meat/animal protein has a desirable amino acid balance, whereas
most plant proteins do not.
○ Agricultural diet relied heavily on a limited set of crops, such as wheat, rice, and
corn, and was lower in more nutrient-dense animal products.
○ This led to a wide range of diseases that weren’t common prior to agriculture,
such as beriberi, pellagra, rickets, scurvy, tooth decay, anemia, and decreases in average bone density.
○ Average height for hunter-gatherers at the end of the Ice Age was 5 feet 9 inches for men and 5 feet 5 inches for women, and after agriculture, it went down to 5 feet 3 inches for men and 5 feet for women. These changes resulted in large part from the nutritional stress of eating a diet inappropriate for our species.

Question 4

What was the result of the industrial revolution?

Answer 4

Industrial Revolution
○ White sugar, flour, and vegetable oil make up over 50 percent of calories that
the average person consumes.
■ Decreased amount of beneficial nutrients of the human diet.
○ More sedentary than we’ve ever been.
○ Chronically sleep deprived.
○ Working more hours per week on average.
○ Chronic high stress in everyday life.
○ Live and work in isolating and alienating social environments, where we feel
disconnected from the natural world.

Question 5

What are common misconceptions and misunderstandings about what paleo is and is not?

Answer 5

Paleo is a term that carries a lot of baggage and is surrounded by
misconceptions and misunderstanding. Such as:
■ Paleo is an all-meat diet.
■ People who eat Paleo are trying to recreate the exact diet of their
ancestors.
■ It’s stupid to follow a Paleo diet because our ancestors died at age 30.
■ People who eat Paleo by definition avoid all modern food.

Question 6

How does the Adapt program define the term paleo? How would you explain it?

Answer 6

○ We use the term “Paleo” to simply refer to an anti-inflammatory, nutrient-dense, real-food diet.

○ We regard Paleo as more of a template rather than a rigid diet.

○ The most important thing is not the specific term that you use but the energy behind it and what you communicate to the patient. We are recommending this diet to “hit the reset” button on the body—to lose weight, boost energy, improve sleep, reduce inflammation, and reverse a wide range of chronic diseases.