"Experts" Don't Like Paleo Diet

"Did You Here About That Dangerous Paleo Diet?"

US News and World Report recently ranked 20 diets.  They utilized 22 experts in nutrition to rank these diets.  Out of the 20 diets in the Best Overall Diet category, the paleo diet came in DEAD LAST.  It seems like we continually have to take one step backward before we can take two steps forward.


As I read the reviews, it became painfully obvious that the "experts" are still very entrenched in the theory that all dietary fat is bad and we need lots of carbs to sustain energy.  Their criteria for ranking was based on a lot of what our government recommends as a healthy diet.  They've either not read, dismissed, or ignored all the data that's been coming out recently showing that our government's dietary recommendations are causing the country's growing bellies and health care bills.  

As you see in the pictures, these are two very different cell phones.  Above is one of the first portable cellular phones put into use 30 years ago.  The one on the left is the latest cell phone available from Verizon.  The newest technology weighs probably 1/20th what the 30 year old version did.  The voice coverage of today allows users to roam freely around this great country with few dropped calls.  The older version allowed users to talk cord free in a very confined geography.  Today's technology also includes wireless internet access that is faster than what most businesses have today.  Wired internet was only used as point to point shared networks between very few large, public institutions 30 years ago.  To dream of internet on a wireless phone at that time would have been a fairy tale.  Also today's cell phones are WAY more powerful than a personal computer of 30 years ago.


The question I have for everyone is if you went to a cell phone store and someone tried to sell you the 30 year old phone for $200/month and they told you that all you could do was make calls while in few covered areas, what would you say to them?  I bet EVERYONE in America would laugh at that sales person.  To make a recommendation ignoring what has been discovered in the last 30 years is irresponsible and laughable in many cases.  


Although the physiology of the human body hasn't changed at all recently, our understanding of how food affects us has changed in the last 30 years.  Based on this, the standard recommendations need to change to make a real impact on the health of our country.  I strongly believe eliminating processed foods and replacing that with whole, fresh foods is the path to long term health.  I am going to keep screaming this from the mountain tops.  We need to be diligent in this effort to educate because although it seems at times we are making progress, it is obvious we still have a long way to go.


This post appeared on Real Food Wednesday


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