Over the last couple of years, as the popularity of the Paleo diet has expanded, a lot of controversy has emerged over exactly what a Paleo diet is.
Part of the problem is that there are now a number of authors and bloggers—from Mark Sisson to Kurt Harris to Robb Wolf to Paul Jaminet to myself—that advocate what might generally be called a Paleo diet, but with slight variations in each case. This has unfortunately led to some confusion for people new to the “Paleo diet.“
It has also spawned new terminology in an effort by each author/blogger to clarify the differences in their approach, such as Mark Sisson‘s “Primal diet,“ Paul Jaminet‘s “Perfect Health Diet,” and Kurt Harris’ former “PaNu or Paleo 2.0“ and current “Archevore“ concepts.
So what’s the controversy or confusion all about? It usually revolves around the following questions:
- Is the Paleo diet low-carb or low-fat? Is saturated fat permitted? If so, how much?
- How much protein should someone eat on a Paleo diet?
- Does the Paleo diet include dairy products—or not? Which kinds of dairy?
- Are any grains at all permitted?
In the early days, following Loren Cordain’s book, The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat, the Paleo diet was considered to be moderate in carbohydrate and low in saturated fat (though monounsaturated fat wasn’t restricted).
More recently, some authors/bloggers have advocated a diet based roughly on Paleo principles but that also may include dairy products and even certain grains like white rice and buckwheat, depending on individual tolerance. Still others have suggested that a high carb, lower fat diet—provided the carbs come from starchy vegetables and not grains—may be optimal.
So what is a Paleo diet? Is it low-carb? Low-fat? Does it include dairy? Grains?
We’re Not Robots: Variation Amongst Groups and Individuals
The answer to that question depends on several factors. First, are we asking what our Paleolithic ancestors ate, or are we asking what an optimal diet for modern humans is? While hard-core Paleo adherents will argue that there‘s no difference, others (including me) would suggest that the absence of a food during the Paleolithic era does not necessarily mean that it’s not nutritious or beneficial. Dairy products are a good example.
Second, as recent studies have revealed, we can’t really know what our ancestors ate with 100 percent certainty, and there is undoubtedly a huge variation amongst different populations. For example, we have the traditional Inuit and the Masai who ate a diet high in fat (60 to 70 percent of calories for the Masai and up to 90% of calories for the Inuit), but we also have traditional peoples like the Okinawans and Kitavans that obtained a majority (60 to 70 percent or more) of their calories from carbohydrate. So it’s impossible to say that the diet of our ancestors was either “low-carb” or “low-fat,” without specifying which ancestors we’re talking about.
Third, if we are indeed asking what the optimal diet is for modern humans (rather than simply speculating about what our Paleolithic ancestors ate), there’s no way to answer that question definitively. Why? Because just as there is tremendous variation amongst populations with diet, there is also tremendous individual variation. Some people clearly do better with no dairy products. Yet others seem to thrive on them. Some feel better with a low-carb approach, while others feel better eating more carbohydrate. Some seem to require a higher protein intake (up to 20 to 25 percent of calories), but others do well when they eat a smaller amount (10 to 15 percent) while still others need a diet for diverticulitis.
Like what you’re reading? Get my free newsletter, recipes, eBooks, product recommendations, and more!
The Paleo Diet vs. the Paleo Template
I suggest we stop trying to define the “Paleo diet” and start thinking about it instead as a “Paleo template.”
What’s the difference? A Paleo diet implies a particular approach with clearly defined parameters that all people should follow. There’s little room for individual variation or experimentation.
A Paleo template implies a more flexible and individualized approach. A template contains a basic format or set of ancestral health general guidelines that can then be customized based on the unique needs and experience of each person.
The only way to figure out what an optimal diet is for you is to experiment and observe. The best way to do that is to remove the “grey-area” foods you suspect you might have trouble with, like dairy, nightshades, eggs, etc. for a period of time (usually 30 days is sufficient), and add them back in one at a time and observe your reactions. This “30-day challenge” or elimination diet is what folks like Robb Wolf have recommended for a long time.
As human beings we’re both similar and different. We share the same basic physiology, which is why a Paleo template makes sense. There are certain foods that, because of their chemical structure, adversely affect all of us regardless of our individual differences.
On the other hand, each of us is unique. We grew up in different families, with different dietary habits, life experiences, exposures to environmental toxins and lifestyles. Many of our genes are the same, but some are different and the way those genes have been triggered or expressed can also differ.
For someone with an autoimmune disease, dairy products, nightshades and eggs may be problematic. Yet for others, these foods are often well-tolerated. This variation merely underscores the importance of discovering your own optimal diet rather than blindly following someone else’s prescription.
I think it’s a complete waste of time and energy to argue about what a Paleo diet is, because the question is essentially unanswerable. The more important question is, what is your optimal diet?
Finding Your Own Optimal Version of the Paleo Diet
In my book, The Paleo Cure, I provide a simple—yet powerful—three-step approach for helping you to discover your own ideal version of the Paleo diet. Click here to learn more about it and pick up a copy.
Better supplementation. Fewer supplements.
Close the nutrient gap to feel and perform your best.
A daily stack of supplements designed to meet your most critical needs.
I think a method for observation in “experiment and observe” would be helpful. Currently I judge my bodies near term reactions using:
Mathematical Measurements
1. Blood Pressure
2. Pulse (resting)
3. Weight (water is retained when my body is dealing with a problem food)
4. I’m about to add blood sugar to see if that helps me determine my reaction.
Of course, a full blown daily blood test would be nice, but that’s not going to happen.
Non-Mathematical Measurements
1. Mental clarity
2. Sense of balance
3. Pain in various parts of the body
4. Joint stiffness, especially in the hands
5. Emotional state (I find myself humming when my body is feeling it’s best as example)
6. Are palms sweaty
7. Are my hands and feet warm or cold.
Any one else care to share your methods? I would appreciate any additional ideas.
Chris,
This is an excellent article and an issue that many overlook. Follow a diet that nutritionally approximates that of our ancestors has very clear and obvious benefits, but the decision to eat or not eat foods in the “paleo diet” should not be binary. As you say, just because a food was not available to our ancestors does not mean that it is not healthy or beneficial. In order to reach optimal health (and preserve sanity), it is essential to take a more nuanced approach to eating.
What a fantastic post! It correlates SO much with what I believe about diet and what I know works for me. My nutrition approach is a combination of the Eating for Health approach (taught at Bauman College in the Bay Area?) and the WAPF principles regarding food preparation. After eating a veggie low fat diet for years (which left me hormonally imbalanced and kind of mentall weird too!) I feel better than ever – and I enjoy food so much more!! Super glad I discovered your blog and looking forward to finding out mroe!
Great post and great conversation. I am going more paleo as I find an unconventional doctor friend’s advice is more useful than other advice I have had. He is anti dairy, or at least what passes for milk and milk products in the US. He says the galactose is great food for candida and other fungi and certainly cheap supermarket milk increases the auto-immune diseases I have. Apparently having too much of the wrong sort of fungi and other microbiome in the gut can switch on the genes that cause autoimmune problems. Cutting out grains, sugars and dairy 6 days a week also got rid of my acne roseacea. My ongoing sinusitis has occasions when it clears up but any “cheat day” makes it flare again.
I have a theory that raw milk products from grass fed A2 cows should be OK but that might have to be after I fix the sinusitis/fungal issues. If I have to explain my diet to others I say it is a basic, high antioxidant, low insulin, high enzyme diet. The high enzyme part relates to the Nourishing Traditions approach and I have made curds and whey, using the whey to make pickles and I also make and use my own pineapple vinegar.
Is it working? Well 15 kg weight loss and the loss of lots of problems, though still not healthy yet. But others I were sick with are now either worse and on huge numbers of medications or dead so I reckon I’m not doing too badly.
Are there any recommended cookbooks or recipe books oriented toward these principles?
The ones I see on Amazon related to Paleo, attempt to stay strictly within that framework.
Thank you.
Not that I know of. I’ve always imagined doing one at some point, but not in the near future.
Great post and really pinpoints the reasons paleo clicked for me in the first place. In practice you could just as easily pidgeonhole my diet as mediterranean, blood-type, whole food, south beach, etc. but the thing I love about paleo is that it gives me a framework to experiment and is empowering rather than restrictive. In this sense it also travels well. I live in Singapore and hail from Sydney and have never found authors’ recommendations not applicable due to their “American-ness”.
I would also add that I’m not sure the question of optimal diet is a very important or meaningful one. We’re dealing with fairly inaccurate measurements here and the realities of individual difference and impossibility of conducting controlled, randomise, birth-to-death experiments mean that we will never be able to quantify the impact of most of our individual dietary decisions nor even no whether they were positive, negative or a bit of both. Plus we’re all in a constant state of flux trying to balance competing priorities such as health, longevity, asthetics and performance, not to mention make informed decisions about digressions, allowances for hedonism, new and conflicting information, etc. Just thinking about it all is enough to spike your cortisol!
Great post!
What about microbiota? I guess it is impossible to address any paleo/archeo diet as correct/wrong any diet because of the different bacteria we have in our guts. And this flore depends very much on the different environments, mother or life experiences. It’s a whole evolving ecosystem and it is probably the most misunderstood piece of our health. I guess kitavans/inuit have a complete different gut flora, if one tries to mimmic one of them overnight… well, maybe not a good idea coming from a western diet
Even more, as Dr. Harris pointed out there is no such “macronutrient” schema. It’s just a way to store biochemical products in baskets. Is cholesterol fat? Are fructose and glucose the same carbs? Talking about macronutrient ratios makes no sense. I can eat 70% fat coming from nuts or 70% fat coming from coconut/avocado, it does not mean anything.
love this site!!!
seems a good place to post an interesting bit of info i discovered while being a subject in a clinical trial at UCSF studying the ADA (american diabetic assoc.) diet vs. paleo – no dairy/grain (modified).
one month on ADA, then one month on paleo ( with increased fruit, hence the modification).
two observations: first: my uric acid increased significantly on paleo. the endocrinologist said it was from the fructosamine!!!! never heard of fruit increasing uric acid! second: at the end of the paleo portion i resumed my usual diet (fairly paleo – with some occasional indulgences) and discovered a previously unknown allergy (after 59 years)
i swim laps. i made some cupcakes. at one – swam. noticed difficulty breathing while swimming. next morning ate two cupcakes prior to laps. difficulty breathing intensified. being a slow learner i had not yet made the grain/respiratory connection. third day – cupcakes again. could not finish my laps because of difficulty breathing. ah-ha moment. wheat bad. so, i avoided wheat/gluten from then on…
a month later while eating out i inadvertently consumed wheat. had a severe respiratory reaction. wound up in the ER. they only considered an MI. not wanting that experience again, i no longer completely avoid wheat. some compromise, huh. how does a single empty-nester mom get to eat out and breath well?
also – are all these asthmatic children really just allergic to wheat?
Another great article Chris and you are a man of great wisdom in a nutrition field filled with people that sometimes want to overly complicate these topics.
I think a realxed approach like this where you can tinker yet never move too far from the basics is best – its a bit like exercise i.e. yes we all know we have to lift weights, do mobility/stability work, vary working intensity etc and its nice to vary things up a bit now and again just to see what happens.
All the best and keep up the great work
Dominic in Ireland
The Paleo Diet is great i love it, I have been following the guildlines for about 2 years now. I feel great, im in great shape, and i have not fallen ill once. I have great resources about the paleo diet and recipes for those you want to give it a try!
I’m a 23-year old naturally lean, physically and mentally active male who seems to need a lot of protein and fat. I crave pork, sour cream, cheese, and spiciness (I have to pile on full-fat yogurt or sour cream to feel satiated at meals). I love seafood, dates, dark leafy greens, bone broth soups, lentils, stews and curries. I seem to do best with at least a moderate amount of potatoes or white rice. I also really enjoy chocolate and the taste of coconut.
wow i like the same things!!
Congrats on the baby chris! When you have people do the GAPS diet, I know the time frame varies, but do you find any of your patients fall into the 6 month category for healing to occur? The time frame Dr McBride mentions is anywhere from 6 months- several years, and I was wondering if you have seen the GAPS diet work in the shorter time frame ever.
Excellent post, Chris. Nice to see common sense. Your last two sentences “I think it’s a complete waste of time and energy to argue about what a Paleo diet is, because the question is essentially unanswerable. The more important question is, what is your optimal diet?” say it all.
Thanks.
This approach is much more along the lines of what I always felt the spirit of diets such as paleo represented. However, you hint at the issue of what is healthy for modern humans. The fact is, we weren’t “designed” to eat like our paleolithic ancestors b/c we haven’t been those ancestors, biologically speaking, for some time. The 10,000 years since the start of agriculture is a long time evolutionarily. Our bodies have changed to accept foods that our paleolithic ancestors couldn’t eat. Thousands of genes in the human genome have changed since that time, so how could that diet possibly be optimally healthy? We can certainly take some principles from it, but simply copying what early humans ate is probably not ideally healthy.
This is an excellent post. Well said.
@ Cathryn, you might be interested in The Roadback Foundation for your RA.
Thanks for the suggestion, Maggie. I heard about this treatment years ago, but since there seemed to be a lot of evidence that antibiotics could have contributed to the disease in the first place, by impinging on gut health and enabling inflammation, it didn’t seem like a good idea. Even with the possible toxic effects of the medicine I take now, I have been able to get my gut in better working order than it has ever been. Granted, I do not know the exact protocol for the treatment of RA, but taking antibiotics just generally doesn’t seem like a good idea.
Chris, what do you think? I’d be very interested in your opinion, which I regard highly.
This is a fantastic article and one that everyone in this community needs to read. I have been telling this to my readers and fans for the past few weeks. My “diet” is different then YOUR diet even though we both follow a primal/paleo eating plan.
I found out through my facebook fan page that 90%+ of primal/paleo folks eat dairy on a regular basis. I eat butter on a regular basis but thats it for dairy. I sometimes to raw grassfed cheese because I love it. I may try to add greek yogurt too.
One needs to experiment to find out what is best for him or herself!
excellent article. Timely, too. I frequent paleohacks (great site) and there are numerous discussions about this very issue. I always maintain that paleo=avoid grains, legumes, dairy. Done. That any human on earth will improve their health by avoiding these three things more so than otherwise. Beyond that, macro ratios are up to the individual. I eat 40-40-20 protein, carb, fat. I am lambasted by people for being afraid of fat. People ignore the nutrient requirements of different people living different lifestyles. I am extremely active, an amateur powerlifter and need lots of energy a lot of the time. I spend more time than most involved in activities that are directly in the glycolytic pathway. People hear this and simply say, “ah, you’ve never been keto-adapted.”
Rant, sorry. Anyway, you’re spot on, Chris. Smart post.
I love to eat full fat Greek yogurt and hard cheese, but I always get acne everywhere from them. It always clears up within a week of stopping both. I also get an instantly oily face from eating (raw) cheese. I don’t know why that is…
The orthodox Paleo inevitably refers to Prof. Cordain. It’s a shame that he doesn’t participate actively in the discussion. There is no one really who would represent his “school”. We need the back and forth of the ideas and the conversation.
I noticed that people who have academic careers have a separate set of priorities. Heck, people put their health on the line, there is the tremendous responsibly of the advice. They better back it up or face moral responsibly.