The Real Paleo Diet

The paleo diet is becoming more popular, but research suggests its claims aren’t all that scientific.

Hosted by: Michael Aranda
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[schwarzerritter]

So real hunter gatherer diet basically means eating everything that comes in front of your face?

[unvergebeneid]

70% of the world can not eat ice cream?! Oh the cruelty!

[SpazzyMcGee]

When will evolve to the point where cake is healthy?

[Petrico]

I think the paleo diet is more about cutting out processed foods with added sugars and fats for flavor and subtly making you pay attention to what you eat.

[cheguevaraisgod]

Popular diets not based entirely on scientific truth? whaaa??

[geniusmp]

If you really want a "paleo" diet, you'll probably need to add a lot more snails and insects.  And yes, since the crops available today are entirely different from the plants that existed in the paleolithic, precisely because we've been selectively breeding them for thousands of years, you'll still not actually accomplish it.

I think it's interesting to look at existing hunter-gatherer cultures and see how even they can't give us a real window on the past.  The best example is cassava.  It's critical to the survival of many tribes in Africa; the Ewe language calls it agbeli, meaning "there is life".  Some of those tribes will insist that they've always used it as a staple of their diet, gathering it from time immemorial.  But they're wrong, because we can remember the time they started using it.  That time was after the 16th century, because cassava is a New World plant, introduced to Africa by Portugese traders bringing it over from Brazil.

[MrGalpino]

Masai, or Maasai, aren't hunter-gatherers; they're pastoralists. That's why they eat so much meat, milk and blood.

[mrburgermaster]

Happy to be part of the milk tolerant, starch adapted group.

[listenherejack]

A TV chef here in Australia released a book of paleo diet meals, including one for baby formula.
This formula included liver and marrow, and was found to include nearly 400% of a baby's rdi of iron. In fact, it was found that the formula might endanger lives.

And yeah, I'm always quick to point out that the average lifespan of early humans never really passed 35.

[Jionunez]

Also, it's important to remember that hunter-gatherer cultures would have to work A LOT harder for their meals. They had to go on hunts or foraging excursions to collect the food, which burned a lot of calories that could be replaced by the new food. Very few people choosing paleo diets live a paleo lifestyle, and that should be taken into consideration.

[drkv]

Time to see all the armchair nutrition and dietary experts pop out of the woodwork.

[Suedocode]

I don't know why I decided this just now, but I think this guy is better than Hank.  Sorry, Hank, but you are now #2!

[garr]

Hahaha the ad on this video was for paleo diet food. well done, youtube.

[NevvyK]

watches this while eating a tub of ice cream...

[seonaxus]

Glad to see the comment section filled with people making it personal and anecdotal, way to not do science guys. Well my great granny says... well I subjectively feel (though I have no evidence it wasn't something else or just placebo)... Well processed things are bad so cutting them out must be good? Like, bread is unhealthy, or something? I want it to be true so that I don't have to admit for falling for the marketing hype.

[alisea]

I don't get the paleo concept . . . the food humans "evolved on?" Aren't we STILL evolving??

[nr]

I did paleo a few summers ago. 40 pounds just kind of fell off over the summer, and I feel that it "rebooted" my whole system. I'm not as hardcore as I used to be, but putting the weight back on would be a challenge. The real goal, as I understand it, is inducing ketosis: conditioning your body to burn fat instead of quick energy sources like carbohydrates. Some sources claim specifics in gene expression as well. The best part was that I NEVER felt hungry, my bodyfat was all the food I needed! I still ate dinner every day, but some of my friends fast hardcore, for days at a time, and they really vouch for it. I guess it can be detoxing. I don't believe I was malnourished, I was biking about 15 miles every day and exercising. I admit, though, that a core tenet is avoiding SAD, or the standard American diet. So much of our food is processed and pumped full of sugar that picking the natural sources is a win no matter what. I think it's also worth pointing out that wheat itself is addictive, so take that however you'd like. There was also a lot of emphasis on finding what works best for you. It is suggested that you cut out dairy as well, but I was always fine with it.

[Heeezil]

I've been sorta paleo for about a year now and I do feel that when I am loyal to my diet I am thinner and more healthy looking. I like to think of it as a "less processed" and "more raw/natural" food diet. I feel less nasty and greasy but it does take a bit more forward planning.

[bigbenhebdomadarius]

Interestingly, the ability to make lactase in adulthood is two separate mutations, one that developed among Northern Europeans, and another that developed among the Masai.

[Glaswalker]

A (former) friend of mine is heavy into crossfit and paleo diets. Well, now that he is a father he is insisting that his son also is fed this diet and his wife is going along...
Poor kid.