3 ms·
I don't see a paleo slant to this at all. > "(e.g. 10,000 years isn't enough time for humans to adapt to eating grains, so we should eat like cave men instead)
by potatolicious 14y ago
I don't see a paleo slant to this at all.
> "(e.g. 10,000 years isn't enough time for humans to adapt to eating grains, so we should eat like cave men instead)"
This is a common claim by paleo supporters, but I don't see it in the article.
If anything the approach is the opposite: carbs are fine, but they are calorie-dense. In an era where we're over-consuming calories it makes sense to start cutting the most calorie-dense (and also least filling) foods first.
As someone who went to Fat Class when he was a kid, this has been accepted practice for dietitians for years. If you're over-consuming, you want to optimize for a balance of the amount of calories reduced vs. the amount of hunger increased. Leaving oneself hungry is the surest way to fall of a diet-change wagon - and cheap sugars give the "worst" combination of fillingness vs. calories consumed (it would be best if we actually needed said calories).
The argument doesn't stem from some pseudoscientific belief that some foods are magically worse than others for inscrutable reasons like inverting the polaron field. It makes its argument from the (typically anti-paleo) stance that all foods are (more or less equal) and calories are the primary concern.
- mtrimpe 14y agoThat's exactly my problem with the Paleo diet though: it can be summed up by the following sentence: "So you're saying that eating a lot of vegetables, beans and quality meat is good for you? Who would've thought that!" </sarcasm>
- scarmig 14y agoMy understanding is that paleo opposes eating beans. Impurifies our precious bodily fluids, or something.
- splat 14y agoBeans (like grains) have a lot of phytic acid in them. Phytic acid prevents the absorption of minerals. The amount of phytic acid can be reduced if the beans are soaked in water that contains lactobacilli for a day or so, but almost no one does that.
- anthonyb 14y agoNot just phytic acid, but lectins and all sorts of nasties. Red kidney beans are poisonous unless you soak them properly before cooking.
- tracker1 14y agoThere are aspects to beans that are hard to digest, and may inhibit the intake of some nutrients... that said, I'm not hardline on paleo, I do try to keep my net carbs under 100g/day, and consider my diet paleo-ish. I usually have a couple some eggs/sausage, lunch is usually a savory crepe (low carb wrap essentially), and 8-16oz of greens at dinner (huge salad, with a nominal amount of dressing).
- wutbrodo 14y agoThe fact that it's obvious doesn't mean that it's incorrect. One could say the same thing about many widely accepted dietary recommendations: "Oh I shouldn't be drinking tons of liquid sugar? Eureka!!" </s> That doesn't mean that recommendation to cut back on soda should be removed from public health, because obviously there are still far too many people who aren't aware of exactly how and how bad excessive soda consumption is for you.
- mtrimpe 14y agoMy point is more that there seems to be little proof that 'full Paleo' is better than eating lots of veggies and cutting processed carbs from your diet alone.