Why The Paleo Diet is a Fallacy

The rationale of the Paleo diet is that we should eat only foods that were available to our Paleolithic ancestors because our DNA hasn’t adapted much in the last 10,000 years to handle the foods created by the advent of agriculture. Most Paleo diet plans of today restrict grains, dairy, and legumes and rely instead only on grass-fed meats, fish, vegetables, fruits, and nuts.

I recently got in to a Facebook discussion with a well-known Paleo author, who argued that we should not eat foods that require technology. Not food technology as we would think of it today, but basic tools. He said we should not eat legumes because they require boiling before eating them; boiling a food requires pottery not available in the Paleolithic Era.

One of the main components of “Paleo” dieting is meat. So I asked him–how does one procure meat without “technology?”  Wouldn’t a knife or spear be required to hunt? He replied that because chimpanzees and baboons hunt without tools, we can eat meat. His food philosophy hinges on one concept: “If I were naked on the savanna with a sharp stick, could I eat this?” While it may sound like an appealing proposition–getting back to a “purer” diet that’s designed for our bodies will heal our modern-day diseases–it’s a fallacy.

The fact is, most of the foods we eat today were not available in the Paleolithic era. Almonds, a staple of today’s “Paleo” diet, only started to appear about 3000 BCE, whereas the Paleolithic Era died out around 10,000 BCE in most parts of the world according to most scholars. The species of wild almonds that grew in the Paleolithic Era contained high amounts of toxic cyanide and eating just a few would have been deadly.  (Source)

You’ll see a lot of “Paleo” recipes using sweet potatoes. (Which not only require tools for digging, but boiling to be palatable.) The earliest evidence of sweet potato cultivation is about 8000 BCE, 2000 years after the Paleolithic Era ended. (Source)

The seeds and berries of the Paleolithic Era were also likely quite different from those we eat today. No one can refute the health benefits of strawberries, yet the species of wild strawberries that gave rise to our modern-day cultivar date only back to the Bronze Age. Our garden variety of strawberries were only cultivated as recently as the 1500s. (Source)

Broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower and cabbage–cruciferous vegetables with proven health benefits–all did not exist in the Paleolithic Era. From current understanding they were cultivated from a single ancestor of the brassica family starting 8,000 to 10,000 years ago–after the Paleolithic Era ended. (Source)

Avoiding lentils is also a cornerstone of the modern “Paleo” diet, however, there is much evidence that legumes were a staple of some Paleolithic populations. Authors may claim that avoiding legumes is best because of their phytic acid and lectin content, however, cooking removes much of these compounds. Soaking and sprouting even further improves digestibility. (Source)

Some fruits do have similar ancestors that would have been available to Paleolithic foragers: pears, figs, grapes, dates, plums, and olives. However these varieties have changed in taste and nutritional profile from their ancient forms, as they have been bred to improve taste and nutritional values. (Source)

Does this mean that we should search for an even “purer” food source? For foods with ancient DNA? No.

Life in the Paleolithic Era was extremely difficult. Ancient humans foraged for whatever they could, and hunted some mammals to the brink of extinction. Women often had a hard time conceiving or giving birth because of extremely low body fat. It wasn’t until the advent of agriculture and the ability to store grains over the winter did civilizations begin to thrive in a larger scale. Through agriculture we were able to breed toxins out of foods, make them more nutritious and more palatable. The “superfoods” of today are largely the products of agriculture.

No Grocery Stores

Another fallacy of today’s “Paleo” Diets is that of locational variety. Here in the US we have the luxury of obtaining foods from miles away. We get citrus fruits from Florida. Olives from the Mediterranean. Lettuce from Mexico. Almonds from California. Without advanced transportation systems, the diet of a Paleolithic hunter-gatherer would have been limited to the flora and fauna of their immediate region. For a true idea of what a Paleolithic diet would be, you would have to cut yourself off from the grocery store and literally go outside with a sharp stick. What can you hunt? What random plants can you find in your neighborhood to forage on? No gardens allowed. Think snakes, squirrels, dandelions. What does Les Stroud eat on his Survivorman adventures? That’s a true Paleo diet. One could likely survive on that diet, but would be less likely to thrive. There’s a reason we don’t hear of great Paleolithic societies–they were too consumed with hunting and survival for other more advanced pursuits. (Not to say there haven’t been surprising discoveries of technology in the Neolithic (later Stone Age) era.)

The diet of Paleolithic groups living in Central America would have varied greatly from those living in Africa. Ancient Europeans would have access to different foods than those in Asia. Some cultures would have eaten more meats; others more plants. There is no one Paleo diet, but many that varied throughout the world. So to say that you should eat this proportion of meat to this proportion of vegetables to be Paleo has no real basis in history.

Benefits of a “Paleo” Diet

Now, before proponents of Paleo get all up in arms–er, spears–let me say that I’m not trying to denigrate the diet itself, despite its philisophical flaws. Many people find benefits in going “Paleo” likely due to its exclusion of processed carbohydrates and sugars and focus on fresh vegetables and fruits. A “Paleo” diet can be helpful and healthful for many people. But if you’re on a “Paleo” diet and have hit a plateau in your weight loss, or have an unfavorable bloodwork panel (high LDL cholesterol, blood sugar control, inflammation, etc) do make sure that you’re not making these Five Paleo Mistakes. (Coming Soon.) But also, to set yourself up for long-term success with any diet, you have to actually enjoy the foods you’re eating. Restricting yourself completely from certain food groups can set yourself up for disordered thinking about food and may be setting yourself up for bounceback weight gain in the future (which is harder to lose.) I’ll be talking more about this in the weeks to come.