For the past 5 months I have been following a Paleo diet. Paleo is a diet that postulates that the human body is optimized to eat what our ancient ancestors ate - basically what could be foraged and hunted. The lifestyle emphasizes vegetables, meats, seeds, nuts and fruits. Specifically excluded from Paleo eating is grains, legumes, dairy and sugars.
Clearly certain aspects of this diet are in direct contrast with current US dietary guidelines which recommends 6 ounces of grains daily (with half coming from whole grains).
One interesting tidbit, the Federal government has been issuing dietary recommendations for over 100 years. How ridiculous. What business is it of the government to try and determine what people eat? It only invites the opportunity for special interests to get involved to push their agendas and for the government to get it wrong. In 1916 the government recommended 10% of calories come from sugar and in the 1940's butter/fortified margarine was recommended daily.
The chart below from a 2010 CDC report on the rate of obesity in US adults from 1960 - 2008. Similar to how well the US Federal Reserve has "managed" the US monetary supply obesity has flourished in this time.
I do not believe there is much debate any longer that a low carb diet is a very effective method of promoting weight loss, though, there certainly is plenty of debate on the long term consequences of this type of eating. The research I did for myself and the improvements I have seen within my own life have more than convinced me this approach to food is what is best for me.
Recommended Further Reading
Great free content on both sites below along with paid offerings. I can personally vouch for the "21 Day Total Body Transformation" as a great resource for someone looking to make the Paleo switch (or to give it a try).
- Mark's Daily Apple - super approachable content, see the Start Here button
- Robb Wolf - Robb delves into more of the science of the Paleo diet
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