With the number of people here who so carefully feed their dogs species apropriate diets, I was curious if anyone here follows the paleo diet.

I'm kind of interested in this. One of my clients is a chemist with a Phd, he gives lectures all across North America about nutrition. He is a big fan of people eating what he considers to be species appropriate foods for people. The paleo diet is what he considers to be the most healthy way to eat.

Is that meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, and nuts/seeds/roots? Leaves out sugar, flour, processed fats and oils, processed foods?

Are you asking about humans? I guess you are because of the category.

It sounds to me like a great way to eat, if care is taken not to short any of the categories included. That is, a diet of hamburger meat (just because meat in on the diet's approved list) doesn't cut it. lol


I believe that in this day, people on any diet (including the Paleo diet) would do well to be careful about getting a good balance of Omega 6s to Omega 3s. Paleo people were not eating grain-fed (or grain-finished) slaughter animals for their meat.


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And they weren't avoiding fish because of heavy metal and other contamination, unsustainability, fishing methods, or the problems inherent in fish farming.

Yup.

No salt, sugar, flour, vegetable oils or anything processed.

The paleo diet people are really into grass fed meat for the omega 3s and 6s. That doesn't really seem doable to me since finding grass fed meat is hard around here. I would probably have to find a CSA for that. But, just like the dogs there is always salmon oil.

I'm going to give it a try. I put on 10 pounds this winter!

I may find myself face down in a jar of nutella in a month, but its worth a shot.

I'm going to give this a try when I get back to the States. Sooooo tired of all the processed crap they feed us here. When we get to eat at a larger post all of us dive into the veggies and fruits. We don't get them very often out here and you really start craving them. I think avoiding breads would be the hardest part for me.

So sorry you have been veggie deprived!

I'm not so worried about giving up bread. For me, I think the hard part would be not eating ice cream, and Irish tea with lots of sugar. Ketchup and mayonaise, too.

I'm going to drink it anyway because it keeps me away from soda but is tea allowed in paleo?

Now that you mention condiments I put mustard on everything so that would be hard to give up too.

I'm almost there now. I've got the sugar and processed foods pared away to the minimum. If I could cut out flour (bread!) I could lose more weight. I'm off to investigate.

 Quote: cathy goessman

I'm going to drink it anyway because it keeps me away from soda but is tea allowed in paleo?

Now that you mention condiments I put mustard on everything so that would be hard to give up too.

Well ...... I'm thinking that tea is a plant whose leaves are infused in water.

Maybe a little more "reachy," but mustard is a seed combined with vinegar (from a fruit) ..... How does the Paleo diet feel about a bit of honey in mustard?

Another thing about the Paleo diet is heritage/ethnic background. What did YOUR ancestors eat? I'm Swedish- so I need to look at what was available in Sweden way back when. Someone who is Greek would eat an almost entirely different diet.

I have a very basic knowledge of the Paleo diet, but I know they strongly believe in eating seasonally, and to follow you're ethnic background.

Interesting stuff. I not disciplined enough to try it. If only I could control my diet, like I control my dogs. lol.

Interesting.

My boyfriend and I have been discussing this recently. He is a fan of 'minimalist' running websites who often discuss the paleo diet. I have a book called the "Paleo Diet for Athletes", and based on the daily guidance in there, wasn't super impressed.

In one sample diet (this if for atheletes) the first 1,000 calories of the day were in energy drinks. The rest were fruit and nut snacks, fruit, vegs, and meat.

We've talked about trying to follow the 'paleo' diet (I'd need to actually read, rather than skim the book), but it would get REALLY expensive, unless we were able to harvest our own meat, and vegetables. I also like dairy and eggs (not paleo), and with the new chicken permits passed in town, plan to get a few chicks this spring- and eggs are cheap and good.

I don't know about the ethinic issue. I mean, humans are all the same species. I'm not sure I'd buy that our diets need to be different based on our ancestor's diets. Also, most of us are a mix of many ethnic backgrounds these days.

Anyway, interesting discussion. For now, we try to limit processed foods, but do consume carbs. Going to less processed and more locally grown foods is usually a good route. Strict 'fad' diets, tend to not last and be harder to stick to.