Paleo Divergent

The Maxx

Some of why I'm not strictly paleo.

This is not a paleo bashing session.
if given a strictly controlled choice between modern paleo
and the standard American diet,
give me the paleo, hands down, every time,
but there is more to this.

The paleo diet has grown significantly in name recognition in recent years.
It has seemed to me since I first encountered it,
that this diet is all but impossible to even approximate.
If you'd like to go hunting and gathering every day,
feel free and be my guest.
I like living past the average life expectancy of cavemen.

Banksy

Beyond this, there is the fact that the conditions have changed.
There are toxins in the environment now that cavemen never encountered,
and many of the foods cavemen ate do not even exist anymore.
Adding to this the fact that most of what you'll find in the grocery store,
that is considered paleo, didn't exist during caveman times,
we find that “true paleo” is not even remotely possible.

I agree with much of what the paleo promoters recommend,
some for the same, but often for different reasons.
For instance, most grains, legumes, and seed oils are contaminated
with glyphosate. If organic, I find them to be less troublesome.
Cottonseed and canola oil do not actually constitute food,
on this, paleo and I agree completely.

Sometimes, a properly soaked and cooked organic legume is still on the menu.
In addition, the occasional organic grain, some better than others,
and preferably fermented (sourdough), is just the right thing.
I'm not religious about it, one way or another,
and if I can find a way around the negative in a food, I'll eat it, if I want,
and see how it treats me.
Safeguarding my health is the key, and I'm almost certain that
cave people ate things that weren't good for them on occasion.

1,000,000 B.C.

Fruit and sweeteners I use as sparingly as I can,
berries are probably the best.
Most sweeteners are less than optimal for one reason or another.
Raw, organic, pastured honey is probably the best,
followed by the cleanest maple syrup that can be found.

Then there are fermented foods.
It may well be that we are missing large parts of our probiotic reinforcement,
due to our overreliance on refrigeration.
Caution should be taken in the use of unknown cultures.
Some bacteria and fungus that proliferate in fermented foods
produce unwanted and sometimes debilitating toxins.
There are few experiences quite like a mold toxin migraine.
Cave people, I'm sure, had no way of knowing what cultures they were eating.

Clan of the cave bear

Dairy, in some forms, I tolerate quite well.
Having run them through an elimination protocol,
I know which forms I can use, and which ones are problematic.
I have never had any negative reaction to ghee.

Most of the reasons I avoid the majority of what I do,
comes down to missteps in industrial food production.
I could write whole posts, and may, to elucidate the issues
with the different paleo “approved” foods.
Eating organic will not solve every problem.

Cave pin-up girl

Reading studies, or articles that are probably misinterpreting them,
is not always the best method for coming to immutable conclusions.
Statistical studies used to produce broad recommendations are not
going to bring about positive results in many cases,
simply due to the large numbers of people involved.

Unless you have your very own organic chemist on staff,
or happen to be one,
I would accept my status as N=1, take the best information I could find,
and follow the scientific method to obtain results.

Here is a piece of the questions, and some more information.

AHS11 An Organic Chemist's Perspective on Paleo -- Mat Lalonde PhD

Mat Lalonde Nutrient Density: Sticking to the Essentials AHS12

Summer Bock: Can Fermented Foods Restore Gut Health? - #251

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