Firstly I think it is important to remember that contrary to common opinion, the paleo and primal diet are not just ‘high protein diets’. The main emphasis of paleo and primal diets is to increase fruit and vegetables and reduce refined foods including grains. The meat eaten should come from high quality grass fed or organic animal protein (including offal and bonebroth etc).
This is VERY different from just eating loads of cheap burgers and sausages!
To address the first part of the argument we need to look at the China Study by T. Colin Campbell, for those who do not know, the ‘China Study is a book popularised by passionate vegans and vegetarians that examines the relationship between the consumption of animal products (including dairy) and chronic illnesses such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, and cancers of the breast, prostate and bowel.
There are many convincing counter arguments to this study. An example is an incredibly well researched campaign against the China study and its VERY questionable interpretation of results (http://rawfoodsos.com/the-china-study/) which (in my opinion) effectively debunks the connection they make between protein consumption and various diseases.
Other studies showing correlation between high protein diets and disease are mainly observational studies and overlook that many people that eat high protein diets also have other VERY bad dietary habits and it could in fact be those habits that relate to their poor health. (for example people who eat high quantities of meat often also eat high quantities of refined carbohydrates i.e surrounding grain fed burgers with a sugary refined bread bun and washing it down with a gallon of coke, or beer!)
Spinning scientific research one way and another is frankly of limited use, and who said we have to have empirical evidence to make sound judgements anyway? In these situations I personally try and bring it back to good common sense. My qualifying questions is this – does it make sense that the very food that we are designed to eat readily, and lived healthily on, for 100, 000 years would suddenly cause a wide range of diseases? I think not!
Now onto heart attacks and fat. We have been told for so long that food like meat and eggs raise our cholesterol levels that we now consider it a fact. But this ‘fact’ is based on a study conducted 50 years ago called the ‘diet-heart hypothesis’. More recent (and higher quality) studies have found no such connection in most people, unfortunately many health professionals have not updated their knowledge. Read more
Does high cholesterol even matter? The second ‘fact’ is that high cholesterol levels in the blood leads to an increased risk of heart disease. Modern studies show that this is simply not the case and in fact there has been studies which suggest that low cholesterol can increase the risk of death especially in the elderly and women. A more important marker is the number of LDL (low-density lipoprotein) particles in your blood NOT the concentration of cholesterol in your lipoproteins. Read More
There was a breakthrough a few years ago with the discovery that inflammation in the artery wall is the real cause of heart disease. It is now apparent that the overuse of simple, highly processed carbohydrates (sugar, flour and all the products made from them) and the excess consumption of omega-6 vegetable oils like soybean, corn and sunflower that are found in many processed foods is a huge contributory factor in inflammation. These are the very foods many medical professionals have been recommending for years!
Heart surgeon Dr. Dwight Lundell says –
‘The long-established dietary recommendations have created epidemics of obesity and diabetes, the consequences of which dwarf any historical plague in terms of mortality, human suffering and dire economic consequences’
A diet made up of organic vegetables, 100% grass fed meats, organic fruits, nuts and seeds laced with healthy fats, will go a very long way to reducing your likelihood of heart disease and many other health issues. Read more
In conclusion, the paleo and primal diets are based on 100,000 years of trials into how to produce a healthy body, perhaps we should use our common sense a little more and TV adverts a little less when making our food choices!
Caroline x
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