Healthy Home Economist blog for today "Why I don't eat Paleo or Primal" page

[keevelish]

Why I Don’t Eat Paleo or Primal


Soooo....basically, we should feed our children grains, because they're NECESSARY for optimal health...but don't feed them when they're ill or have some other sort of problem.

But I seem to be missing the reason WHY grains are apparently necessary for optimal growth of my daughters. Hmmmm...no, it's not rising to the surface.

[kenn]

Serious lack of effort on the part of the author to do research. Typical American....

[zoebird]

well, it's cheaper to feed them grains, so maybe that's it?

[zoebird]

btw, since we cracked down on ourselves and said "no grains for DS" for the last two weeks, fewer outbursts, less hyperactivity, and overall a better, happier disposition. still having some gut issues, but we are sorting them.

[Paleobird]

The author seems to be taking very old statements made by only Cordain as the be all and end all of paleo. It's easy to make that look cartoonish. She should have a look at what Kurt Harris over at the Archevore site calls Paleo 2.0.

All that WAP proved about grains is that you can make them less toxic by proper preparation. But if you have to go to all that trouble just to make something edible, my thought is , why bother when there is a perfectly good steak and salad right there.

[Westly]

Well, I guess... good for her?

I eat primal because it's awesome, and it hella works for me! I just don't like the idea that she's using old information, but, at least some of the commenters seem to be trying to set her straighter.

Grains are good, but only if you're entirely healthy! So, why would you do that for yourself? Then, when grains make you unhealthy again, you have to go off them again? I think I'll just stay off them, eat delicious foods, and...live awesomely!

[zoebird]

when dh was WAP, he ate bread (ezekiel) twice a week, tops. He would occasionally soak and have steal cut oats. Seriously, it's not a grain-based diet unless you love to bake throughout the week. we don't.

it was essentially primal/paleo plus toast twice a week. seriously! so changing to primal was easy. we just stopped eating bread, rice, and cut back on potatoes.

good stuff. easy done.

[keevelish]

She's very WAP dogmatic. I can't stand her advice on infant feeding and breastfeeding, either.

Properly preparing grains can make them less-toxic- Sally Fallon admits that herself. So, WHY would one claim that it's necessary to consume something that is rendered only semi-toxic through extensive preparation? And something that doesn't offer the nutrition that could be acquired elsewhere?

[Soil To Sustenance]

I am incredibly disappointed in Sarah's post, as I have been a fan of her blog. However not only does she construct a silly strawman argument for what Paleo is, she continues to dig a deep hole by trying to convince people that grains are necessary and optimal.

I am a huge fan of the research of Dr. Weston A. Price, and I plan to attend the Wise Traditions conference in Dallas next week. But that research DOESN'T suggest that grains were necessary since many of the healthy cultures he studied didn't consume any grains.

[thegomezclan]

All that WAP proved about grains is that you can make them less toxic by proper preparation. But if you have to go to all that trouble just to make something edible, my thought is , why bother when there is a perfectly good steak and salad right there.

Exactly. I don't have the patience to soak grains. The one time I did try it when baking bread, it tasted nasty. It makes so much more sense to just go find something you can eat without all that hassle first.