Dr. Mcdougall rips apart the paleo diet - your thoughts? page 2

[bloodorchid]

i think they ate what they could, seasons permitting

[magnolia1973]

“Low-carbohydrate” means a diet high in animal foods and low in plant foods." Hmmm...are we talking about Atkins or Paleo/Primal? Because I eat a ton of veggies.

LOL, I eat more plant foods eating primal than I did eating vegan. I eat meat + fruits and veggies. Or I dunno, maybe he counts bread and soy as plant foods. I guess the reality is that I eat more unprocessed plant foods while primal.

People just enjoy being correct and don't accept when their way doesn't work for everyone. Here I am- weighing less than I did in high school, feeling great while eating the meat the vegans said would surely make me fat and unhealthy. That's all the proof I need to keep me primal.

[TorMag]

ok...but I care about learning what is the optimal diet and if there is research to disprove the paleo/primal diet I'm always curious what it is and what other people think of it.

Nothing works the same for everyone. You have to be your own n=1 and find what works for you. Stop calling it a "diet" that is your first problem. Primal /= Paleo, that is another problem. There is a difference between the two. Just read Cordian vs. Mark, you will see the difference. I could never do Paleo, too restrictive and feels like a diet. Primal, the lifestyle, much easier thing to do the rest of my life.

Trying to search through all the "Diet" information in the bookstores and on the web will drive you insane. Everything can and is disproved by one study or another. It is amazing that we have survived this long... As I said, be your own n=1 and find what works for you and live a happy life, stop worrying about it.

[Apex Predator]

Should we refute every mentally ill homeless person rambling in the streets too?

There are legitimate critiques of all the flavors of paleo, especially the way they are actually done as opposed to the way they are intended, but this is not one of them.

[Sabre]

Agree with Wanderlust, the guy's full of crap.

[jendoe]

ok...but I care about learning what is the optimal diet and if there is research to disprove the paleo/primal diet I'm always curious what it is and what other people think of it.

Hey Brent, have you checked out Dr. Terry Wahls? You might want to search for some of her stuff on youtube. She's the medical doctor that basically cured her MS by eating paleo, it's a pretty amazing story, and she goes into her food recommendations which, from what I saw, were very primal like (i.e. primal if you're basically healthy, more restrictive paleo if you're not.)

I didn't read the McDougall article, like everyone else, my response was "who cares". I think that paleo people were able to live well on a range of diets, some were higher in carbs (I can't remember, but there's one group of people that usually gets named as an example here), and others ate almost exclusively meat/fat/animals (i.e. Eskimos). You might also want to check out the Weston Price book on nutrition if you haven't. (The dentist who made a study of many cultures, to see firsthand the effects of different foods).

I think the key that comes up over and over is, eating natural UNPROCESSED foods is best for your health.

Oh, and not sure if you saw this... Mark did write about his experience McDougall-ism at one point, and wrote about it here:
My Escape from Vegan Island | Mark's Daily Apple

Enjoy!

[Grumpycakes]

am curious what your guys' thoughts are

My guys are busy undermining various national governments and do not have time to read silly articles.

[Rusty]

Everybody wants to push their agenda. This Dr. used words like "required" in reference to eating exotic animals (cozy up to PETA much?), and I am sure some do, but I don't see too many going out of their way to eat rattlesnake. I would try kangaroo if it was in front of me, but I am not ordering it from Australia!

I personally have chosen to eat Paleo because I am fat (87 pounds lost, another 40 pounds to go) and was sick, and at 45 looking at an early grave. Before I started eating Paleo, I had high blood pressure and was boarding on "high cholesterol", now I have a normal BP and a total cholesterol of 170. I still have work to do, but I am on the road to health.

I have 4 cousin-in-laws who are all vegan, and militant about it. 2 appear healthy enough, the other 2 not so much.

In the end, folks have to choose for themselves. The info is out there, so you must weigh the pros and cons and put what works best for you in action!

[Dirlot]

Mcdougal's article is poorly writing and full of very erroneous assumptions.


The Second article basically promotes a moderate Paleo diet no biggie.

Vegetables should make up a big part of primal (if you read the book).

As for the acidity issue grains (esp wheat) raise acidity levels much more than beef so replacing your grain portion of your plate with veg should do the trick. Have you heard the term meat and 2 veg? There is more than a sexual connotation to that phrase it should echo the food on your plate.

[kenn]

I stopped reading after

People become too sick to eat too much.