[pyrosis]

Anyone tried it?

I am two weeks into an experiment, sample size of two. Basically following recommendations 1 through 11 here:

http://www.archevore.com/get-started/

Haven't dropped any weight but I feel great and the food my girlfriend and I have been cooking has been amazing. For example, last night: extra thick lambburger topped with melted three year aged extra sharp cheddar, bacon, avocado, and homemade salsa. Served with yam fries, salad, and a nice zinfandel. Amazing.

[SA Chris]

This is better

[pyrosis]

Now, that does look tasty

[robertostallioni]

Healthy snack if

"your girl be one of those salad eating be-atches...."

[cheque]

a nice zinfandel

That doesn't sound very Paleolithic.

If you don't fancy cooking on a Friday night I suppose you could go for a takeaway.

[erm, sam]

Will Gadd says this:
http://gravsports.blogspot.com/2011/04/eat-this.html

I personally think if the diet, or way of thinking about eating food has a name then I suspect it to be some new crapulous ideology.

I follow a goal to eat the less processed option when an option exists. It is a flexible approach and lifelong.

[erm, sam]

Having said that, if you are eating tasty food as a result of trying something different then why not?

[Seb]

Ive tried it my self and i felt really good on the diet and lost a bit of weight. Unfortunately im crap and went back to eating to "normal" eating habits. Shouldnt really be too hard to stick too if you have any will power, shame I dont really.

[Stubbs]

It seems like you end up eating a lot of saturated fat with this diet, which ain't good for you

[blacky]

Apparently these bad boys go down well with a nice glass of Zinfandel...

[moose]

To me, diets and health initiatives that hark to "the wisdom of the ancients" etc always suffer from the problem that their followers generally die young.  Neolithic man generally died at the age of around 30 - any diet only had to be good enough to get to breeding age.  Why not follow the Masai diet instead - cows blood mixed with milk, or the Inuit diet of blubber and moss - those are pretty archetypal.  Similarly, if Chinese herbal medicine is so great, then shouldn't China have a higher life expectancy than the likes of Bulgaria and Mexico? 

Back to diet though, the Paleo scheme does look to have some pretty sensible points.  Not many people would argue that cutting down on heavily processed food is a bad idea.  But, to be honest, the bits to take home just look like needlessly complicated common sense.  A briefly famous dietician once said that everything he had learned could be summed up in seven words: "eat food, not too much, mostly plants".  I'll go along with that.... nice and easy to follow, hell, if you had a bad memory you could squeeze it on a wristband to look at whilst at the supermarket!

[slackline]

To me, diets and health initiatives that hark to "the wisdom of the ancients" etc always suffer from the problem that their followers generally die young.  Neolithic man generally died at the age of around 30 - any diet only had to be good enough to get to breeding age.  Why not follow the Masai diet instead - cows blood mixed with milk, or the Inuit diet of blubber and moss - those are pretty archetypal.  Similarly, if Chinese herbal medicine is so great, then shouldn't China have a higher life expectancy than the likes of Bulgaria and Mexico? 

No because diet isn't the be-all and end-all of life expectancy (e.g. diseases, infant mortality rate).

[pyrosis]

Interestingly enough, the Inuit have almost 0 incidence of coronary artery disease and diabetes when following their TRADITIONAL diet, in which of course ~80% of the calories come from saturated fat. It is only after they switch to eating commodity foods like white flour, sugar, etc, that their incidence of diabetes and CAD shoot through the roof...

[TobyD]

Interestingly enough, the Inuit have almost 0 incidence of coronary artery disease and diabetes when following their TRADITIONAL diet, in which of course ~80% of the calories come from saturated fat. It is only after they switch to eating commodity foods like white flour, sugar, etc, that their incidence of diabetes and CAD shoot through the roof...

but is this (and i ask because i don't know and would like to, rather than as an expression of cynicism) because TRADITIONAL life expectancy in this group is too low for them to develop these conditions? With increased 'modernisation' you might think come increased provision for healthcare etc, increased life expectancy, and thus different causes of mortality. This is total conjecture, incidentally.

[galpinos]

but is this (and i ask because i don't know and would like to, rather than as an expression of cynicism) because TRADITIONAL life expectancy in this group is too low for them to develop these conditions? With increased 'modernisation' you might think come increased provision for healthcare etc, increased life expectancy, and thus different causes of mortality. This is total conjecture, incidentally.

Which is what I believe Moose was saying above.

Interestingly enough, the Inuit have almost 0 incidence of coronary artery disease and diabetes when following their TRADITIONAL diet, in which of course ~80% of the calories come from saturated fat. It is only after they switch to eating commodity foods like white flour, sugar, etc, that their incidence of diabetes and CAD shoot through the roof...

Is this written in a paper or research anywhere? (Not doubting it, just interested) The only Inuit I've met that lived a more traditional lifestyle mostly ate seal and fish, but I doubt they got 80% of their calories from fat. The seal was pretty lean bar the big layer of blubber on the outside and that was fed to the dogs to keep their coats oily.

The other thing missing from the whole paleo/primal shtick is we don't do the hunting or the gathering. Days on end hunting animals in the wild is a bit different to 8hrs as a keyboard warrior, a few weights three times a week and a skinfull on the weekend with the added bebefit of only have to hunt around Morrisons for 1 hr a week.

[TobyD]

Which is what I believe Moose was saying above.
The other thing missing from the whole paleo/primal shtick is we don't do the hunting or the gathering. Days on end hunting animals in the wild is a bit different to 8hrs as a keyboard warrior, a few weights three times a week and a skinfull on the weekend with the added bebefit of only have to hunt around Morrisons for 1 hr a week.

well said Nick; and indeed Moose before; this diet appears to have some broad common sense ideas; but i would agree with Stubb's comment about saturated fats, combined with yours about different lifestyles and 'hunting habits'   

Back to diet though, the Paleo scheme does look to have some pretty sensible points.  Not many people would argue that cutting down on heavily processed food is a bad idea.  But, to be honest, the bits to take home just look like needlessly complicated common sense. 
A briefly famous dietician once said that everything he had learned could be summed up in seven words: "eat food, not too much, mostly plants".  I'll go along with that....

not to mention the decreased calorie intake from concentrating on protein rich diet; and low glycemic index of its recommended carbohydrate sources. But as you say, needlessly complicated bits of common sense, dressed up in plenty of accompanying bullshit ultimately.
That quote is dynamite. Perhaps with the addition of "a little of what you fancy; every so often"