Review: A radical change in dietary habits that's worth considering
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 05 1, 2013
I've been seeing more and more references to the "paleo diet," and curiosity drove me to look it up. It's actually a nutritional plan based on the presumed diet of wild plants and animals that our ancient ancestors consumed during the Paleolithic era--a period which ended around 10,000 years ago with the development of agriculture and grain-based diets. First popularized in the mid-1970s, this nutritional concept has been promoted by a number of authors and researchers. Paleolithic nutrition is based on the premise that modern humans are genetically adapted to the diet of their Paleolithic ancestors and that human genetics haven't significantly changed since the dawn of agriculture, and therefore an ideal diet for human health and well-being is one that resembles this ancestral diet.Author Ravi Kishore has written one of a growing number of books promoting the paleo diet, with an emphasis on raising kids on the plan. He promotes the health benefits of the paleo diet, which features fewer refined carbohydrates, and more protein and fats. He advocates transitioning to the paleo diet over a 21-week period so that the changes are gradually introduced. The book includes sample weekly meal plans and snacks with recipes. The recipes list the basic nutritional information: serving size, total calories, fat, carbohydrates, protein, sodium, and fiber. I have to say that the meal plans and recipes were generally very appealing. The most noticeable difference from traditional nutrition plans is the absence of wheat and other grains, and milk products. Caffeine is not eliminated but is limited to that found naturally in allowed foods.The paleo diet is not without controversy, and the author tackles some of the arguments head-on. For example, the paleo diet does not include milk or other dairy products (it does include eggs, however). The author notes that this could result in a child not getting enough calcium, but other allowed foods rich in calcium will provide enough of the essential mineral. (It's also noted that humans are the only species to continue drinking milk after infancy.)I don't necessarily accept all the health claims for the paleo diet, but it's worth considering by parents who are concerned for their family's health. It's certainly true that heavy consumption of refined carbohydrates - especially sugar - is detrimental to kids and has contributed significantly to childhood obesity. At my age, I can't see making the radical changes in my eating habits that the paleo diet would require, but if I had young children, I would be concerned enough about the rising incidence of childhood obesity and juvenile diabetes to consider major dietary changes for them.