WHAT ABOUT THE PALEO DIET?

I get this question asked a lot by people who have either heard of it or have tried it. I won't name the fitness company that promotes it a lot but I definitely understand why they promote it so much. An awesome movie which I watched called 'Forks Over Knives' and their group of experts would disagree with Paleo Diet self-promoted experts. The primary disagreement is on living off of a primarily animal-based diet rather than a primarily plant-based diet. A good read like 'The China Study' would also make you disagree with the claims made by Paleo Diet enthusiast. I have seen more studies which promote the benefits of a highly plant-based diet and the risks of a high animal based diet than I can count. If you think about how little saturated fat you get from a plant based diet in comparison to an animal based diet you too can come to the easy conclusion that a Paleo type diet may increase the risks of stroke, cancer, heart attack, arteriosclerosis and many more diseases. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure it out. 

Dr. Ben-Zur of 'The Cardiovascular Institute' in Encino would also disagree with the Paleo Diet. In a conversation I had with Dr. Ben-Zur - who shared with me his many years of expertise in heart health - he pointed out that a primarily animal based diet causes undue excess stress on the kidneys which in turn  directly affects the condition of the heart and the rest of the body. In Chinese Medicine this belief system can also be seen in the 'Five Element Theory' which is used for diagnosis of patients. The Heart is said to be associated with Fire while the Kidney is associated with Water. When in harmony the Kidney it is said to control the Heart or Water controls Fire. Makes sense if you think of using water to control a fire and this is called the Inter-Acting Cycle. In disharmony the Kidney over acts on the Heart this is called the Over-Acting Cycle and thus can be seen as Water putting out a Fire or consuming the fire. If the Heart rebels on the Kidney, it is called the Counter-Acting Cycle which is another stage of disharmony in the body. This can be thus described as Fire scorching out the water. In a wild fire this would be a very undesirable outcome. 

You don't have to agree with me but many years of Traditional Chinese Medicine and a primitive knowledge of the body have stood the test of time as has the pyramids of Egypt to which this day have not been rebuilt by man. The Earth has provided us with many foods to consume and one may argue that our ancestors also ate animals. That is true, but they also didn't eat animals plagued with antibiotics, hormones and pesticides. So if you chose to follow the Paleo Diet, please be more conscious of the meats, fish and poultry you chose to eat and stick to sources which have come from farmers who have chosen to provide a better standard of living for their animals. If you have any comments or suggestions, please feel free to post :D

Learn more from these sources: Forks Over Knives and WebMD - The Paleo Diet