Thursday, July 28, 2011

The Paleo Diet: Caveman Cure-All or Unhealthy Fad?

It is hard to see why the Atlantic, a supposedly reputable magazine, would publish this uninformed article. Apparently the author has little interest in the nutritional content of diets, simply in their labels and images, and is content to regurgitate popular misconceptions.


The Paleo Diet: Caveman Cure-All or Unhealthy Fad? - Alesh Houdek - Life - The Atlantic: "There is no question that we should eat more fresh and unprocessed foods. But if there's a charge to be levied against carbohydrate-heavy foods like bread and pasta, it's that they make it easy for us to eat way too much, not that they're bad in and of themselves. (Sugar, however, may be another story altogether.) So the Paleo diet's dictum to eat as fresh as possible is shared universally with all modern sane eating guidelines. Its rationale for avoiding traditional carb-heavy foods falls apart under scrutiny. And it's success at producing weight loss and health may have more to do with portion control than anything else. But perhaps the deepest cut was a 'US News comparison' of 20 diets (including Atkins, veganism, the Mediterranean diet, and Jenny Craig) that ranked Paleo dead last on criteria like nutrition, ease of following, weight loss, and safety."

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