The Paleolithic diet: A diet for short term weight loss or long term health?

The Paleolithic diet, or Paleo diet, is not a new concept, and was first popularised forty years ago.

In the intervening years this diet has been promoted in academic journals and books as a weight loss aid and as a means to reduce the risk of chronic disease.

While some people report weight loss and a few studies have shown positive health effects little is known about the long term effects of the modern day hunter-gatherer diet.

Critics suggest that the Paleo diet of the 21st century is barely an approximation of the original Paleolithic version and merely a low carbohydrate, high protein and possibly high fat diet which may have adverse effects, rather than positive effects on health in the long term.

Claims and arguments

Also known as the "Caveman diet", the "Meat lovers diet", the Stone age diet" and the "Warrior diet", the Paleo diet is founded on the premise that modern humans are not intended to eat the modern Westernized diet.

Grains and dairy products are contraindicated as humans, it is claimed, are genetically adapted to the ancestral diet of the hunter-gather which provides a balance of nutrients that promotes health.

The central theme of the pro-Paleo diet argument is that chronic diseases or diseases of affluence which are prevalent in populations which consume a Western diet were not diseases of Paleolithic times.

In addition to promoting health, supporters of the Paleo diet claim...link to the full article to learn more.