The Pros And Cons Of The Paleo Diet

There are innumerable diets on the market and self-help books, these diets all taught weight loss, better health and happiness. The Paleo diet, also known as the Hunter-Gather, Caveman, or Sone Age diet came into public attention in 1985 when Dr. Eaton published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine arguing “that human genes coevolved with their surrounding nutritional environment” making “our genes…dependent on nutrients in those foods” (Challem, 2013). The Paleo diet is based on consuming foods that are believed to have been eaten by early humans, cavemen or Neanderthals. Eckelkamp (2015) reported that the Paleo diet was “the most Googled diet” from 2013-2015.

The Paleo diet is based on foods that are presumed available to early humans, consisting primarily of grass fed meats, fish, fowl, vegetables, fruit, nuts, berries,

The organic food that is required for the Paleo diet can be difficult to obtain and is very costly. Many people argue that the fruits and vegetables we eat today are not the same as what early humans would have eaten; broccoli is only 2,000 years old, bananas around 3,000 years old (Tufts University, 2015). Others argue that a diet mainly consistent of meat is not sustainable for the world’s population.

There are no long term studies to support that the Paleo diet has lasting health benefits; in fact many argue that cavemen lived shorter lives, therefore did not have time to develop the diseases we have in modern society (cancer, diabetes). Ultimately, Cavemen were not picky and likely ate a variety of foods based on when they lived (the Paleo period spans millions of years, ending over 13,000 years ago), where they lived, and what was available (varied by the region they lived in, including inland or coastal). Cavemen likely had periods of feast and famine, not an acceptable diet for