So I'm the middle of reading
The Paleo Diet, a book that came highly recommended by a friend who has spent a lot of time studying nutrition. The general premise of the book is that if we shift our dietary patterns more to those of our Paleolithic ancestors we would be healthier and leaner. The emphasis then is placed on fresh fruits and vegetables, lean meats and healthy fats. The diet discourages cereals, grains, simple sugars and processed foods.
I'd be curious to hear what others think about this. Here's my take:
*Pros*
1. No doubt our ancestors were leaner and in better shape than we were. I'm sure physical activity was a huge part of this but diet probably played a role as well.
2. Anything that gets back to "nature" seems to make sense to me. The less work/processing that went into our food the better it probably is for us.
3. The two things that we need to survive are protein and fat. Carbs are not absolutely necessary. Therefore, a high-carb diet does seem a little counterintuitive.
*Cons*
1. The diet emphasizes lean meat consumption which I'm not sure I agree with. It does make the point that free-range/grass-fed/etc. is much better for you. But even if you limit yourself to high-quality meats, I'm still not convinced that we need to be eating more meat (for a number of reasons too long to go into here).
2. The fact of the matter is that even though our ancestors were leaner and persumably healthier than we are today as a society, they also had a much shorter life span. So I'm trying to reconcile the health benefits of a diet based around people who lived only a third as long as we do.
I'm not done with the book yet so I'll post more thoughts as they occur. In the meantime, I'd love to hear any feedback from others.