Paleolithic “Paleo” Diet Craziness
Ignoring the Science: Low-Carbohydrate Diets Contribute to a Higher Risk of Death and Disease
Low-carbohydrate diets can cause weight loss, but weight loss should not be the primary goal of individuals, medical doctors, dietitians, insurance companies, or governments. The goal is to live longer and stay healthy. Three major scientific reviews show that low-carbohydrate diets increase the risk of sickness and death.
1) The 2010 Annals of Internal Medicine published the article "Low-Carbohydrate Diets and All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality." Their conclusion: A low-carbohydrate diet based on animal sources was associated with higher all-cause mortality in both men and women, whereas a vegetable-based, low-carbohydrate diet was associated with lower all-cause and cardiovascular disease mortality rates. 2) The 2012 British Medical Journal published the article "Low-Carbohydrate, High-Protein Diet and Incidence of Cardiovascular Diseases in Swedish Women: Prospective Cohort Study." Their conclusion: Low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets, used on a regular basis and without consideration of the nature of carbohydrates or the source of proteins, are associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease. 3) The 2013 Public Library of Science journal published the article "Low-Carbohydrate Diets and All-Cause Mortality: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies." Their conclusion: Low-carbohydrate diets were associated with a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality and they were not significantly associated with a risk of CVD mortality and incidence. There are no comparable studies suggesting high-carbohydrate (starch-based) diets increase mortality, cardiovascular disease, or other common diseases. (Any negative references to carbohydrates in these articles apply to simple sugars, not starches.)** |
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The notion that one can enjoy good health and live a long time by eating a low-fiber, high-fat diet of fish, eggs, red meat and poultry is almost too confused and backwards to merit comments (true Paleos don’t consume dairy products).
Prophets of this darkness tell us to avoid whole grains, legumes, beans and even high starch vegetables such as sweet potatoes and regular potatoes. The Paleolithic Era came to an end over 10,000 years ago as a result of developing agriculture. For the first time in the history of mankind, people ended the practice of hunting and gathering. They found freedom and were able to grow their own food. The development of technology arose out of this. At this point, humans were able to make progress as opposed to merely existing.
The Paleo myth is a concoction of one Loren Cordain who stakes his claim to being the foremost expert on the Paleo diet. According to Cordain, followers will have reduced incidence of diabetes, lower Coronary Heart Diseases (CHD) risk, less occurrence of disease overall, sound sleep, diminishing autoimmune disease and overall a healthier and longer life. However, as we shall see, the exact opposite is true. Cordain himself is unhealthy, fat and looks bad. This is true for all Paleos. This spreading darkness has even spawned a Paleo magazine!
Unfortunate persons who pursue a diet high in saturated fat are inviting liver disease, cardio-vascular disease and numerous cancers. Women open the door to female cancers and especially breast cancer. They are also tormented with irregular periods, painful a severe periods, severe PMS and horrible post-menopausal problems. Likewise, men invite heart disease, prostate cancer, diminished quality of life and a shorter life expectancy.
A Paleo diet will elevate your cholesterol, homocysteine, uric acid and CRP (inflammatory) numbers. These indicators are the most accurate predictors of artery and heart disease. CHD is the greatest single cause of death among all afflictions.
Paleos lump together all carbohydrates (“carbs”) as though they were equal including white sugar, oatmeal, brown rice, honey, whole wheat and maple syrup. How can anyone with any common sense equate white sugar with brown rice? This assumption is based on the Glycemic index which is like having an index to show BTUs per oz in everything from cooking oil to gasoline.
Beans, legumes and whole grains are the foundation of a daily diet that is in harmony with the Natural Order. Our staple food should be whole grains. If we avoid eating these and eat only animal foods with a few yellow and green vegetables added in, we fall into a diseased state called ketosis. Cholesterol goes up and the bad LDL goes up significantly. Ketosis is also associated with nausea, loss of appetite, hypotension (lower blood pressure) and fatigue. People who are starving also fall into this state. The Paleo diet is the Atkins ketogenic diet but missing the dairy products. What this means is the toxic ketones commandeer the body and diseases of many types result. Ketosis causes our underarms and our breath to have a foul odor. One feels horrible and health deteriorates.
Those who propose the Paleo diet put the Eskimo people on exhibit claiming they enjoy superb health and are “free from the diseases of our modern culture,” and that they “have long lives.” These shameful falsehoods are so patently false and provably so. One has to conclude they are promoted for the sole purpose of selling books. The average Eskimo consuming a native diet has the lowest life expectancy in all of North America. They have more cancer than people living in Canada and a very high disease rate overall. The average Eskimo life span is a mere 44 years and we will rarely find an Eskimo older than 50 years. Food shortages lead them to kill their babies and old people and eat them. These are well documented facts. They have no written language. All of this reveals the diet of the cave man causes early death and disease throughout an entire culture.
Those people that live in Papua New Guinea are eating a Paleo diet and they rank near the bottom for life expectancy at 148 out of 182. For emphasis let’s repeat – 148 out of 182 countries! For poverty, they rank 121st out of 135. They have very high disease rates and they still practice cannibalism. Again, no written language. This gives more proof as to the effects of pursuing a Paleo diet.
There is not a single study to show any benefits for those that follow a Paleo diet. There are none. As a fact, published scientific literature from around the world shows beyond all doubt that the animal foods we eat the sicker we become and we die younger. Whereas, the more beans, whole grains, yellow and green vegetables we eat, the greater is our health and longevity. Compare rural Chinese, Thai Koreans, Vietnamese and Japanese to Papua New Guineans and Eskimos.
A man by the name of Weston Price established the Weston Price Foundation. He avocated an animal based diet absent any beans or grains. His view and subsequent theory was the result of observing the Masai tribe in Africa. He made the claim that they enjoyed a long life and had robust health. This is so far from the truth. The Masai have an average age of 44 like the Eskimos. They live in abject poverty and do not have a written language. This is the model that Price gave us. We can only surmise he was counting on the fact that most of us would not investigate his claims.
Rural Japanese and especially those living in Okinawa, have the longest lives and they are the healthiest people on Earth. In general, rural Asians are much healthier than people from Western cultures. All of them have grains as their base food with scarce amounts of foods from animal sources. Asians living in the cities are now suffering from the same health problems we have as a result of adopting Western dietary habits. Read the books Healthy at 100 by Robbins and also The China Study by Campbell. Watch the excellent documentary Forks Over Knives.
The charts that follow reveal that saturated fat is the main direct cause of breast cancer and prostate cancer based on thirty-seven and twenty-nine countries:
These charts clearly indicate that saturated fat is a direct cause of breast cancer and prostate cancer. This is research that is based on millions of people and cannot be refuted. The same is also true of heart disease and cholesterol in general.
Whole grains are truly the foundation of life. The healthiest diet excludes poultry, meat, eggs and dairy foods. For more information see the author’s book Whole Foods Plant Based Diet.
The evidence for good health by following a whole foods, plant based diet is so overwhelming that Kaiser Permanente is recommending it to all patients.
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