Watch Out for Paleo Danger (Not So Much…)

Watch Out!  Paleo could be dangerous, according to a recent article in the Sydney Morning Herald.

“The chief executive of the Dietitians Association of Australia, Claire Hewat, says there is no scientific evidence to support eating the Paleo way.”

Hmm… is this any surprise, given how the ADA also regards this approach which opposes many of the items they endorse?  From a business standpoint, it makes a lot of sense that they’d want to recommend consuming grains and dairy, given that some of their main sponsors, according to their own website, eatright.org, include The Dairy Board, General Mills and Kellogg’s, PepsiCo and – how’s this for an oxymoron- The Coca-Cola Company Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness (pardon?).

Among the ‘dangerous’ components of Paleo are listed:

• Risk of developing a binge-eating disorder
• Increased risk of heart disease from eating red meat and not eating grains
• Lack of evidence of its effectiveness due to lack of studies (OK- I do agree there needs to be more studies done on the subject, but again- the major drug companies and colleges and universities getting major kickbacks from studies showing ‘milk is good’ and ‘eat your grains’ continue to execute studies that have the funds to support them, and, there’s not nearly as much cash in Paleo as there is in milk!)

Here’s the deal- if followed properly, the True Paleo regime simply suggests eating in a balanced, seasonal, local manner and not consuming man made things.

How is that unhealthy?

And though I’m certainly not a clinical psychologist, I have worked in conjunction with enough professionals with their clients in this realm and an eating disorder is a very serious issue that is not ’caused by going Paleo’ any more than it’s ’caused by seeing pictures of thin women in Vogue’. It goes far, far deeper than that.

Eat veggies, eat protein, eat good fat and eat some fruit, and move.

There’s nothing risky about that!