Paleo Women- Neither Cavey Nor ‘Polka-Dot Wearing, Porridge Making’

Have you read the latest?

“The Rise of the Lady Paleos: How a Dubious Diet Aimed at Men Appeals to Women, Too” opens with ‘The Paleo Diet has always been difficult to take seriously“.

It has?

According to the author, apparently those who adhere to Paleo are either “hypermasculine men who install meat lockers in their apartments and gnaw on turkey legs” or “friendly, perky women who wear polka dots and create Paleo approved recipes for banana porridge“.

While I certainly know people, men and women, thank you, who have a meat locker (which, by the way, is purely an economically practical way of purchasing a large quantity of grass fed meat, for example, and storing it, and has nothing to do with whether one is ‘hypermasculine’ or not), I cannot say that I’ve ever actually met any of my fellow women Paleo advocates who fit the description painted above.   

Perky?  Ok, maybe some of us could come across that way, but in a positive, attractive way that makes others curious to know what the secret is, in terms of the boundless energy, and warm, welcoming approach to Paleo living.

The women of Paleo I’ve had the opportunity to network have been educated professionals who all have their own unique stamp on Paleo and collectively, we’re all working to get the broad message out there:

Paleo is a healthy, natural way of eating that can heal.

That’s it.

Consider just a few:

• Dr. Terry Wahls, MD, an amazing doctor who cured herself of MS by creating her methodology, The Wahls Way.
• Dr. Amy Myers, MD, a functional medicine doctor who focused on helping her patients take ownership of their health by looking at their diet as an integral part of their healing.
• Nora Gedgaudas, CNT, Board-certified in Holistic Nutrition and expert on Paleo Nutrition.

In addition, Paleo cookbook authors like Sarah Fragoso, who, in addition to candidly sharing her own journey to Paleo and how it led her to optimal health, serve to play role models for busy moms everywhere who want their families to be healthier and make cooking healthy, fresh food a daily part of their lives.

All of us, from Paleo doctors, to lifestyle coaches and chefs have something unique to offer in the world of Paleo that  is still largely thought of my those who are unfamiliar with what Paleo really is by ‘some weird diet for macho men who eat tons of raw meat all day’.

None of us are ‘perky polka-dot wearing women preparing banana porridge‘.

The article’s inaccuracies are perhaps best highlighted by the statement: “…but the science behind Paleo is, at best, uncertain; the hunter-gatherer lifestyle that the diet aims to replicate has more in common with the Flintstones than actual historical facts.”  as well as the closing line “…you get to eat bacon.” (another fallacy is that copious amounts of bacon should be eaten regularly).

There actually is considerable research and science behind this manner of eating and it’s key to understand that the idea is to emulate the food groups that hunter-gathers had with modern foods easily found locally in our farmer’s markets and grocery stores, not that we actually have to ‘live like cavemen’.   Sure, you can take that approach and there’s nothing wrong with it…it’s just not the be all, end all.

Even if there weren’t science behind it, let’s look at common sense:

Doesn’t it just make sense that following the real Paleo diet- eating a balance of seasonal, local veggies with some wild protein and natural fat- is a good idea, and eating items packaged in plastic with a long shelf life is not?

How can anyone argue with that?