Paleo vs. Paleo Friendly
No one is perfect, but all of us have encountered Paleo enthusiasts who nevertheless advocate for a 100% adherence to the diet akin to that of our preagricultural hunter-gatherer ancestors. The basic premise of Paleo is fairly simple, and can be broken down into a short list of Eat/Don’t Eat foods. Despite its simplicity, the scientific research behind the Paleo diet is fairly complex, and sometimes hotly debated. Strict adherence to its guidelines can be very challenging, especially in a U.S. food market flooded with many of the cheaply produced “Don’t Eat” foods (like processed and packaged foods, refined vegetable oils, and refined sugar).
Even some of Paleo’s biggest advocates use terms like “90/10” or “80/20” to indicate a “mostly” or “friendly” relationship status with common Paleo guidelines.
This raises some questions—if you eat 80/20 Paleo, can you expect 80/20 results? Will the occasional bowl of oatmeal, or peanut-oil fried white potatoes counteract the health benefits of a Paleo diet? Are there significant benefits to a 100% adherence that make it worth the relative trouble and expense?
Why Paleo?
The Paleo diet is popular for its many health benefits, including weight loss and the reduction of risk factors for a number of chronic “diseases of civilization’” (including obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease). Paleo has increased in popularity as many of its core guidelines have become nutritional trends in their own right, including going dairy and gluten-free, as well as refined-sugar free and low-carb.
The past decade seemed to spark a general heightened awareness of how the kind and quality of food we eat affects everything from our waistline, to our mood, to the environment we live in.
The benefits of an anti-inflammatory diet based on lean meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and healthy fats (from seeds, nuts, and oils) are backed by scientific research and experience, and, although there are many areas of dispute, it is hard to deny the benefits of Paleo over what is un-flatteringly referred to as the Standard American Diet (SAD L).
What are the specific benefits of Paleo? A 2009 study from University of California San Francisco School of Medicine researchers demonstrated that a strict adherence to a Paleo diet for healthy sedentary people consistently improved circulatory, carbohydrate, and lipid metabolism physiology. Other studies show Paleo can be more satiating, reduces cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes and overall (also this), and have a variety of positive pathophysiological implications related to cancer, bone mineral density, and insulin reception/resistance.
The Paleo diet is especially popular in the fitness community. For those who train by functional fitness principles, it makes sense to eat according to basic human nutritional function principles, which the Paleo diet persuasively claims to do. However, athletes and other highly active people often have more diverse goals than weight loss, the focus of many Paleo studies. Furthermore, many studies focus on the short-term effects of adhering to a Paleo diet, meaning that the long-term effects are still somewhat unknown. Add into this mix the high-level psychological and physiological differences between eating “100%” v. “mostly” Paleo, and you enter into some murky terrain, and even some fierce debates.
Falling Short
Some scientists have suggested that a 100% Paleo diet won’t allow you to meet all of our modern nutritional needs, and that it is too high in protein and/or too low in carbs for some individuals. However, others have shown that certain foods, like gluten, grains, and any high-carbohydrate food, even when eaten in relatively small amounts, can adversely affect brain function and lead to diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. Books on GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) and Grain Brain remind us that the mind is part of the body, and the two are linked in sometimes surprising ways. Pyschiatrist Dr. Emily Deans argues that unprocessed, whole foods are essential for neuroplasticity (basically your brain’s ability to adapt) and good mental health, including warding off mental stress, anxiety, and depression. She’s also one of several researchers who’ve explored how the metabolic results of a ketogenic diet (a high-fat, low-carb diet), and/or fasting, can improve cognition. Healing your gut and your mind go hand-in-hand, just as increasing physical fitness and mental health often go hand-in-hand. But, again, do you need to be 100% Paleo to receive these benefits?
Given some widespread differences in how to define and follow a Paleo diet, how could anyone be 100%? No matter how strict you are, you might end up 100% according to one nutritionist or Paleo enthusiast, but 90/10 according to another. According to Robb Wolf, Paleo is best understood as a set of useful, common sense ideas, and not a strict set of rules. Furthermore, Wolf and others guide Paleo newbies and Paleo enthusiasts on much more than just what to put on your plate, including information on exercise, sleep, stress-reduction, and even bowel movements. In other words, Paleo is much more than a diet.
The Right Fit For You?
All of this suggests that we have to pay attention to our own bodies, and how we uniquely respond to dietary changes. If you feel physically and mentally better when you are 100% gluten-free, but can tolerate a non-Paleo whole food now and then (like oats, rice, or white potatoes), and actually feel physically and mentally stronger with that non-Paleo food, who’s to say you should be 100% if you thrive at 90/10? Well, this is The Internet, so surely someone will tell you that it’s 100% or nothing, but in many case you are the ultimate judge of your own health; that is, as long as you maintain the ability to listen to your body. Though it may be controversial, some have even suggested that there are significant differences between the benefits of 100% Paleo for men and women athletes, particularly when it comes to carbohydrate consumption.
So, it’s complicated. But, if you’re reading this, you’re likely already someone attuned enough to proactively seeking out what kinds of approaches to fitness and nutrition will best allow you to flourish as a unique person as well as a member of a complex society and species. That means you continually seek out new information and adapt according to how you respond to changes in your diet, and how you value and can accommodate certain choices over others. After all, not everyone can afford to eat 100% grass-fed meat all the time, nor does everyone have consistent access to high quality whole foods. So, as long as you stay 100% committed to constantly learning more about what helps you flourish, you’re probably better off than adhering 100% to someone else’s program.