The Cons and Risks of the Paleo Diet

by: Dylan Barton 10/7/14

The concept of the Paleo Diet is to return to eating the types of foods our hunter-gatherer ancestors did. The basic food groups included in the diet are fruits, vegetables, meats, seafood and nuts. Another concept within the diet is eating foods that aren't overly processed and full of chemicals. For a large majority of people, this way of eating will have positive effects on their weight and overall health. There are, however, some scenarios and groups of people who won’t experience the expected positives and benefits.

One of the most prominent and most written-about concerns with the Paleo Diet is the possibility of not getting enough calcium. While an educated user of the diet would possibly know that calcium doesn't come from just dairy foods, it is safe to presume that a large amount of people who jump on board with this diet wouldn’t consider the other food options for absorbing calcium. Within the concept of the Paleo Diet there is no place for dairy under the premise that hunter-gatherers didn't have domesticated animals to milk. Those ancient ancestors had to find other sources for nutrition, and so will you if you choose to follow the Paleo Diet. Some allowed sources for calcium include spinach, kale and other leafy green vegetables.

If healthy levels of calcium are not reached, then your body will eventually develop a deficiency. Dr. Andrew Weil describes the effects of calcium deficiency as follows: “Symptoms of calcium deficiency (also known as hypocalcemia) range from minor -- numbness or tingling of the fingers, muscle cramps, lethargy and poor appetite -- to more severe, including mental confusion, skeletal malformations, dermatitis, and in infants, delayed development. Illnesses such as osteoporosis (brittle, thin, porous bones that easily break) and rickets are also associated with a deficiency.”

While it isn't directly a problem with the Paleo Diet, but more of a debate over its benefits, experts disagree over whether or not eating this way will help you avoid some of the diseases and disorders that plague our society. It is true that the hunter-gatherers didn't suffer from nearly as much cancer or heart disease. It is up for debate, however, that our modern way of eating is entirely the cause of these malities or if other environmental factors are to blame. Scientists are routinely finding new causes of cancer and other diseases.  For example: Bpa, an additive that strengthens many of the plastic food and drink storage items (among other things) we use in our daily lives has been found to cause cancer. This shows that the total picture of what causes our health problems is yet to be found and finalized.

Athletes and other people who are highly active are likely to find problems with the Paleo Diet. The reason these possible dieters should reconsider following the diet is that they will not find themselves having the same amount of energy because the diet doesn't allow many of the sources of carbohydrates that are available to non-dieters. While the high amount of protein will provide an abundance of long-lasting energy, the lack of grains will have eaters finding a deficit in terms of the quick energy that is associated with carbohydrates. This will result in a noticeable change in the performance of these highly active dieters, which especially in the case of professional athletes isn't something you want to be contending with while competing.     

High amounts of saturated fats create another risk that Paleo dieters will have to weigh out when deciding whether or not to subscribe to this way of eating. While there are some health problems that are avoided with this diet, it does raise the risk of developing other issues. Examples of the health problems that could be experienced because of the Paleo Diet’s heightened amount of saturated fats include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and certain types of cancer. These are long-term diseases however, and are still possibilities for non-Paleo Dieters.  Most of these problems can be avoided without drastically changing the diet you are currently following by being mindful of what you eat and how you exercise.

The cost of the Paleo Diet is yet another aspect that should be considered before switching the way you eat. While eating the way hunter-gatherers did can have health benefits in the short term, sourcing the foods you are allowed to eat is pricier than filling your stomach conventionally. To see this point’s validity all you have to do is walk through a supermarket, tallying up the cost of a week of Paleo Dieting versus the comparatively low cost of the processed foods that the diet bars you from eating. There is also another “cost” in terms of the time it takes to purchase and prepare meals allowed by the Paleo Diet. You cannot simply swing by the nearest drive-through restaurant if you are following the concept of the diet. So your convenience is going to be sacrificed for the hopes of trimming your waistline measurement.

In addition to the Paleo Diet being questionable for athletes and the general public, the diet is also potentially rough on vegetarians. Sports nutritionist Leslie Bonci states, “This diet can be really hard for vegetarians, especially since the diet excludes beans.” With beans being an important element of a vegetarian diet, as they provide protein and other nutrients, embarking on the Paleo Diet is a decision that shouldn't be made without further research and planning.

With all of these downsides and cons considered, the best step to take may be to reconfigure your diet to allow the benefits of the Paleo Diet while also limiting risks and costs that come with being a full-time follower of the diet. While not a perfect diet as many of it’s supporters claim, the knowledge found while researching the Paleo Diet has helped to better inform us of both the diet of our hunter-gatherer ancestors and how the differences in our modern diets affect people today. No knowledge is bad knowledge, as long as we use it to better our lives and health.   

Sources

Is the Paleo Diet Right For You? http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/paleo-diet/story?id=22821385

Debunking Diets: Paleo Pros and Cons http://greatist.com/health/debunking-diets-paleo-pros-and-cons

Pros and Cons of the Paleo Diet http://www.upmc.com/services/sports-medicine/newsletter/pages/paleo-diet.aspx

Pros and Cons of the Paleo Diet http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/health-fitness/healthy-eating/pros-and-cons-of-the-paleo-diet

How the Paleo Diet Works http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/diet-fitness/diets/paleo-diet1.htm

Supplements and Herbs: Calcium

http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/ART02814/calcium

How Environmental Exposure May Affect Your Child http://www.webmd.com/children/environmental-exposure-head2toe/bpa

Video on cons of the paleo diet:

Description prompt

9/30/2014
In a single sentence, declare who you are – your ethnic and regional background, your social class, your religion, or whatever is appropriate to you. For example, “I am a third-generation American of Irish-German heritage, raised Catholic in the middle-class suburbs of the Midwest.” Follow this sentence with an autobiographical paragraph or two, perhaps shifting back to the time you were born, or perhaps showing how your background influences your beliefs and actions today.

I am a fourth generation American middle-class Anglo-Saxon raised in central PA/MD.

My ancestors came from both Germany and Great Britain around the turn of the 20th century. Half of my relatives are upper-middle-class and the others are middle-class. the wealthier ones were living down around Wilmington Delaware, and the less rich were from here in Williamsport. I was raised primarily by my family in Williamsport.

The side of my family that has more money are baptist and the less wealthy are catholic. Neither of these faiths have much to do with my beliefs or how I live my life. I wasn't consistently raised going to a particular church, so that's most likely the reason for my lack of belief in any or a specific faith.

I like soccer teams from both Germany and Britain, while also liking musical groups from both places as well, That is probably the most prominent way that my heritage has effected my daily life. I obviously can't say that I wouldn't possibly like the things I do if I were Italian though, for example. I guess overall I am more leaning toward the events of our lives effecting our preferences than the lives of our ancestors having an influence.

9/25 Prompt

9/25/2014

Associate an object or an action with someone in real life. Does someone you know have a cherished possession or a unique ritual? Describe it. Use that object or ritual to begin a character sketch about that person.

I have a ritual surrounding my Chelsea FC jerseys. If I don't have the jersey on before the game I cannot put the jersey on during the game, even if they are losing in the hopes that putting the jersey on would turn the game around. The reason I don't put the jersey on if Chelsea are trailing is because I halfway believe that me putting the jersey on would actually negate the eventual comeback that they would have late on in the second half. If they are winning by a slim lead I don't want the other team to make a comeback because I decided to put the jersey on. If they are already up big I feel they don't need my help and also that putting the jersey on might cause a key player to get injured.

Does this set of rituals or rules say something about my overall personality? Maybe. I am a very particular person that likes things certain ways and hates many things people do. I don't have a series of repetitious activities like flicking light switches multiple times or anything that would be typically linked to OCD. I just have an overly long set of peeves and a short fuse especially when I'm in pain, which is almost all of the time. I try to relax separate from the situation that is bugging me, usually by having a cigarette. Clearly this isn't good for my health, but neither is a stay in prison for an aggravated assault charge.

Afterlife Prompt

9/23/2014

Write about your vision of the afterlife, if you believe in one. If you don’t believe in one, write about what happens after we die or, if you prefer, write about your vision of what the afterlife should be.

I have studied various religions through my junior and senior year catholic high school theology classes and on my own time. While these are all as plausible as my best guess, I don't think that anyone actually has a correct or could have a 100% true answer. This is because we aren't able to talk to whatever supreme being may or may not exist and we also cannot interview the dead about what they are experiencing.

I personally believe that the most likely thing is that there is nothingness after we die, just like how there is nothingness before we are conceived and born. We don't have memories of life before birth, and we don't have memories of past lives we've lived. This also means I don't believe in reincarnation. We are composed of various elements and will break down into those elements when we decay. The best hope for an afterlife is that we become compost that grows a seed into a plant that allows an insect, animal, or human to be fueled and continue to live on.

It may give comfort to believers while they're living to think that this life is just the beginning and we will see those who we love again in heaven. I understand why leaders of societies would also want people to follow moral laws under the fear of being judged after death and not reaching heaven. These beliefs and fears keep the population under control, so it is very utilitarian. If we are under control then society will be more productive, which lines the pockets of those in power.

I won't judge those who choose to believe. It isn't my place to rain on their parade. However, if I do decide in the future that I want to have kids, I will not raise them believing in a warm and cozy afterlife or instill fear of not reaching it just to get them to behave. I believe in doing good because you have love for those who wish for you to succeed and don't have hatred for your fellow man. Those are good enough reasons in my opinion to not live life like an animal or a thief.

Death Bed Prompt

9/18/2014

You’re very old. You’re on your deathbed. (Sorry.) Family and friends gather around you. What do you tell them about life? What advice about living do you offer them? Spill a few pearls of wisdom from your experience.

"Well the end of my life is near. It's been an interesting adventure, but its time to head home. I didn't exist before I was born and won't exist when I pass. Life is nothing but a game, existence is a joke with death as the punchline. Don't miss me when I die, because I won't be missing you.

Its not that I don't love any of you, it is simply that I don't have a reason to believe I'll have the capacity to miss, regret, or even be proud.

While you still have life left, go out and enjoy it. Death will come for certain, so there is no point sitting around waiting for it. Nobody is going to give you everything you want. Most will try to stop you from attaining it. You have to decide each morning that you deserve what you want and then go out there and seize it.

There is no point having pity for yourself or crying. They don't change anything. when the tears dry you'll still be in the same shitty situation as you were when you started. Don't be a bitch. Yes life can be tough, but there is no way to change that fact. Deal with it, there are no excuses left to use.

Now f**k off I'm going to watch some porn while my heart can still pump the blood to give me a boner!"

Fairly tale prompt

9/16/2014 (Please hyperlink)

Retell a myth or a fairy tale, changing what happens or exploring characters more deeply than in the original. For example, GRENDEL is the story of the monster in BEOWULF and WICKED is a story about the Wicked Witch of the West. Reverse the myth or tale and try to

Jack and the Beanstalk...

Jack is sent to town to sell a cow for his family, when he gets there he is offered a few magic beans for his cow. Being incredibly dumb and naive Jack thinks it is a fair trade, so he takes the beans and heads home thinking he got a great deal. His mother is annoyed and disappointed at what a dope her son is. She tells him to plant the beans anyway to see what grows since they won't have money for food now. Jack plants the beans and nothing happens right away. Thinking he is the dope his mother claims he is, Jack walks away in shame, having expected something magical like a gigantic beanstalk would sprout up.

The next day Jack awakens and decides to look out the window to see if something possibly happened to save him from being disowned. When he gazes out the window he is shocked to see that a cluster of cows are growing out of the ground.

When the cows are fully grown and ripe for picking, Jack takes the herd to town and sells them for a good price and lives happily ever after.....