La Solucion Paleolitica / The Paleo Solution: La Dieta Humana Originaria / The Original Human Diet

by Robb Wolf, Loren Cordain (Foreword)

Quieres perder grasa, verte mas joven y sentirte estupendo, ademas de evitar el cancer, la diabetes, las enfermedades cardiacas, el Parkinson y el Alzheimer? La Solucion Paleolitica revela la historia de la dieta humana originaria, uniendo el conocimiento antropologico acerca de nuestro pasado como cazadores-recolectores con los ultimos y mas modernos descubrimientos de la genetica, la bioquimica, la inmunologia y la investigacion sobre la longevidad. Robb Wolf, un investigador bioquimico que cambio la bata de laboratorio y el protector de bolsillo por un silbato y un cronometro, para convertirse en unos de los entrenadores de fuerza y condicionamiento mas respetado del mundo, te muestra como unos simples cambios en la nutricion, el ejercicio y los habitos pueden mejorar drasticamente tu aspecto, tu salud y tu longevidad. La Solucion Paleolitica expresa este mensaje con partes iguales de humor britanico y afectuosa severidad, para ofrecerte un entretenido viaje a tra

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Nutrition, Food, Diets, Fitness, Cooking

336 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2010

Reviews

[Jennifer Connolly · Rating 1 out of 5]

I bought this book at the same time I bought The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson because it seemed like it was even more popular than Mark's book and so I thought it might be worth a read. Big mistake. I made it about halfway through. I'm sure there is lots of great information in this book, but Robb Wolf's "voice" is so horribly obnoxious that I just can't get past it. He writes like an online marketer. The entire book reads like one of those one page 20K+ words sales letters you occasionally stumble across online. I just find it so very patronizing that I finally had to stop reading it altogether.

[Jordana · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're already familiar with Paleo Nutrition, you'll likely find this book redundant.

If, like me, you've never heard of it, this is a great introduction.

Other reviewers have complained about the "science-y sections." Wolf says it best when he says, before those chapters even start, that if the detailed nutritional info isn't your cup of tea you're perfectly welcome to skim or skip those sections and go straight to the "how to." Odds are good that once you start seeing results you'll want to learn more about why you're experiencing what you're experiencing. In my case, he was completely right.

Quick background: My doctor had recommended I cut out gluten, and I'd been struggling to do so for about a year. The Paleo Solution made sense to me, and seemed much easier to do than what I'd been attempting on my own. So, I decided to give Wolf the 30 days that he was asking for. Within 4-5 days I felt so amazing that I knew I was never going to go back to the Standard American Diet (SAD) that had been making me ill for so long.

Wolf was right - once I started experiencing all the positive benefits of a Paleo lifestyle, I got curious, and went back to re-read the "scienc-y sections."

I just wish that the cover didn't display the word "DIET" so prominently. In the classic sense, this isn't a fad weight loss diet. It's a nutritional plan that one can happily live with for a lifetime, not something that someone suffers through for a short period of time in the hopes of losing a few pounds.

In short, if you have any health issues at all (depression, IBS, migraines, weight problems, seasonal allergies... anything at all), read this book.

EDIT: January 29, 2012. It's been almost a year and Wolf's suggested nutritional plan is still working wonders for me. I've dropped from a size 14 to a size 6, my chronic fatigue is gone, my allergies don't bother me anymore, my skin has cleared up, my brain fog is gone, and, furthermore, friends and family have become inspired and have achieved similar results. Can't recommend this book highly enough.

EDIT: March 28, 2015. Still stand by this review!

UPDATE November 8, 2018: Yep. Still true!

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you want to read a book by a guy with a serious savior/martyr complex and intense government paranoia, then this is the book for you. Also, everyone who 100% agrees with his every word is smart and everyone else is stupid, sinister, or both.

Part One

First, I'm subjected to a sad story about how the author was basically the victim of the horrible religion of vegetarianism and how awful it all was, which forms the introduction to a book devoted to his new (This time he's really really right, he swears and everyone and everything else is evil now) religious fervor on the Paleo Diet, an irony the author seems to miss altogether. Then this:

Professor Blah Blah had written articles for lots of journals and since it was so many, he must be a genius. Then the kicker- "His secret? If you know the answer (evolutionary biology) it is easy to reverse engineer the question" [note: That's an exact quote. My note on kindle: "How did this moron write a best-seller?"]

Yes yes. The correct scientific approach to all matters is to start from what you've already declared to be true and then rig the question to provide no answer but yours. That's science. I hope my sarcasm is coming through okay.I intend to finish this one because it might get better (you never know) and he has a whole crowd of worshippers so I'll give it a fair shake before moving on. To be clear: I'm not anti-Paleo. In fact, in principle, I like it. More meat, less grains (none if you're hardcore).

But I'll keep reading because maybe this guy will stop being a caricature of someone incapable of rational thought. How this guy left Crossfit is a mystery to me. They're both fanatically religious about their ideas and neither set of ideas is as original or brilliant as both groups claim them to be. Seems like a match made in heaven.

Good grief, what am I in for?

Part Two

I should probably clarify before I get hammered by the paleo-religionistas that, to them, paleo is a binary state. You just are "paleo" or you are not. You get the same thing from orthodox jews (for instance) who consider that if you are not 100% Kosher, then you are not a proper jew despite the fact that most jews don't keep 100% Kosher.

So I've continued to read his story of how he thinks he has a particular condition (his mom did and so we are to assume that he must. Also, he didn't feel well) that makes grains bad for him (celiac, if you're wondering) which so far he seems to consider the first piece of proof that his new eating religion is scientifically correct for all people. In all fairness, I assume he will present real arguments at some point, he just hasn't yet and I'm a good little ways into the book. I wish he'd gear up to say something already. Now I reach another in his long string of complaints about all the naysayers who just will not take his word as scientific proof (those low down dirty doctors). Quote:

"His answer was typical of what I would encounter in the years to follow "That is pseudo science. There is no proof."

Don't those doctors know that he is a messiah who brings the truth and they should just take him at his claims? Don't they know that if he feels better then everyone on earth should do exactly what he says diet-wise from now on? This guy is like a case study in martyr complexes. I'm guessing this story turns into a tale about how he overcame all the odds and now dominates/heals/corrects all the lowly earthlings with his insights. How could it not? That's the version of himself that he has invented.

Oh, there it is a few pages later with his stack of "credentials" relating how he helps everyone and solves everything by touring and being talked about in Men's Health. And now the testimonials, which, as we all know, are the hallmark of "science". The fact that every diet plan has testimonials need not be a deterrent to Mr. Wolf since he "knows deep down" that only his are truly true. Or at least that the other people's benefits must be due to something else since only his diet plan can be good.

Part Three

After a rather long winded diatribe about how "unscrupulous people" are always trying to sell you on the latest "fad diet", he asserts that the only way out of the "fad diet cycle" is to go with his fad diet. I'm not saying paleo won't be around for many years, but to deny that it's a fad right now is simply silly.

Then: "The reality is that our genetic heritage WANTS us to look good." [his emphasis] Notwithstanding the fact that "genetic heritage" is a meaningless term in this context, the actual reality is that our genes couldn't care less about how we look. Genes are not interested in appearance. They are only interested in survival. That's how they work. A statement like his goes beyond absurd. I wouldn't mind so much if he weren't so brazen about declaring things to be true based on the fact that he really really wants them to be true. See Part One for how this guy's magical approach to science works. The chapter ends with a reminder that he is so selfless and amazing that his only goal is to "save your life." He actually says that. He follows it by indicating that it sure would be helpful if you'd just get out of the way with your own thoughts and ideas and let him tell you what to do since only he knows how to save you life.

Part Four

I love the part where he tells us what cavemen actually thought. Like, he knows what they pondered about and the conclusions they reached philosophically. Not because there's any evidence of it, but just because he is that mystically superior that he can mentally time travel into other peoples' heads and tell you what they thought about. Science, he reminds us. Then another reminder that the correct approach is to start with declaring what you want to be true to be true, and then rig the question to provide only your answer. He attempts this with a silly analogy about a box of ceramic shards that doesn't pass the laugh test when you realize what he's trying to sell.

I'm starting to repeat myself, but I can't help it. It's what this whole book is so far. I just sat through a diatribe about how the medical community more or less intentionally provides bad information because they don't care about anyone and they just want their universities to get more money, but not HE, YOUR SELF SACRIFICING AUTHOR, who has only one concern (unlike those dirty doctors and scientists who, he implies, want you to die) and that is to save you. Of course, the reason he asserts that doctors and scientists don't agree with them is that scientists are "annoyed by the past" and that "it would be too simple" or that scientists somehow don't consider humans part of nature. Has this guy ever met a scientist? Ever? I'm just trying to figure out if he's an intentional liar or just entirely deluded.

I've been met with his very "fair proposition" which is that even if you don't believe his gobbledy-goop, the only "fair" thing to do is exactly what he tells you to anyway. I'm not sure how he manages to square that line of thought with reason.

Part Five (Experiments In Bad Thinking)

There comes a point where he tells a hypothetical story about convincing someone by taking him around a college campus to talk to various experts to prove his point. The whole story is a classic exercise in bad thinking. Leaving aside all the places where he takes a moment in his story to place himself above the academia by inventing a question to ask them and then declaring that they are stumped or had never thought of it before, there are huge problems here. The former trick is common among cult leaders and those who would gather fanatical adherents and it's a tactic called "controlled response for self-elevation." Think about how when reading an Ayn Rand book no character every asks the hero a question he doesn't have a good answer to. The idea is that we are subconsciously convinced that the hero has all the answers because we forget that the person selling this heroic idea is also the one writing both the question and answers and that writer would never include a question they didn't feel they could make a good-sounding answer to. The whole idea is to elevate yourself by creating a fictional scenario where you are superior to everyone (including and especially the "experts") and hope that no one notices that the situation is fiction. Wait, I was going to leave that whole bit aside, wasn't I? Apologies. Back to the point.

In his fictional story, he goes to the Anthropology department and asks them what the most important event in human history is. They answer "the agricultural revolution." Then he asks them about what changed afterwards health-wise. The anthropologists talk about rising levels of disease and general life discomfort. This fictional situation is all designed to sell us on why the paleo diet is correct. In other words, without his long winded needless extras, we got sicker more often after the agricultural revolution. His conclusion? That proves that the agricultural revolution CAUSED sickness. With me so far? Good.

Anyone with even a slight understanding of logic will point out that this is a classic case of "post hoc ergo propter hoc", which means "after it, therefor because of it." It sounds good when you don't think about it too closely, but the reality is that not only is it not always true, it's actually hardly ever true. Let me give you a couple of examples to illustrate the point. These examples will seem silly but they are not actually any logically different from the leap he is making. I'll explain why that's so later on.

Example One: I was born. When I was eight years old, I broke my leg falling off my bicycle. Therefor, being born caused my broken leg.

One can certainly say that had I not been born, I would not have broken my leg, but there is absolutely no basis for suggesting that being born actually directly CAUSED my broken leg and that's a difference of astronomical proportions. No one would agree with my example above as being logically sound and yet it's not really any different from what he's done above from a logical perspective. Let's look at another example.

Example Two (with a twist):

I have blue eyes. Throughout my life I am married and divorced three times. Therefor, having blue eyes CAUSED my divorces.

The twist to this example is that there is no reason to think that if I didn't have blue eyes, I would not have still ended up getting divorced over the years. This is closer to his story because there is no reason to think that if the agricultural revolution hadn't happened, that something else would not have happened and that disease rates would not have still risen.

Now that we see the basic problem with this type of thinking, let's look at why his specific story is bad. Fortunately, due to the sadly constructed argument he makes, I only need one alternative explanation that allows both things (agricultural revolution and declining health) to happen near the same time and still explain the difference. I should state that I do not know for a fact that these things happened at the same time, though I'm willing to grant that it might be true. Even though I only need one example to disprove the foundation of his assertion, here are several:

1. Exercise - Hunger Gatherers had a very different level of fitness. Just try outrunning a pack of wolves or chasing down a pack of antelope on foot.

2. Population Density - The larger the group that lives together the greater the chance of disease spread and the greater the opportunity for diseases to evolve into entirely new problems of their own. The Agricultural revolution made it possible for people to live in larger groups.

3. Having some food easily accessible and others that require more effort increases the likelihood that someone will not maintain any kind of balance in their diet.

Number 3 is critical because that's actually all his fictional anthoropologist says even though he pretends that somehow agriculture CAUSES disease. There are, by the way, many more reasons that would explain this, but three is plenty for our purposes. It's actually sort of impressive how consistently he manages to include anything resembling a clear thought that isn't buried under bad ideas and false conclusions designed to make him sound right. Moving on. Is anyone else annoyed when he forces his fake professors to say things that conveniently prove his point and further indicate at the untrustworthiness of scientists and the medical profession? I'm not saying those people are perfect or that they are always right, but his repeated need to make them look bad and elevate himself to the position of savior is not only pathetic, it's downright wrong.

Part Six

So far, I have not encountered a single paragraph of value. The closest thing is the "testimonials" of how people "feel better" but the reality is that virtually every diet program helps some people feel better and/or lose weight. That's not the sort of truth this author is likely to consider and he certainly won't consider the implications of that truth.

I'm starting to see that I will need to institute some kind of 1% rule, wherein I only comment on around 1% of the issues with this book because otherwise the list of severe problems with this book would end up being longer than the book. My My.

Going forward, please assume that for every thing I mention that is broken in this book, there are approximately 99 that I haven't mentioned for space reasons.

Part Seven

The whole "sales pamphlet" nature of this work is really getting to me. It seems to be a book about selling the diet and making himself into a savior and only be disguised as a book of, you know, valuable information or things for an intelligent person to consider. It's a book clearly aimed at those who are unwilling or unable to actually think about what he's saying. I'm starting to wonder about the mental capacity of the five star reviewers. I prefer to think that they are all his friends and just doing him a favor. No one is dumb enough to buy all this. I hope.

Part Eight

My advice is to skip the part where he "walks you through" the science departments of a college. It's layered with him throwing out statements no scientist would make so that he can emotionally manipulate you into taking his view point. There are probably a hundred examples in this section alone of terrible and sinister thinking. By the way, I mean sinister thinking in the sense that I'm starting to not believe that he is accidentally this dense and that at least some portion of the bad thinking and manipulation is intentional. I hope I'm wrong about that. As I said, there are probably a hundred examples of serious problems here, but with my handy new 1% rule, I'll just give one example of a problem.

"These people [referring to nutritional scientists] THINK they are scientists, yet when their feet are held to the fire, they have no science to stand upon." [emphasis his]

Setting aside his pile of Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc fallacies in the situation leading up to this, we are confronted by a simple fact. He makes this statement after the experts say that evolutionary biology isn't useful for understanding humans [hint: no actual scientist would say this, which is why he made it up], we are guided to assume that they have no science. By this he means that since they don't follow evolution exclusively as a guide for nutrition, they have no science. His point seems to be that only evolution is science and anyone who doesn't use that exclusively as their end all be all guide, then they literally have NO SCIENCE to stand on. I don't think it's a stretch to see this as what he's saying since he pretty specifically spells it out.

I am not stupid and so I don't deny evolution but I'm also not denying that there is such a thing as science that is not entirely 100% determined by evolution. One does not need evolution to see that people get scurvy when they are chronically short of Vitamin C, for example. He seems to think that this is not science since it's not all about evolution. Seriously, is this guy going to hold a press conference one day where he admits this whole book was just a practical joke? I simply can't bring myself to believe that he is serious. I probably wouldn't mind nearly as much if he didn't stop periodically to complain that OTHER people don't think things through. The good news is that he promises science is coming up next. Apparently, it only takes 20% of a book to get around to saying anything.

Part Nine (Adventures in the "Science Section")

"Some well-intentioned but misguided souls will tell you that you can get protein from beans and rice, nuts and seeds. That's true but these are what I call 'third world proteins'. They will keep you alive but they will not make you thrive. This should be clear from the previous chapter that compared hunter-gatherer and agrarian societies." How could this possibly be clear since he has made no statements in support of this? He has just declared it to be true. Understand, I'm not even saying it isn't true. I'm just saying that he hasn't supported this statement at all. Anyone can declare anything they like. I can declare myself the King of Spain and then suggest that it should be clear since you saw me read a Charles Dicken book one time. Wait, that doesn't make sense. See the problem? If you want to make a declaration, at least TRY to support them. I don't recall even hearing this subject mentioned before this declaration, let alone "made clear". Mr Wolf, why do you insist on treating me like an idiot?

I'm rapidly running out of character-space for this review. Perhaps I should switch to a .001% Rule?

Part Ten

"The next time you have a chubby physician or dietician tell you that complex carbohydrates are healthy, ask yourself 'does it make sense that 'many sugars' might be good for me?' hmmm."

Do you like how he makes the doctor fat? See, that's his subtle way of invalidating them before they say anything. Apparently, he won't even allow his fictional people to have differing opinions. Thanks, Il Duce. Of course, lots of people know about things they do not do. Pat Reilly is one of the all-time great basketball coaches but you won't see him on the court driving to the hole on Labron James. His coaching advice is no less valuable as a result of him not being able to dunk on Shaq.

Here's the next problem with this sentence: the whole part about 'does it make sense' was part of a section on polysaccharides (if you are curious) but wouldn't the same comment work if someone were to say 'does it make sense that fat will not make you fat? hmmmm' Invoking conventional wisdom when it suits you and then trashing it when it doesn't is inconsistent and foolish. There is no difference between my statement about fat and his about sugar except that he wants you think one and not the other.

Part Eleven

I am quite happy to report that things have improved some. For instance: "If our fructose intake is low and our total calorie intake is not excessive, things are okay."

I don't think this says what he thinks it says, but it's an important point either way. It basically says "eat reasonable amounts of reasonable foods (lots of protein, plenty of vegetables, sparingly on everything else) and you're in pretty good shape". Not really an endorsement for paleo per se, but a key point.

I'm nearly out of space for this review, so I think I'll try to go out on a positive note. Stay tuned.

Basically, skip the first 50 pages and just assume it says "lots of people feel better and lose weight on this approach." Everything else in the first 50 pages is either pointless extras or downright bad. I'm hoping it gets better.

[Gordy · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you have, or suspect, autoimmunity issues and want to save your life you need to read this book.

The book actually claims it may save your life which may sound like a bold - possibly outlandish and ridiculous - statement to make, until you learn that it's very likely going to save mine. To understand this, I need to give you a quick background as to why I came to read it...

In 2010 I began a journey that would lead me on a search to find answers to why my mental health was deteriorating and I was experiencing symptoms consistent with Attention Deficit Disorder and Asperger's Syndrome at the high end of the autistic spectrum. The symptoms, which probably crossed over between the two, included disrupted executive functions; inability to concentrate and focus attention, poor working memory, an intense dislike and inability to function in a social setting (making conversation, reading body language, etc), and an inability to prioritise tasks. I was now dangerous when driving because my mind would wander instead of concentrating on the road and traffic ahead, and university study was a constant battle because I was in an almost permanent state of 'brain fog' which I can only describe as akin to trying to look at the world clearly after drinking a bit too much alcohol.

My journey took me to see numerous health professionals (in the UK that meant the NHS) whose opinions would range from not having a clue what was wrong, that there was nothing wrong with me, or simply patronizing me with arrogant and ignorant attitudes, devoid of any constructive plans of action. Suffice to say, I wasn't going to find any answers to my problems here. Nevertheless, the diagnostic findings resulting from these hospital appointments were informative. They confirmed damage to the Cerebellum area of the brain, inflammation and a small ulcer in my gut, and the presence of an auto-antibody in my blood.

Only after reading Robb Wolf's book did all the pieces of the puzzle start to fall into place. I learned about the connection between auto-immunity and how susceptible individuals can have an adverse reaction to grains (wheat, barley, rye, oats, etc), dairy or legumes. These substances can penetrate the gut wall and cause the immune system to mount an attack which ends up with the immune system destroying healthy cells in the body because it confuses them with almost identical protein signatures from external substances. In my case, working backwards, the cerebellar damage was being caused by the immune system inadvertently attacking the cells in the brain which then were causing my symptoms. The presence of the auto-antibody in my blood was evidence of this immune response taking place and the inflammation in my gut was suggestive of the root cause of the problem. No doctor had ever suggested this connection, including a neurologist who almost laughed at my early suggestion that gluten (a protein in wheat) may be a causative factor in neurological problems. In his words, he had never heard of any connection between gluten and neurology.

Now, this is important, to be clear Robb's book did not specifically link the neurological symptoms I had with auto-immune disease; that link came from over a year of personal research that involved reading hundreds of academic medical journal articles. What Robb's book did do was tie up the other end of the equation, giving me a root-cause for the auto-immunity to take place. Furthermore, the book actually identified one of the known causes of this type of food-induced auto-immunity as being a type of cancer known as non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The auto-antibody in my blood is specifically linked, in the medical literature, with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

To cut a long story short, I radically changed my diet, following the advice in Robb's book (eating mainly meat and vegetables) and have slowly started to feel better. A full recovery may now take many months, even years; but I've started this process by starting to heal my gut and, little by little, each day I feel a bit better. For the first time in years I am actually experiencing total clarity and focus in everyday life. The next step is healing the damage to my brain which, with no guarantees, will take a lot longer. Without this book I would never have found the root-case of my problems and the solution. The ‘Paleo Solution’ is so called because the author has seen the resolution of similar complaints from thousands of people; in my case, and after searching in vain for answers in the most obvious places, it was the only solution.

Thanks Robb... saving people’s lives for under a tenner, now that’s impressive

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!!! READ THIS BOOK!!!

If you're sick and tired of being sick and tired - this is your answer. If you're trying to gain weight, trying to lose weight, trying to stop being sick or having freaky weird symptoms your doctor sucks at explaining... if you just want to look good naked - this is the book you've been wishing/hoping/praying for!

I have been reading a lot about nutrition (small obsession) for many years now. Only recently have I been able to find the truth about how our bodies work. It takes some digging. Basically, I would say this book and Gary Taubes' Good Calories Bad Calories explains everything you need to know to maintain a healthy lifestyle. This one is less heavy on the scientific stuff though. Instead of the constant "AH HA!" moments I had with Good Calories Bad Calories I found myself laughing... A lot! Robb Wolf has a pretty good sense of humor (I listen to his podcast) and it comes through well in his writing. There is a lot of information in this small book. It's not hard to read either. (Unlike Good Calories Bad Calories.)

__________

Personally:
The hardest part of all of this might be giving up cheese - even if it's raw - for 30 days. There are several autoimmune diseases in my family, and I have one as well... I think I'm going to try stricter Paleo for 30 days and see what happens. I will be honest though, I probably won't be strict until after the beginning of the year... but I will stop "cheating" on my low-carb diet with wheat and other man-made substances. My hand keeps exploding into eczema boils and I'd rather just give that up (crap food and the eczema) completely. Also, I am convinced that I need to exercise more. That I've already started. :) Thanks Robb!!!!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

It amazes me how many negative reviews for this book there are out there. And I feel the need to write a decent review for this one. I'll concede that I guess I can see how his tone is obnoxious, but anyone who's ever been to a gym or worked with a trainer probably won't see it that way because the great trainers get in your face and don't let you back down. I actually think he's funny. I like the irreverent tone to be honest, for example, "lack of sleep cock-blocks weight loss."C'mon. Lighten up people. Part of that though I read as a challenge, like, "okay smart person. You think I'm a jackass? Gimme 30 days. Prove me wrong. If you do, great, but step up to the challenge." And I hate to say it, but his irreverence toward doctors I think is justified. Doctors aren't nutritionists (and most nutritionists aren't either really), and the default always seems to be supplements and pills or the USDA/gov't endorsed "My Pyramid" (which is a holy hell mess, and you don't need this book to tell you that).

As a former vegan, like Wolf, I have to admit that he is harsh, probably correct, but harsh in his treatment of vegans. And he does actually offer a vegetarian (ironic as that may be) version of Paleo eating. But he's trying to make a point. And that point is that it's not meat that's bad for you--it's FACTORY FARM meat that's bad for you.I mean, what do you think is better? A block of processed tofu or a whole unprocessed (save for head, feathers, and guts removed) non grain, properly fed chicken? And there seems to be a lot of criticism about how expensive it is and how snobby he is about certain foods. He's clear in arguing that if you can and when you can, you need to buy the best meat possible. How is that NOT good advice for anyone??

In comparison to all of the vegan books that I have, none of them emphasize the importance of sleep, stress management, or exercise in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. And just like anything, those who half-ass it are going to think it's crap because you can't half-ass it.

Studies show that more and more people legitimately have problems with gluten and corn. Why? Because more and more products are filled with variations of wheat, rye, barley, and corn. Check the labels. So I think he's probably pretty fair in saying that most people don't realize the impact it has on their bodies until they cut it out. But even still, just about anyone can benefit from this.

It's better researched than any of the vegan/vegetarian books that I have.

Legit research shows that diets that focus on grains and cut out fat expand our waistlines and cause CVD (see Eat, Drink, and Be Healthy). Serious scientific nutritionists advocate a limit on grains and absolutely NO refined or white grains at all, including potatoes, and a limit on starchy veggies like corn. Paleo just goes one step further and says just don't eat it. So I honestly don't understand the disconnect. I'm still on the fence about beans and peanuts, to be honest, but I get it, and I don't miss beans, and I have come to prefer almond butter anyway.

I have to say that I'd recommend this book if you're interested in the really sciency stuff and the practical stuff as well. Or if you're just interested in paleo living. But seriously, how much more balanced can a meal get than lean meat, an abundance of veggies, some fruit, and good fats, for every meal? I have yet to figure out what in the world is so wrong with that way of eating.

[Rachel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I came close to creating a new shelf just for this book, titled "couldn't finish." There's a lot of interesting, potentially useful information in it, but the author's tone is obnoxious. If his goal was to persuade me, he failed, and not because of his data. Rather, it was that I felt that he didn't understand his audience. He thought he did, but his sense of it was clearly based on people who'd come to him looking for help, and people who'd opposed him from the start, and there was no room for the curious but somewhat sceptical reader.

Two things I found particularly naive were his belief that living a Paleo diet was easy and straightforward for everyone (he tends to take his own experiences and generalize wildly from them - he got very sick on a vegetarian diet, so he assumes that anyone eating such food _must_ also be sick, even if they feel healthy, for example), and that it's just a matter of prejudice or lack of will that prevents their success. (He even mocks one woman who failed his program for her attitude - nice.)

In fact, he never mentions the expense of going Paleo - those tasty free-range meats and wild-caught fish and organic veggies aren't available everywhere*, and when they are available, they tend to cost more. So strike one. Second, he doesn't factor in the time involved in this diet - not just the time to prepare the food but also the time needed to shop for it. As "evil" as grain-based and legume-based foods may be, one thing they do have going for them is a stable shelf life. If you don't want to spend your time shopping every other day for your fresh veg and meat, you're going to have to include something else in your diet. So strike two. If you live in a food desert, or work a double-shift, or live on food stamps, sorry, folks. If you're fat and unhealthy, it's your fault for not going Paleo.

I was hoping to be persuaded that the Paleo diet was feasible - and instead I came away feeling scolded and irritated and condescended to by someone I couldn't respect. Perhaps this is what works for some people; it didn't work for me.

*This is the Alice Waters problem. It's reasonable to advise people to eat only local in-season vegetables when you're in a place like California where a variety grows year round. In many parts of the country, however, you're looking at several months of turnips, potatoes, onions and squash - and that's if your grocery store even carries local produce.

[Kristin · Rating 1 out of 5]

There is a lot of interesting information in this book, but it is really hard to get past the author's obnoxious and condescending tone. He makes some ridiculously sexist comments, refers to the reader as "Buttercup", and generally acts as if no one else could possibly understand all the science-y stuff they way he does. He tries to be witty and humorous, but his attempts fall flat and he just comes off as juvenile and obnoxious. His constant digs at vegetarians and vegans get really, really old after a while and are counter-productive.

I'm not entirely convinced by all of his arguments, but overall I think he's on the right track and I definitely think there is something to this Paleo/Primal diet. However, I can't imagine me ever recommending this book to a friend or family member because of the problems above. It's hard for people to keep an open mind about the message when the messenger is so obnoxious. I'll have to read some of the other Paleo/Primal books out there and see if there is one that is little less offensive.

UPDATE: I have since read The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson and would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in a paleo/primal lifestyle. The book is interesting and Sisson doesn't insult his readers or come off like a scam artist. His voice is far more authentic and sincere.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exercise your brain; you CAN read this book! You don't have to memorize anything for a test, so get over your issues with "geek speak". Reading this information WILL transform how you look at food and your health (and particularly if you watch the documentary "Food, Inc.") and hey, you might even feel good about brushing up on some science! The combination of this book and that documentary turned my perception of the food pyramid, and what I had previously considered to be "healthy foods", completely upside down.
This paragraph on page 71 really stands out for me: "It's the damndest thing - the United States is in a health care crisis, the economy is shaky, and the government subsidizes the production of corn, making high-fructose corn syrup cheaper than dirt. Processed food manufacturers make crap foods that are making us sick, diabetic, and dead too early. The government subsidizes the development of statins and a host of drugs to manage the diseases that are a direct outgrowth of the processed foods they are subsidizing! A hell of a racket, am I right?"
By the way, statins are a class of drug used to lower cholesterol, such as Lipitor.
I strictly followed the Paleo "diet" for 30 days last fall. I kicked myself at the end for not weighing and measuring myself at the beginning. I'm not hugely overweight and stand only 5'2"; I easily dropped 5-8 pounds (I consider that to be significant). I felt great - I did not experience hunger or cravings, and I had plenty of energy. I'm re-reading the book now to re-commit to the Paleo style of eating.
I agree with Robb Wolf. "If you make a few minor changes to your eating and lifestyle, you will see a stunning return on investment." "All you need to succeed or prove me wrong is to give it a shot."

[Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book contains some useful practical information in its final chapters and has some succinct definitions of rather confusing health terminology, the overall attitude and arguement of the author is wildly disappointing and aggravating. Given that the author had such a difficult time in his personal life with nutritionists and doctors, it's understandable that he'd take them to task. However, he begins the book by disparaging vegetarians and vegans, stopping just short of calling them stupid, and he's taken it upon himself to strip nutritional scientists of their scientific credentials (a move he makes using an entirely fictional dialogue in which anthropologists are super-dee-duper smart and nutritionists are ignorant even of their own field).

This is all exceptionally aggravating, because I'm, for the most part, sympathetic to the claims Wolf makes. He too easily lapses into hyperbole, however, at one point even claiming that cancer can be reversed just by adopting his dietary recomendations. How does he know this? Because hunter-gatherers didn't have cancer. (Specious, much?)

Regardless, I've decided to surrender myself to the paleo diet for a time to test it out. I'm relatively certain that I will feel some significant benefits from it, but I'm equally certain that it won't guarantee me a cancer-free existance.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most of my friends know that I'm a foodie. And most know of my struggles with weight loss brought on by my struggle to defeat Cushing's Disease. While no cause for Cushing's has been identified, I've long suspected that since it throws off hormonal balances (namely cortisol), the root of the problem may be other things that cause hormonal imbalances.

After watching Food, Inc. several years ago, I knew my suspicions were not unfounded. I adopted a mostly organic lifestyle, mainly organic meats. I did not give up whole grains or dairy at this point, but I did switch to organic dairy and free-range, vegetarian eggs.

Now that I have successfully battled Cushing's Disease, I am trying to get rid of the weight. I have tried nearly everything in the past. Low calorie, low fat, Weight Watchers, California Weight Loss, South Beach, The Zone, the fen/phen fad. Nothing has worked. I have been resistant to higher-protein diets, especially from animals, but since it's the only thing I haven't tried, I decided to at least read a book on it before completely ruling it out.

A fellow Cushie sang the praises of a Paleolithic lifestyle, so I researched Robb Wolf and purchased this book. IT BLEW MY MIND.

Some may say the scientific sections are boring, but not to me. If someone tells me something, I say "Why?" I want to know. Robb provides the information in layman terms. He writes for his audience and explains quite simply that which is a overly complex process.

Even better, there's an entire chapter dedicated to cortisol, which is the culprit that stole my body and five years of my life from me. That was the chapter that convinced me to try. Other diet practitioners discuss fat, and calories, and sugar...but hardly anyone addresses cortisol!!! Since its the hormone that controls not only stress but how your body processes fats, you may want to listen.

I started the lifestyle three weeks ago. It is amazing. I love to cook, and I'm making great-tasting, colorful meals. My "diet" is far from boring. I do not miss bread/grains AT ALL. There was no detox period like on South Beach and other low-carb diets. I have to take several prescriptions to live now that I am without a pituitary gland, but in three weeks, my legs have stopped hurting, I have tapered further on my hydrocortisone (synthetic cortisol), and I have completely stopped taking one pill. My sleep patterns are perfect, and I sleep through the night. My depression is gone, and my skin has cleared. My migraines are gone (or at least so rare I can't remember the last time I had one). I have tons of energy and vitality. My upset stomach has ceased completely. I also lost 7 pounds my first two weeks!

My goal is to lose 100 pounds and with Paleo I know that I can and I will. This book will change your life. Trust me.

[Craig · Rating 5 out of 5]

The challenge Robb Wolf faces with this book is that not only does he have high technical knowledge of his field, but many devotees of this regimen themselves come to the table with a considerable base of knowledge. So the problem at the onset is not merely how to distill the more technical aspects of the science down to something palatable for novice intake, but how to do this while providing a level of content to invigorate the already converted. Additionally there are those who come Wolf looking for improvement in often major health conditions along with elite athletes hoping to top their latest personal record.

While The Solution errs on the side of benevolence towards newbies and takes ailment as the point of departure, Wolf does indulge in enough explanation for those who want to understand the whys of their nutrition. Mostly he handles this with (often humorous) prefaces, segregating prescription from explanation with something along the lines of, "Here's the part where it get's a bit technical. This knowledge will enhance the understanding of those who want to geek out on this stuff, but is not necessary for those who just want to be told what to do; the latter can skip ahead to chapter..."

While marketed as a diet book, no misconceptions should persist in the minds of the curious: this is not a diet book, as in lose-some-weight-then-going-back-to-eating-the-crap-you-love. This is a primer on paleolithic nutrition and exercise meant to keep aging and disease at bay so long as one adheres to it. Results depend on individual investment. Well aware that he flaunts both the entrenched standard medical dietary advice and the far more visceral pasta addiction that much of that diet's adherents face, Robb incorporates a mix of good natured and sardonic humor to ease novitiates into better health. His mantra is "Try it for thirty days and see how you look, feel and perform." He wants people to have fun and tinker and very much tries to avoid turning this into The Cult of Paleo, as it has on some blogs and forums.

For what it's worth, I've been eating this way myself for nearly five years and continue to see nothing but improvement in my health and levels of contentment.

[Jennifer · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is awful for a number of reasons

1. He sounds like an arrogant jerk.

2. It's Contradictory (I didn't even finish it but found several contradictions) ie, trans fat is bad NEVER EVER eat trans fat, except the small amount of trans fat in grass fed meats... or paleoliths lived long healthy lives-then fast forward a few chapters and he labels their lifespan as 30-35 years

3. Not well cited or sourced just a bunch of general "it's well known that carbs cause heart attacks" etc not data to back it up

4. Can't be very well educated on nutrition, since he labels all carbohydrates as bad, but encourages eating fruit and vegetables (those are carbs) And talks about complete/incomplete proteins. THERE IS NOT SUCH THING AS AN INCOMPLETE PROTEIN! That is a term coined by the USDA all proteins are complete, but the ones that are labeled complete by the USDA meet a specific ratio of 8 certain amino acids. If he does not know this then he is missing very basic nutritional education.

5. The only thing that I read that even seemed to have a decent explanation was why we should avoid gluten, though he labels some gluten free grains as containing gluten and then after that chapter is over just says "Don't eat any grains because if the ones that contain gluten are bad, they must all be bad" with no real reason to back up why you shouldn't eat other grains.

6. He was stupid enough to point out several times that carbs cause diabetes, but our broken medical system doesn't recognize it and so too many people suffer because they aren't told to stop eating carbs. Ummm, I know several people with diabetes (most of them ate closer to paleo than to vegan before diagnosis) and they are ALL put on a carb restricted diet. Our medical system does not give people more carbs when they are diabetic- he is an idiot!

[Kathleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was prescribed this diet over 10 years ago by a physician to help with Acid Reflux that had taken its toll on my voice box. In addition, I was told NOT to use spices at all. I ate the Paleo way faithfully for 4 months and I did great. It was the lack of spicing and flavor that eventually got to me. For myself, this way of eating absolutely works. I lost weight steadily, and was satiated by eating the "caveman" way. I had no desire to cheat.

I chose this book because I was looking for something to inspire me to have a go at this diet again in an effort to better my health. The author, Robb Wolf, uses humor throughout the book and I think that it helps to have that, especially when you are learning about the details of the digestive system, hormonal release, and how what we eat affects our health. His enthusiasm for this way of eating is obvious as well as contagious.

My only con is that he does make comments to the effect that this is the one and only diet for all people and I just do not agree with that. We are all different and that does not allow for the many other diets that may come along in the future. Who knows what diet works for each of us until we have given it a chance? For me, this time, I plan to keep it going for the long haul. I do believe that this book can help you to lose weight, get fit, and reverse disease- just as it says on the cover.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely fascinating! The chapters about grains and leaky gut, as well as our fat confusion, and the topics of stress and cortisol or why we need more sleep, were hands down the best chapters. I also liked that Robb got down on my level and explained nutrition in ways that even I could understand and make sense of. Plus, I never would of thought a nutriton book could be funny and this one actually was in certain parts. I'm a fan and can't wait to download some of his podcasts onto my ipod to listen to in the near future.

As for myself, my own personal journey with thinking about food differently, began when I was diagnosed with celiac disease and was experiencing severely low energy levels. I knew something was off balance, so I started seeing the nutritionist at my gym, Windy City Cross Fit (WCCF), and kept daily food logs. Sheena said I was really good with the veggies but I was eating too much rice. So, we did an experiment. I replaced the rice with fat (primarily avocado and coconut oils) and these last few weeks (since the beginning of September) I've been feeling really energetic! Now knowing the science behind it and how our bodies digest makes perfect sense to me and I can’t wait to see continued results in my whole body well being.

[Emilie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I thought the premise was interesting and the scientific explanations clear, I came away with a dislike of the author. His tone is arrogant and he takes a definite "everybody else is wrong" approach. He would definitely appeal to the elitists in the nutrition world.

[Manuel · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book did little to convince me that the "paleo diet" is a big plus for an average thirtysomething male who avoids excessive junk carbs, omega-6 fats and sugar.

I have by no means performed the research or bloodwork on myself, but I have a pet theory.
Over on Tim Ferris' blog the author did a guest post, using shock tactics to lure in readers ("when you eat grains, poop leaks into your bloodstream! omg!!"). It sparked a holy war several hundred comments deep. When pressed by critics he often responded, "just try the diet for 30 days and then you can argue with me." I think what happens for a lot of people is they are eating too much junk carbs & sugar, and when they cut this out as part of paleo, there is an immediate benefit. So he's sort of hiding behind that benefit. Of course you're going to feel better and have better cholesterol numbers if you cut that shit out! It's the low hanging fruit.

One passage that particularly irked me is from his explanations of a molecular structure or cell biology. (I can't remember exactly, and I donated the book.) It went something like, "This molecule is like a chicken egg. It is strong when compressed from the outside but so weak from the inside that a baby chicken can break through it." Uh, actually the chick itself or the mother hen pecks a hole in the shell when she hears the chicks start to peep, thus making it much easier to hatch from. Maybe try a different analogy Mr. Zoolander?

Yeah I did the paleo thing for 3 weeks, 1 week semi and the last 2 strict (plus dairy), but it didn't work out for me. I do have a friend who is doing a very similar diet and it is working out really well with his physiology. So I don't discourage others from trying it, but be wary of the new and unproven science that it's based on.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of the most entertaining health/diet books I've ever read! Robb's writing style is hilarious - it's as though you're sitting in the room shooting the sh*t with him. Lines like, "Do you need a hug?" when he reveals how certain popular foods are slowly killing us...and his prodding to experiment with a Paleo Diet for 30 days. I've been doing something very similar and I feel like a MILLION dollars -- it was great to read Wolf's book as a confirmation of the physiological science behind making changes in diet and exercise. I highly recommend this book to anyone who feels tired, moody or otherwise dragging - or anyone considering a 30-day paleo-related experiment (or cleanse).

[Greg · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been in the fitness business for a long time. I've seen (and tried) every diet trend that has come around. In my opinion, this is the most scientifically sound and healthy diet that has ever been advocated by anyone.

The book is has a lot of science, but doesn't lose the reader. It's simple and it works. Like the author says. give it a try for 30 days. If you don't look, feel and perform better I'd be shocked.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I should have a complete critique of this seminal work on the Paleo diet/lifestyle, but at the moment all I can saw is urgh. Wolfe makes many salient points and backs up his theories with anecdotal as well as with scientific facts that are dumbed down enough for me to get a cogent understanding of his case. (Hey, I'm an English/Psychology girl, who dabbles in medical facts on the side as a hobby. I don't enjoy nutrition coursework. So sue me.)

The objections that I have with this work is the tone that the author strikes with the reader. I assume that he means to be non-threatening, approachable, and grounded instead of an elitist hippy (can those two things actually exist on one place? I think something might explode) spouting feel-good, relativistic food stories. Perhaps the work written by Cordain would be more to my liking. I just can't respect any author who comes across as patronizing and possibly sexist.

Shooting the messenger? Maybe. I do not deny that since I have drastically cut all the garbage from my own diet that I have lost weight and feel so much better that my children were confused ("Who is that woman who is taking her bike instead of the car, smiling and laughing instead of being cranky and tired, wearing Mom's clothes that are now too big? And OMG, we can't get away with ANYTHING now, she's right on top of EVERYTHING--RUN!!"). Cutting grains from my diet went hand in hand with what I was reading in Wheat Belly. So I was getting the same principles thrown at me from different sources, but all saying essentially the same thing: dump anything processed. That includes the grains that have been so genetically modified that they don't bear ANY resemblance to what our ancestors ate--and my ancestors, I mean anyone born before 1950. No processed sugar. Sadly, no dairy because of the wretched conditions of the animals in the dairy industry. (Ironically I read a few months ago that some Amish family was prosecuted for selling his unpasteurized milk ACROSS STATE LINES, oh, the humanity! The customer KNEW the cows were not grain fed and the the milk was as fresh as it could be, but hey, the law is the law, folks.)

So: material? I'd give it a solid 8 out of 10. Delivery? Urgh. And you can quote me.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book to find out more about the Paleo diet, which a lot of people seem to be doing and have had great success with.

This book reads very science-y which is fine. And most of it makes sense, when broken down that way. But it’s not a hard read, if you’ve ever taken a biology class.

However, I can’t believe that all grains/dairy/legumes are going to kill me. I just can’t, it doesn’t make sense to me. I feel and look much better after having switched from white to whole grains several years ago. I also can’t fathom eating that much meat. I also look and feel better after cutting back on meat. I do agree that you can’t live on bread alone, there does have to be balance, but here’s a study somewhere to promote anything you want it to promote.

The “recipes” in the back were kind of *meh* no imagination, and somewhat blah. Didn’t give serving sizes, nor did the book pay attention to serving sizes, which is important no matter what you’re eating. And who wants leftover salmon for breakfast? Blech.

My biggest problem is that he suggests/supports a boatload of supplements in the book. If I’m eating the diet I should be eating for optimum health, then I shouldn’t need all those supplements/enzymes/whosamawhatshits, my “perfect” diet should supply those, or my body should make those from eating the “perfect” diet.

I don’t think it’s a plan for me. I’d rather stick with a more balanced diet, still heavier on the protein, no or little refined sugar, whole/complex carbs, and real, not manufactured fats. The real problem is that most of the food we buy in stores is not food, it’s chemicals. Try eating a food diet, and not a chemical diet, and I think you’ll have success.

[Betsy · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I'm already on a gluten free diet, I was curious as to the other benefits I could achieve if I went completely grainless. I read a book on the Candida diet last year and followed it for a while and did feel better, so I was willing to give this a shot.

While Robb Wolf provided some great info and statistics, I couldn't stand how he kept referring to me, the reader, as "Buttercup". While trying to get his point across in a cute way, it was creepy. In addition, his terrible remarks about vegans and vegetarians were uncalled for. I get that you want to convince people that this is the best diet, but repeated claims of hatred for vegans/vegetarians got old after the fifth or sixth time. I was also getting tired of reading about NoCal Margaritas.

The information provided was interesting and was presented in layman's terms, which was helpful, since a lot of the medical jargon is lost on me. I do recommend this book for those thinking about starting a Paleo diet or just want to know what it's all about. It will definitely help you understand the diet and how the body digests food as well as the added benefits of healthy food. Just be warned that the author's terms of endearment and vile comments about vegans/vegetarians are annoying.

I think I will give the diet a go for the 30 days and see how I feel.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well this is a slight modification of the South Beach diet but, I think, reasonable enough, knowing as little about human chemistry and evolution as I do but he makes sense.

More to the point he does it in a way that had me laughing out loud. When's the last time you can say you did THAT for a "diet" book.

At any rate, it's not a hard "regime" in any sense of that word and works for those of us who don't really feel the need of grains, flours, and dairy products (including sadly cheese).

However if you do go to some of his referenced material, you'll find that it's not all that hard-ass a program. His mentor pretty much says -- okay 3 meals a week non-Paleo. Robb Wolf recommends tequila as a drink of choice (I'm exaggerating but it's the vein in which he writes this book that makes me think -- hey....maybe he's got some credibility -- he doesn't take himself THAT seriously but on the other hand he has a message).

If you've done South Beach, look at Paleo, particularly this book.

[Aaron George · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will start by saying that I and my family have been living this way for a couple years, and the only drawback has been trying to tolerate other peoples' attitudes. Try telling your mother that all the great food she makes is just plain poison. Having said that, I will agree with the negative reviews of Wolf's style. It is not for everybody. Not everyone shares what is quite obviously an irreverent, somewhat juvenile sense of humor. However, I believe that more people will remain engaged because of this style than will be put off by it. Because most people aren't standing around in outright awe of every medical practitioner they know, and don't mind seeing them mildly skewered. They are not gods, they do not always know best, and neither does Robb Wolf. But Wolf is the kind of guy to say "Don't take my word for it, get out and try it and ask questions". That is why I recommend the book, as an easy-to-read intro for people to start questioning conventional life advice. "Let's not make this a religion".

[Scott Storheim · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read quite a bit of books / articles on nutrition and fitness the last few years due to trying to get myself healthy and fit. This is the best one yet and I'm glad I read it! The whole paleo deal frightened me due to my affinity for grains and carbs. Robb wolf does an excellent job of explaining the biochemistry that occurs in our bodies and the destruction that gluten, beans, and dairy causes. I started limiting my grains a great deal a few months ago and I feel so much better! Now that I've read the paleo solution I will be switching immediately. As he states there are essential proteins and fats but there are zero essential carbs. You can get all the carbs you need from veggies and fruits including all that fiber we need. People America needs to stop eating all that processed empty crap that we eat and get healthy again!

[Chris McClinch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Robb Wolf's introduction to the paleo diet is compulsively readable and well researched. It's not the be-all, end-all of the paleo/primal lifestyle, but this book or Mark Sisson's The Primal Blueprint is probably the best place to start. Be prepared to be challenged about what the proper way for human beings to eat really looks like.

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will save you a two-hundred-page sales pitch: stop eating gluten and other processed foods. Eat fruits, veggies, and meat only. Exercise good. Sloth bad.
This guy acts like he invented the idea, although it isn't a bad one. Eat how humans evolved to eat, dummy.
For a similar argument with more engaging writing, read Michael Pollan. Or, um, any fitness magazine.

[Guilherme Zeitounlian · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you've been involved in paleo eating for a while, there's not much new here.

The author's exposition is funny at times and obnoxious at others - but the information is solid, and well worth a read.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you are looking to move from sickness to health, fat to lean, and out of shape to fit, this is a great place to start.

Chapter 1: My Story, Your Story, Our Story . . .(Cheezy, but true) Robb goes over his life and his challanges with sickness, and his shares with the reader the things he figured out, the conclusions that probably saved his life are in this book. This way of eating will most likely take on a bigger market share unless meat is banned by our know it all government.

Chapter 2: Hunter Gatherers Are Us- "It's hard as hell to make money off healthy people" Mr. Wolf is looking at the anthropology behind eating, scientifically, Doctors buy into government approaches to nutrition and as we can see those results aren't getting it done.


Chapter 3: Knowledge is Power: But It Will Not Run A Hair Dryer - Here the author is trying to incite action, most people complain about their health but struggle to do what is necessary,he goes over all the necessary information about nutrition, it is more than enough to give you a better than average understanding of your body and what it needs to be healthy. I know a fair amount but this was very good info I wasn't aware of.

Chapter 4: Digestion: Where The Rubber Hits The Road- This is a thorough examination of the digestive system, it cover all aspects and may make you break out in hives if you aren't into this sort of stuff, a lot of ground covered here.

Chapter 5: Resistance is Futile: “What We Have Here Is Failure to Communicate” The main point of this chapter is that bad diets build up insulin and leptin sensitivities which innfluence a build up of inflammation, which in turn is the cause of just about everything that hurts, decreasing our youthful vigor.

Chapter 6: Grains and Leaky Gut or Keep Your Poop Where It Belongs - The long and short of it is stay away from bread, pasta, beans, gluten, if this seems strange try it for one month then see if you think you are better off trading in the oatmeal for the fruit and veggies. You may think you are okay but it just a matter of time before the American Diet will catch up to you.

Chapter 7: Fat: Have a Seat, This May Take a Little While - Let the fun begin...Wait if I eat saturated fats I'm gonna lose fat, yeah pretty much! Fat is not the problem its the carbs, I attest to the truth of this based on my own weight loss and bloodwork, legions better after this type of diet. This whole chapter covers how the body uses fat in the diet, he defines the funky names, and puts the focus back on health as this subject has most people baffled.

Chapter 8: Stress and Cortisol or Why This Book Should be Titled: Sleep You Big Dummy - Because of constant and unrelentng stress of today it is good for the health of all of us to get adequate sleep. There is a level of well being that Robb is searching for so in this chapter he is discussing relevant information on cortisol levels and its effect on various different functions in the human body.

Chapter 9: Ancestral Fitness - As if you needed this chapter, but Robb explains why you need to exercise, what happens when you don't, over exercising (being a slave to the gym is not good). I think the approach Robb and many other Paleo guys and gals take is a very good one, it helps you stay fit but lessens the chance for injury.

Chapter 10: Implementing the Paleo Solution: It’s Easy, Really - Robb states that you could really skip the other chapter and just read this chapter and get all you'd need to be on your way. Its really not hard, everything is a choice, stop buying the stuff that isn't on the menu in the book, don't give yourself reasons to fail. Once you get through the first 3 days it gets easier every day, before you know it you no longer think about what to eat you are just automatic. You know yourself and how far you can deviate from this life style before going back. Treat yourself once a month to a bowl of ice cream, a dessert, a slice of pizza, but stay in the zone and you will be glad you did.

Chapter 11: Tracking Your Progress - Take pictures, take measurements, uses clothes as a motivator. Have those old 32 waist pants you wore in high school, well its quite possible you will be back in them in a short period of time. Read Robbs blog and other paleo web sites to stay in touch with the thinking so the old diet doesn't suck you back.

Chapter 12: Thirty-Day Meal Plan - Just what it says, Robb lays out a diet for the reader and if followed or used with equivalent substitutes this will set you on the path to health. Times vary according to how far you've let yourself go but if you remain 90-95% in step with this you will see amazing results as I can attest.

Chapter 13: Supplements - Fish oil and Vit D is about all you need. Wow not his own vitamin pack at $89 dollars a month.

I really hope this stuff catches on its a good book. Though I don't have the knowledge to dispute his scientific claims I have the experience of watching it work in my own life. Enjoy the feast.

[Daniel · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you want to read a book by a guy with a serious savior/martyr complex and intense government paranoia, then this is the book for you. Also, everyone who 100% agrees with his every word is smart and everyone else is stupid, sinister, or both.

Part One

First, I'm subjected to a sad story about how the author was basically the victim of the horrible religion of vegetarianism and how awful it all was, which forms the introduction to a book devoted to his new (This time he's really really right, he swears and everyone and everything else is evil now) religious fervor on the Paleo Diet, an irony the author seems to miss altogether. Then this:

Professor Blah Blah had written articles for lots of journals and since it was so many, he must be a genius. Then the kicker- "His secret? If you know the answer (evolutionary biology) it is easy to reverse engineer the question" [note: That's an exact quote. My note on kindle: "How did this moron write a best-seller?"]

Yes yes. The correct scientific approach to all matters is to start from what you've already declared to be true and then rig the question to provide no answer but yours. That's science. I hope my sarcasm is coming through okay.I intend to finish this one because it might get better (you never know) and he has a whole crowd of worshippers so I'll give it a fair shake before moving on. To be clear: I'm not anti-Paleo. In fact, in principle, I like it. More meat, less grains (none if you're hardcore).

But I'll keep reading because maybe this guy will stop being a caricature of someone incapable of rational thought. How this guy left Crossfit is a mystery to me. They're both fanatically religious about their ideas and neither set of ideas is as original or brilliant as both groups claim them to be. Seems like a match made in heaven.

Good grief, what am I in for?

Part Two

I should probably clarify before I get hammered by the paleo-religionistas that, to them, paleo is a binary state. You just are "paleo" or you are not. You get the same thing from orthodox jews (for instance) who consider that if you are not 100% Kosher, then you are not a proper jew despite the fact that most jews don't keep 100% Kosher.

So I've continued to read his story of how he thinks he has a particular condition (his mom did and so we are to assume that he must. Also, he didn't feel well) that makes grains bad for him (celiac, if you're wondering) which so far he seems to consider the first piece of proof that his new eating religion is scientifically correct for all people. In all fairness, I assume he will present real arguments at some point, he just hasn't yet and I'm a good little ways into the book. I wish he'd gear up to say something already. Now I reach another in his long string of complaints about all the naysayers who just will not take his word as scientific proof (those low down dirty doctors). Quote:

"His answer was typical of what I would encounter in the years to follow "That is pseudo science. There is no proof."

Don't those doctors know that he is a messiah who brings the truth and they should just take him at his claims? Don't they know that if he feels better then everyone on earth should do exactly what he says diet-wise from now on? This guy is like a case study in martyr complexes. I'm guessing this story turns into a tale about how he overcame all the odds and now dominates/heals/corrects all the lowly earthlings with his insights. How could it not? That's the version of himself that he has invented.

Oh, there it is a few pages later with his stack of "credentials" relating how he helps everyone and solves everything by touring and being talked about in Men's Health. And now the testimonials, which, as we all know, are the hallmark of "science". The fact that every diet plan has testimonials need not be a deterrent to Mr. Wolf since he "knows deep down" that only his are truly true. Or at least that the other people's benefits must be due to something else since only his diet plan can be good.

Part Three

After a rather long winded diatribe about how "unscrupulous people" are always trying to sell you on the latest "fad diet", he asserts that the only way out of the "fad diet cycle" is to go with his fad diet. I'm not saying paleo won't be around for many years, but to deny that it's a fad right now is simply silly.

Then: "The reality is that our genetic heritage WANTS us to look good." [his emphasis] Notwithstanding the fact that "genetic heritage" is a meaningless term in this context, the actual reality is that our genes couldn't care less about how we look. Genes are not interested in appearance. They are only interested in survival. That's how they work. A statement like his goes beyond absurd. I wouldn't mind so much if he weren't so brazen about declaring things to be true based on the fact that he really really wants them to be true. See Part One for how this guy's magical approach to science works. The chapter ends with a reminder that he is so selfless and amazing that his only goal is to "save your life." He actually says that. He follows it by indicating that it sure would be helpful if you'd just get out of the way with your own thoughts and ideas and let him tell you what to do since only he knows how to save you life.

Part Four

I love the part where he tells us what cavemen actually thought. Like, he knows what they pondered about and the conclusions they reached philosophically. Not because there's any evidence of it, but just because he is that mystically superior that he can mentally time travel into other peoples' heads and tell you what they thought about. Science, he reminds us. Then another reminder that the correct approach is to start with declaring what you want to be true to be true, and then rig the question to provide only your answer. He attempts this with a silly analogy about a box of ceramic shards that doesn't pass the laugh test when you realize what he's trying to sell.

I'm starting to repeat myself, but I can't help it. It's what this whole book is so far. I just sat through a diatribe about how the medical community more or less intentionally provides bad information because they don't care about anyone and they just want their universities to get more money, but not HE, YOUR SELF SACRIFICING AUTHOR, who has only one concern (unlike those dirty doctors and scientists who, he implies, want you to die) and that is to save you. Of course, the reason he asserts that doctors and scientists don't agree with them is that scientists are "annoyed by the past" and that "it would be too simple" or that scientists somehow don't consider humans part of nature. Has this guy ever met a scientist? Ever? I'm just trying to figure out if he's an intentional liar or just entirely deluded.

I've been met with his very "fair proposition" which is that even if you don't believe his gobbledy-goop, the only "fair" thing to do is exactly what he tells you to anyway. I'm not sure how he manages to square that line of thought with reason.

Part Five (Experiments In Bad Thinking)

There comes a point where he tells a hypothetical story about convincing someone by taking him around a college campus to talk to various experts to prove his point. The whole story is a classic exercise in bad thinking. Leaving aside all the places where he takes a moment in his story to place himself above the academia by inventing a question to ask them and then declaring that they are stumped or had never thought of it before, there are huge problems here. The former trick is common among cult leaders and those who would gather fanatical adherents and it's a tactic called "controlled response for self-elevation." Think about how when reading an Ayn Rand book no character every asks the hero a question he doesn't have a good answer to. The idea is that we are subconsciously convinced that the hero has all the answers because we forget that the person selling this heroic idea is also the one writing both the question and answers and that writer would never include a question they didn't feel they could make a good-sounding answer to. The whole idea is to elevate yourself by creating a fictional scenario where you are superior to everyone (including and especially the "experts") and hope that no one notices that the situation is fiction. Wait, I was going to leave that whole bit aside, wasn't I? Apologies. Back to the point.

In his fictional story, he goes to the Anthropology department and asks them what the most important event in human history is. They answer "the agricultural revolution." Then he asks them about what changed afterwards health-wise. The anthropologists talk about rising levels of disease and general life discomfort. This fictional situation is all designed to sell us on why the paleo diet is correct. In other words, without his long winded needless extras, we got sicker more often after the agricultural revolution. His conclusion? That proves that the agricultural revolution CAUSED sickness. With me so far? Good.

Anyone with even a slight understanding of logic will point out that this is a classic case of "post hoc ergo propter hoc", which means "after it, therefor because of it." It sounds good when you don't think about it too closely, but the reality is that not only is it not always true, it's actually hardly ever true. Let me give you a couple of examples to illustrate the point. These examples will seem silly but they are not actually any logically different from the leap he is making. I'll explain why that's so later on.

Example One: I was born. When I was eight years old, I broke my leg falling off my bicycle. Therefor, being born caused my broken leg.

One can certainly say that had I not been born, I would not have broken my leg, but there is absolutely no basis for suggesting that being born actually directly CAUSED my broken leg and that's a difference of astronomical proportions. No one would agree with my example above as being logically sound and yet it's not really any different from what he's done above from a logical perspective. Let's look at another example.

Example Two (with a twist):

I have blue eyes. Throughout my life I am married and divorced three times. Therefor, having blue eyes CAUSED my divorces.

The twist to this example is that there is no reason to think that if I didn't have blue eyes, I would not have still ended up getting divorced over the years. This is closer to his story because there is no reason to think that if the agricultural revolution hadn't happened, that something else would not have happened and that disease rates would not have still risen.

Now that we see the basic problem with this type of thinking, let's look at why his specific story is bad. Fortunately, due to the sadly constructed argument he makes, I only need one alternative explanation that allows both things (agricultural revolution and declining health) to happen near the same time and still explain the difference. I should state that I do not know for a fact that these things happened at the same time, though I'm willing to grant that it might be true. Even though I only need one example to disprove the foundation of his assertion, here are several:

1. Exercise - Hunger Gatherers had a very different level of fitness. Just try outrunning a pack of wolves or chasing down a pack of antelope on foot.

2. Population Density - The larger the group that lives together the greater the chance of disease spread and the greater the opportunity for diseases to evolve into entirely new problems of their own. The Agricultural revolution made it possible for people to live in larger groups.

3. Having some food easily accessible and others that require more effort increases the likelihood that someone will not maintain any kind of balance in their diet.

Number 3 is critical because that's actually all his fictional anthoropologist says even though he pretends that somehow agriculture CAUSES disease. There are, by the way, many more reasons that would explain this, but three is plenty for our purposes. It's actually sort of impressive how consistently he manages to include anything resembling a clear thought that isn't buried under bad ideas and false conclusions designed to make him sound right. Moving on. Is anyone else annoyed when he forces his fake professors to say things that conveniently prove his point and further indicate at the untrustworthiness of scientists and the medical profession? I'm not saying those people are perfect or that they are always right, but his repeated need to make them look bad and elevate himself to the position of savior is not only pathetic, it's downright wrong.

Part Six

So far, I have not encountered a single paragraph of value. The closest thing is the "testimonials" of how people "feel better" but the reality is that virtually every diet program helps some people feel better and/or lose weight. That's not the sort of truth this author is likely to consider and he certainly won't consider the implications of that truth.

I'm starting to see that I will need to institute some kind of 1% rule, wherein I only comment on around 1% of the issues with this book because otherwise the list of severe problems with this book would end up being longer than the book. My My.

Going forward, please assume that for every thing I mention that is broken in this book, there are approximately 99 that I haven't mentioned for space reasons.

Part Seven

The whole "sales pamphlet" nature of this work is really getting to me. It seems to be a book about selling the diet and making himself into a savior and only be disguised as a book of, you know, valuable information or things for an intelligent person to consider. It's a book clearly aimed at those who are unwilling or unable to actually think about what he's saying. I'm starting to wonder about the mental capacity of the five star reviewers. I prefer to think that they are all his friends and just doing him a favor. No one is dumb enough to buy all this. I hope.

Part Eight

My advice is to skip the part where he "walks you through" the science departments of a college. It's layered with him throwing out statements no scientist would make so that he can emotionally manipulate you into taking his view point. There are probably a hundred examples in this section alone of terrible and sinister thinking. By the way, I mean sinister thinking in the sense that I'm starting to not believe that he is accidentally this dense and that at least some portion of the bad thinking and manipulation is intentional. I hope I'm wrong about that. As I said, there are probably a hundred examples of serious problems here, but with my handy new 1% rule, I'll just give one example of a problem.

"These people [referring to nutritional scientists] THINK they are scientists, yet when their feet are held to the fire, they have no science to stand upon." [emphasis his]

Setting aside his pile of Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc fallacies in the situation leading up to this, we are confronted by a simple fact. He makes this statement after the experts say that evolutionary biology isn't useful for understanding humans [hint: no actual scientist would say this, which is why he made it up], we are guided to assume that they have no science. By this he means that since they don't follow evolution exclusively as a guide for nutrition, they have no science. His point seems to be that only evolution is science and anyone who doesn't use that exclusively as their end all be all guide, then they literally have NO SCIENCE to stand on. I don't think it's a stretch to see this as what he's saying since he pretty specifically spells it out.

I am not stupid and so I don't deny evolution but I'm also not denying that there is such a thing as science that is not entirely 100% determined by evolution. One does not need evolution to see that people get scurvy when they are chronically short of Vitamin C, for example. He seems to think that this is not science since it's not all about evolution. Seriously, is this guy going to hold a press conference one day where he admits this whole book was just a practical joke? I simply can't bring myself to believe that he is serious. I probably wouldn't mind nearly as much if he didn't stop periodically to complain that OTHER people don't think things through. The good news is that he promises science is coming up next. Apparently, it only takes 20% of a book to get around to saying anything.

Part Nine (Adventures in the "Science Section")

"Some well-intentioned but misguided souls will tell you that you can get protein from beans and rice, nuts and seeds. That's true but these are what I call 'third world proteins'. They will keep you alive but they will not make you thrive. This should be clear from the previous chapter that compared hunter-gatherer and agrarian societies." How could this possibly be clear since he has made no statements in support of this? He has just declared it to be true. Understand, I'm not even saying it isn't true. I'm just saying that he hasn't supported this statement at all. Anyone can declare anything they like. I can declare myself the King of Spain and then suggest that it should be clear since you saw me read a Charles Dicken book one time. Wait, that doesn't make sense. See the problem? If you want to make a declaration, at least TRY to support them. I don't recall even hearing this subject mentioned before this declaration, let alone "made clear". Mr Wolf, why do you insist on treating me like an idiot?

I'm rapidly running out of character-space for this review. Perhaps I should switch to a .001% Rule?

Part Ten

"The next time you have a chubby physician or dietician tell you that complex carbohydrates are healthy, ask yourself 'does it make sense that 'many sugars' might be good for me?' hmmm."

Do you like how he makes the doctor fat? See, that's his subtle way of invalidating them before they say anything. Apparently, he won't even allow his fictional people to have differing opinions. Thanks, Il Duce. Of course, lots of people know about things they do not do. Pat Reilly is one of the all-time great basketball coaches but you won't see him on the court driving to the hole on Labron James. His coaching advice is no less valuable as a result of him not being able to dunk on Shaq.

Here's the next problem with this sentence: the whole part about 'does it make sense' was part of a section on polysaccharides (if you are curious) but wouldn't the same comment work if someone were to say 'does it make sense that fat will not make you fat? hmmmm' Invoking conventional wisdom when it suits you and then trashing it when it doesn't is inconsistent and foolish. There is no difference between my statement about fat and his about sugar except that he wants you think one and not the other.

Part Eleven

I am quite happy to report that things have improved some. For instance: "If our fructose intake is low and our total calorie intake is not excessive, things are okay."

I don't think this says what he thinks it says, but it's an important point either way. It basically says "eat reasonable amounts of reasonable foods (lots of protein, plenty of vegetables, sparingly on everything else) and you're in pretty good shape". Not really an endorsement for paleo per se, but a key point.

I'm nearly out of space for this review, so I think I'll try to go out on a positive note. Stay tuned.

Basically, skip the first 50 pages and just assume it says "lots of people feel better and lose weight on this approach." Everything else in the first 50 pages is either pointless extras or downright bad. I'm hoping it gets better.