A Dieta do Paleolítico

by Loren Cordain

Perca Peso. Ganhe Saúde. Com os alimentos que conhecemos há milhares de anos.Durante 2,5 milhões de anos comemos o que a natureza nos dava: peixe, carnes magras, frutos, sementes e vegetais. Éramos magros, atléticos, não tínhamos cancro, doenças auto-imunes ou problemas cardíacos. O nosso corpo, desenhado geneticamente para viver com os alimentos naturais, era impressionantemente elegante e resistente. Até que descobrimos a agricultura e a pecuária. E deitámos tudo a perder. A Dieta do Paleolítico apresenta-lhe todo um “novo” estilo de vida, que adapta ao século XXI os hábitos e alimentos dos nossos (saudáveis) antepassados. O autor, Dr. Loren Cordain, professor da Universidade de Colorado, é unanimemente reconhecido como o maior especialista nessa área – que estuda há mais de 20 anos. Quando publicou a primeira edição deste livro, em 2002, a comunidade científica insurgiu-se – como era possível dizer-nos para não beber leite? Ou não consumir cereais? No entanto, os estudos científicos em que Loren Cordain se baseou foram sendo comprovados– a Universidade de Harvard, por exemplo, já baniu o leite da pirâmide alimentar. E entretanto, as pessoas que adotaram o estilo de vida paleolítico emagreceram e viram-se livres das mais diferentes doenças crónicas.  Agora chega finalmente a Portugal este clássico revisto, que inclui um plano de arranque de seis semanas, com receitas e exercícios baseados no paleolítico.O Dr. Loren Cordain, um dos mais conceituados cientistas no estudo da Medicina Evolucionária, é considerado o maior especialista mundial na dieta do paleolítico, que estuda há mais de duas décadas. É atualmente professor no Departamento de Ciência da Saúde e do Desporto da Universidade de Colorado, e as suas investigações foram debatidas na NBC, New York Times, Wall Street Journal, entre muitos outros órgãos de comunicação social. É autor de vários livros sobre nutrição.

Genres: Health, Nonfiction, Food, Nutrition, Diets, Cookbooks, Reference

334 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 7, 2001

About the author

Loren Cordain, PhD, is one of the world's leading experts and researchers in the area of evolutionary medicine. He is on the faculty of Colorado State University and the author of The Paleo Diet and The Paleo Diet for Athletes. He has been featured on Dateline NBC, in the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and other media."

Reviews

[Elf M. · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book is a long list of statements that should all end with [citation needed]

In order to distinguish his work from competing diets, Cordain spends an inordinate amount of time in the early chapters dumping on the Atkins diet, but he does so in a way that skews the research. He complains that the Atkins diet does away with fruits and vegetables, "Cancer-fighting fruits and vegetables![citation needed]" A lot of the book is like that. He goes deep into anti-salt and anti-fat, which I supposed looked good in 2003. Recent studies show that low-salt diets do nothing to prevent progression to hypertension, and low-fat diets do little to moderate or control cholesterol and atherosclerosis. My own physician pointed me to recent articles in JAMA indicting starches.

But what irks me most is that the Paleo diet, like the Slow Carb diet and every other diet on the market, is that to justify it to the masses it must delve deep, deep into nutritionalism.

Food is not a set of nutrients. It's not just a vehicle for the transmission of components, for Omega 3 and polyunsaturated fat and calcium chloride and so forth. Food is what we eat to sustain ourselves, it's pleasure and socializing and ritual and experimentation. Boiling food down to a Power Bar and a glass of water isn't breakfast, any more than porn is sex.

But somehow, to sell the product to the masses, The Paleo Diet, just like Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Body, must describe in excrutiating detail the trade-offs at the micro level.

I guess the basic message has been heard so often it no longer registers: all that sugar, simple starch, and readily digestible calories is what's making America fatter than ever, so stop eating those. Just like "exercise more" no longer registers.

Hell, I can shorten the modern guidelines to one sentence: Eat food you cooked yourself.

[Jodi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm a big supporter of the Paleo diet concept and the idea that we need to eat the traditional foods our genes need to be healthy.

This book claims to be the last word in explaining what our ancestors ate, and to not be just another book full of fads, but it is seriously flawed. The author seems to be trying to merge information on what the caveman diet consisted of with as many modern food fads as possible. He is particularly ignorant about healthy fats and oils.

The book is also not very convincing in the way it explains the scientific basis for the Paleo diet.

I disagree with the authors very-low salt stance and would advise them to read about unrefined sea salt and the work of Dr Brownstein on the many myths about salt and low-salt diet scaremongering, and the cholesterol scaremongering as well. The author has also been grossly misinformed about saturated fats. You should probably ignore what the author says about fats and oils in this book, as most of it is just plain wrong.

Liquid vegetable oils did not exist in paleolithic times and cooking with flax oil is very unhealthy! Saturated fats are also an important part of a healthy diet, and eating eggs does NOT raise your cholesterol levels. The 'very high' cholesterol levels mentioned in the book of 208 are also not high at all, and well within the healthy range of 200 - 240 according to lipid expert Mary Enig PhD.

The healthiest oils to cook with are ghee (unless you're 100% dairy free), lard, tallow, coconut and palm oils and olive oil. Oils should never be heated to very high temperatures such as in deep frying. These are the traditional fats to cook with, not flax oil!

The book is also very inconsistent and vague when it comes to talking about supplements. The recommendation given for vitamin C is very low and only the alpha tocopherol form of vitamin E is recommended rather than a supplement containing all 8 forms. It is also not a good idea to take only a few supplements in larger doses as this creates imbalances, and a general basic supplementation regime is a much healthier option.

The book also claims 'protein can't be overeaten' which is just not true as excessive protein intake stresses the liver. Far healthier than a very high protein eating plan is a high fat, moderate protein and low carb eating plan as described in the books on traditional eating listed below. Our ancestors ate a lot of fat and a lot of it was saturated. Saturated fat offers many benefits to the body.

The author is also wrong about the 'calories in, calories out' theory of weight loss. The book 'Good Calories, Bad Calories' by Gary Taubes explains that:

1. The 'calories in, calories out' mantra is a myth

2. 'A calorie is a calorie is a calorie' is a myth

3. The 'just eat less and do more exercise to lose weight' message seems to be logical but is actually wrong and unhelpful

4. Overweight and obese people often eat no more calories, or even less, than their thinner counterparts

5. Low calorie diets also reduce the amount of nutrients in the diet

6. Dietary fat, including saturated fat, is not a cause of obesity. Refined and easily digestible carbs causing high insulin levels cause obesity.

The book 'Know Your Fats' by lipid expert Mary Enig PhD explains the facts about fats and oils and why the saturated fat = heart disease hypothesis is wrong. See also books such as Ignore the awkward! How the cholesterol myths are kept alive.

The book 'The Primal Blueprint: Reprogram your genes for effortless weight loss, vibrant health and boundless energy (Primal Blueprint Series) is a far better book on the Paleolithic diet.

The book 'Deep Nutrition' offers a far more well researched and credible discussion of traditional foods and how they affect our genes. This book provides a wealth of fascinating and compelling information that is not available for free online. This book and 'Know Your Fats' and 'Good Calories, Bad Calories' are essential reading.

The Paleo approach generally is very solid, but not as it is interpreted in this book. This book contains an okay quality 3 star version of the diet - far better than the standard diet full of refined foods and grains but missing out lots of good information as well. This is not the last word on diet, but a book which is quite faddish in its approach overall.

Jodi Bassett, The Hummingbirds' Foundation for M.E.

[Private Account · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of the most disappointing books of the year. I loved the idea of it, eating the way our ancestors did but this... isn't it. This is a DIET book, a how to lose weight book, not a how to be healthy and eat the way your body was designed to eat did book. I was looking for a reason that Paleo was "better" than Nourishing Traditions / Weston A Price's ideas on eating native diets and this doesn't hold a candle to WAP.

He doesn't even address things like raw milk and soaking grains! He claims the Eskimos lived off of protein and doesn't mention that they dipped all their meat in seal oil before eating it. Way to much science mumbo jumbo (since there are enough studies to point in every direction) and not enough history and common sense.

Nourishing Traditions is just SO much better. So much more information. So much more thorough. So much more believable.

I feel like this guy and I have the same problem: we both studied the FDA's nutrition rules and said, "This doesn't make sense!" I invented nutritionally perfect meals (and said "If nature didn't make it, you shouldn't eat it") and he invented the Paleo diet. But neither of us realized that our ancestors did not have refrigeration and there might be an entire link missing--bacteria! Probiotics! He seems afraid of fat!!!! And saturated fat! Oh Loren, I feel for you.

[Stella · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been following Mark Sisson (marksdailyapple.com)and Robb Wolf's (The Paleo Solution) advice about how to do Paleo. Since the author of this book is a mentor to Robb, and I really enjoy what Robb has to say, I figured I would like this book. Not even. I think a lot of what he's advocating is outdated. No salt? Really? I'll keep my sprinkle of Celtic sea salt, thank you. And I will cook with saturated animal fats and use some butter in moderation. I've only been following the Paleo way of eating (not strict) for a couple of months, but my weight is down, my body measurements are down, my blood test results for cholesterol and triglycerides were WAY down and my cholesterol/triglycerides ratio was way down. My doctor was happy!

[Shilpa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've been doing Paleo diet (or some milder variation thereof) and it has completely changed me. Because of the diet (and Crossfit), I'm in the best shape I've ever been, and I'm even seeing muscle development I've never seen before. Highly recommend this book.
A word of advice: kicking high glycemic index foods (e.g. "bad carbs") is hard, especially for those accustomed to having desserts. Other people I've talked to who've changed to the Paleo lifestyle say that it takes 1-2 weeks to really "wean" yourself off eating bad carbs/junk food/processed food. But I think of it this way: I've been "addicted" to sugar and insulin my whole life; if I can suffer for a couple of weeks and my reward is that I no longer have this petulant body that whines for sugar/fat and junk food all the damn time, then I think that's a small sacrifice worth my while.
I don't really buy his stance on saturated fatty acids, but according to Mark Sisson at Mark's Daily Apple (http://www.marksdailyapple.com/), Cordain has softened his stance on SFAs since publication of his book. If paleolithic man didn't use polyunsaturated oils to cook his food (e.g. olive oil, canola, walnut oil, etc), then why should I? Most likely, if anything, my ancestor cooked up their veggies in animal fat.
Overall, this is an excellent read that no one should skip. References to scientific studies are listed in an appendix, and the book includes lots of recipes, which is helpful.

[Celeste · Rating 3 out of 5]

My husband has decided to (mostly) follow the Paleo diet, and I wasn't satisfied with what he could tell me about it, so I bought this book to read on my Kindle.

There's a certain level of persuasion to be expected when one reads a book about a diet, but this one slides into condescension pretty quickly. I wanted to shake the author and tell him, "Tone it down, man! Don't you realize that the people who read this book aren't on the Paleo diet yet?!" It wasn't very welcoming. I plowed on, and some of the things it talked about were pretty interesting. I learned some things about the diet that my husband didn't know, and that was nice. The tone did calm down about halfway through it to something more akin to the over-excited health-nut cousin we all seem to have.

I'm still not completely convinced that I want to try this diet, but after reading this book, I feel like I have the information I need if I decide I want to.

[Jamessteeleii · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cordain's general premise is sound though much of his application falls short of current research. A strange mix of carbophobia and (saturated)lipophobia.

[Sebastian · Rating 2 out of 5]

The whole anthropological argument is fascinating and appealing. But there were many, many things that struck me as off:
- Cordain claims we should avoid starchy vegetables because they are high GI carbohydrates. But we know from Zeevi (2015) (http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2015...) that different people can have remarkably different postprandial glucose responses to the exact same food. So that logic is pretty specious.
- Not sure we think the evidence linking dietary salt and heart disease (20) is so great anymore.
- Cordain repeatedly claims that you can't overeat lean protein. You definitely can overeat lean protein.
- Isocaloric diets with high protein vs high carb lead to increases in resting energy expenditure? I'm suspicious. Hall et al (2016) show that for instance a high carb vs high fat ketogenic diet show differences in resting energy expenditure. They don't. (http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/ear...).
- All kinds of claims regarding autoimmune disease (93-94)... come back with RCT evidence.

And yet there are some interesting concepts. Like pH as an important dietary variable. And the claim that refined carbohydrates aren't satiating. Maybe that's the phenomenon behind the "you can't overeat protein" claim. I think you can overeat lean protein, but maybe if you would be eating non-satiating refined carbs instead of lean protein then you do end up eating less comparatively. Could explain why Atkins ultimately outperforms Ornish in my favorite nutrition study, the A to Z study.

Macro point is that we know way less about nutrition than any diet book author would ever claim. Need more humility. There probably shouldn't be any popular diet books out there given the state of scientific evidence.

[Anne Ulrich · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is engaging and interesting and a lot of the ideas presented make sense. I don't entirely buy some of Dr. Cordain's science, though. I've long been suspicious of claims that milk should be knocked from folks' diets because the science seems to change every few years. I also wasn't a fan of his claim that since peas are technically legumes, they should not be part of your diet. Since peas are green vegetables, I'd imagine they contain the same nutrients as other greens like broccoli. Classifying them as legumes (akin to peanuts) seems a little incorrect. Most notably, though, Dr. Cordain's fundamental claim, that humans are healthier when they eat foods they are designed to eat, is completely undermined when he points out that a lot of old fashioned malnutrition diseases like beriberi don't exist because flour's enrichment adds needed nutrients to folks' diets.
Some of the recipes look helpful, but overall I would take this book's advice with a grain of salt.

[Tobias Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dr Loren Cordain is probably the first scientist to make the connection between the paleolithical diet and health. Eating the way our ancestors did, holds a lot of the keys to the reduction and prevention of the modern chronic diseases that have have been increasing exponentially for the past decades. Whether you read Robb's book or 'live it, not diet', the general message is the same: 'Our bodies are highly advanced systems and our species have succeeded the way they have largely because of a certain nutritional profile. Our modern world, despite all its advances fails to see this.

[Amy]

No
A book I borrowed from the library to try before I buy (tired buying hundreds books and hating half)

I do not rate these “tested”
books. This is really for me. I will not be buying, reading borrowing this book.

I read first ch or more -first 10-100 pages skim around at times. I read many of my GR friend’s reviews. This is what I did and didn’t like:

Pg20 “eat all lean meat and fish you can eat”

Um no don’t do that! Do not eat more than necessary.

Very outdated and poor information

[Catalina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I did write down a couple of recipes that i found interesting but i don't think i will be adopting the paleo diet anytime soon. I gave up meat 3 years ago and i don't think i want it back in my dietary regime.

[Frank Wild · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good introduction to the topic but the science on saturated fat and cholesterol is more up to date with others such as that from Paul Saladino and the current wave of carnivore advocates. A good wake up call for those interested in Paleo but there have been better books on the topic created since.

[Martin Bouissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my view the argument of this book has some logic. It states that the paleolithic human was a forager and a hunter, with very limited or no access to grains, and seasonal access to fruits, vegetables, seeds, legumes. So our genes were programmed to being fed with lean savage meat, fruits and vegetables. With the agricultural revolution we screwed it up eating mostly grains, cereals, and a little forward in time, ration-fed cattle and poultry. So roughly the author recommends a diet rich in lean organic not processed meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and a few seeds and legumes. I still think we should eliminate meat from our diet, if not because of the inflammation it produces on the body, because of the cruelty of this industry.
Worth reading using a very critical view, as I do with self-proclaimed "ultimate diet" books.

[Jim Kirby · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the preface to the revised edition of The Paleo Diet, Dr. Cordain mentions that the book’s sales were slow after its initial release in 2002 and didn’t really take off until 2010. He attributes this to the internet: The worth of the book wasn’t appreciated until people started to share stories about the Paleo Diet. Its appeal probably has to do with a general feeling that things were always better in the past – we have mental images of svelte paleo folk running around the countryside, gathering antioxidant-rich berries as they got a great work out. Oh, those good old Paleolithic days! Evaluation of the science behind the book took a back seat to shirtless guys sharing stories on social media about how stoked they are about going Paleo.

One of the most surprising things, for me, was how little evidence is provided to back up his claim that Paleolithic people were healthier than modern people. In an introductory section (How our healthy way of life went wrong) Cordain says, “most people just don’t realize just how healthy our Paleolithic ancestors were,” and goes on to say that he has “examined thousands of early-nineteenth and twentieth-century photographs of hunter-gatherers. They invariably show indigenous people to be lean, muscular and fit.”

Hold on – photos??

Let’s take a look at Dr. Cordain’s level of scientific rigor: He examined many photos from the last hundred years and extrapolated to conclude that the people of the Paleolithic era (3.3 million to 11,650 years ago) were in tip-top shape.

What other evidence does Dr. Cordain have that Paleolithic people were fit as fiddles? Here’s a representative statement: “The few medical studies of hunter-gatherers who managed to survive into the twentieth century also confirm earlier written accounts by explorers and frontiersmen.” There is no specific citation of these medical studies – in fact none of his claims are backed up by specific citations – there is just a general reading list at the end of the book. He did emphasize one study that I was able to find online: a 1971 paper reporting a low rate of heart disease among the Inuit population in Greenland – it has been debunked. In any case, making a case for the health of people who lived more than ten thousand years ago based on comments about the physical appearance of modern hunter-gatherers by explorers and frontiersmen is weak, to say the least. Dr. Cordain has a PhD in exercise physiology – not paleontology, archaeology, or evolutionary genetics.

The Mayo Clinic raises a few issues with Dr. Cordain’s claims in these areas:

Archaeological research has demonstrated that early human diets may have included wild grains as much as 30,000 years ago — well before the introduction of farming. Genetic research has shown that notable evolutionary changes continued after the Paleolithic era, including diet-related changes, such as an increase in the number of genes related to the breakdown of dietary starches.

The idea that we have not evolved since Paleolithic times is simply wrong, as several evolutionary biologists such as Marlene Zuk (University of California) have pointed out. Besides adopting to better digest starch since the advent of farming, populations have evolved over the last 10,000 years to digest lactose and resist malaria – even blue eye color arose and spread within that time frame.

Did Paleolithic people live longer lives?

I had expected the Paleo Diet book to be full of cool evidence that cave people lived longer lives – surprisingly there’s no discussion on lifespan. Well, did they live longer lives? This paper, published in 2011 by an anthropologist in PNAS (one of the most respected journals) looked at the proportion of younger (20-40 years old) to older (> 40 years old) Paleolithic human remains and found that only a small proportion made it to 40. “All three Late Pleistocene samples have a dearth of older individuals compared with Holocene ethnographic/historical samples.” (The Pleistocene includes the Paleolithic era while the Holocene is our current era.) It would almost certainly be generous to say that the average lifespan of Paleolithic people was 40 years.

Paleo Diet pros and cons – impact on health

Of course, people who live a “hunter-gatherer” lifestyle that involves moderate food consumption and lots of exercise are probably going to be pretty lean. A sedentary lifestyle that involves over-eating of processed food is a big problem – that’s not news. The Paleo Diet is a mix of good and bad ideas – the good ideas are not unique to the Paleo Diet and I believe that the bad ideas are harmful to both your health and the planet.

Paleo Diet rules

First, here are the ground rules of the Paleo Diet:

All the lean meats, fish, and seafood that you can eat.
All the fruits and non-starchy vegetables that you can eat
No cereals
No legumes
No dairy products
No processed foods

Things that the Paleo Diet probably gets right

The last two points, above, are the main reasons why the Paleo Diet might be beneficial for some. Replacing dairy and processed food with fruit and veg would be a big improvement in many people’s diets. Here’s a summary of the good ideas contained in the book (these ideas are not unique to the Paleo Diet):

Reduce dairy
Reduce processed foods
Reduce refined sugar
Eat food that is alkalizing rather than acidifying (e.g., leafy greens over meat).

I guess the issue of acid-generating food is not as well-known as the others (except for diseases like gout, caused by an excess of uric acid and often associated with a diet rich in animal-protein). Since meat is acidifying, there’s a conflict with the core Paleo Diet, which Dr. Cordain tries to resolve by saying to make sure to eat plenty of greens to balance the heavy meat intake that he prescribes. He neglects to point out that plant-based protein sources like legumes are much less acidifying than animal-based protein (sometimes they are even alkalizing).

Things that the Paleo Diet probably gets wrong

Eat a lot of animal protein, even relative to the typical American diet
Avoid starchy vegetables
Avoid cereals
Avoid legumes

To reiterate: an animal-based low-carb diet will likely shorten your lifespan, even though it may help you lose weight. When you think about the role of the internet in the rise to popularity of the Paleo Diet you get an idea of the root of the problem: photos and testimonials of people losing weight. As described in the last post, long-term studies on the impact of diet on health require huge effort to be done well. Anecdotal stories of weight loss (or pictures of lean people showing their abs) tell you one thing: some people lose weight on the diet. But are they healthier – how about their risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease? You need long-term scientific studies to tell you this: and they have unequivocally told us that there is a significantly higher risk of death from a low-carb diet that’s rich in animal products.

Is the Paleo Diet impartial or agenda-driven?

I'll stop there because the remaining discussion is getting away from the whether the book is good and focuses more on Cordain's previous funding sources (spoiler: they include the NRA) and also on whether the diet is good for the planet (spoiler: it is not).
For the remainder of this discussion please see my blog post on the book:
https://greenstarsproject.org/2019/12...

[Marc · Rating 4 out of 5]

In my opinion, one of the most important book on nutrition ever written. There are, however, problems with it. For one thing, it is written in that stupid lose-weight-on-this-diet genre (which, I understand, was not entirely Cordain's decision) and it can be really grating to read. Second, it is a little fluffy, at least for a geeky analytical fellow like me.

But even so, the basic tenant and program of the book is fantastically important. Here is how to think about the picture. Nutrition and health studies are notoriously badly designed -- not entirely because the people doing them are dimwits (though there is plenty of that, too), but because of the intrinsic complexity of the situation and the ethical/practical constaints involved. The result, as we all know, is a host of contradictory studies which make it difficult to know what to do. So how do you wade through that mess? Well, start by filtering the results through the lens of a far better established and mature science, namely, evolutionary biology. Darwin allows us to sift through all those results and tell a coherent and reasonably compelling story about how to eat for optimal health (this is not a lose-weight program, though it will deliver that).

Sure, lots and lots of caveats. But still -- a way better idea than listening to the vegetarian crowd.

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

While there is merit to the general idea behind eating like our Paleolithic ancestors, many of the extreme ideas behind this book have been called into question by recent research. For example, the suggestion that a protein calorie is not equal to a carbohydrate calorie has not been verified by real-world studies.

But the real failure of the book is clear in its ridiculous portrayal of a vegetarian diet: yogurt and carbs. In this "case study", the person is portrayed as weak and sick because of their avoidance of meat. Utter rubbish; there are elite athletes who thrive on a proper vegetarian diet. It's a weak argument at best.

In general, the science is good. But it falls down when it resorts to shorthand -- a chloride ion is not basic (as in acids and bases) no matter how much you want to simplify the science. And a sodium ion is not acidic. Readers would be better served by using the words and concepts of acids and bases correctly.

Am I convinced that a meat-heavy diet will cure diabetes and prevent cancer, as this book suggests? No. But I'm glad I read it and now can understand the hype.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing style was on par with other diet/fitness books I have read. It got a little preachy at times, especially in knocking the Atkins diet (which is similar to the Paleo approach in several ways). I liked the idea that the Paleo diet encourages you to eat fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. I know that I am not the type of person who would give up all grains forever, but I could see doing so for a period of time and then adding back in the healthier grains as a "sometimes" food. We are currently gluten-free; we may attempt to do a more Paleo-inspired diet in the future. Honestly, though, it isn't really necessary to read the book to do so--just foucs on fruits, veggies, and lean meats, and avoid grains, sugar, processed foods, and legumes.

[Jodi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Ditch this awful book and get Nora Gedgaudas' book 'Primal Body Primal Mind' or even Dr Wahls' book on 'The Wahls' Protocol' if you are ill especially. They are hundreds of times better in every way than this book. It's just shockingly bad.

This book is so terrible. It contains so much wrong information and outrageous false claims and so much arrogance and ego.

This book has 'low fat is healthy' misinformation and fear-mongering about foods containing scary, scary cholesterol or saturated fat along with complete nonsense about how we can all eat a lot of fruit each day and still lose weight even if very carb sensitive.

[Dawn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad book just not great either if you want a diet book something akin to the Abs Diet book then this is for you. Not a great read but not dry either.

The biggest negative for me is his reference to research but not really follow through, I guess think was intentional as some may feel intimidated by hard science. For me I just felt it was to general.

The recipes did not look that great so I left them alone completely.

I have started reading other Paleo books because I think there is something correct about this diet but sadly this book just did not give me what I was seeking.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmm...read this in order to understand what some of my patients are following.....and found yet another biased food fad based on obsessivly and blindly marching down a path marked out by dogma and cherry-picking the literature.
It does deserve a couple of stars in that a portion of it is sensible and clearly better than the current North American highly processed diet of frankenfoods.....but the so-called genetic basis for us today still needing a grain and dairy free diet is just a theory. Plus it irks me that Dr Cordain hasn't heard of (or conveniently ignores) punctuated equilibrium.

[Sue · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have recently learned I am gluten intolerant and also have sensitivity to dairy, eggs and soy. Yikes! This is a diet I can actually live on and it's designed to give you all the nutrients you need. From an evolutionary standpoint, it makes sense to me. I thought I had rheumatoid arthritis, but after a couple of weeks wheat free, I am free of the pain!

[Tom · Rating 2 out of 5]

The idea behind the Diet posed in this book is logical and sound. It has interested me for awhile now. The book itself was disappointing. You can grab all of the information you need on the diet off of the internet, in a zillion places. I was hoping the book itself would have a little more Science behind it.

[Laureen Hudson · Rating 1 out of 5]

It's always heartening to read the other reviews here on Goodreads. Because oish, this book was a nightmare. The author needed an editor, a fact-checker, oh, and something resembling familiarity with the literature in the field. I spotted glaring errors through the first twenty or so pages, which is where I stopped. UGH!

[Jennie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too much focus on lean, lean, lean -- not really breaking away from the low-fat mythology (this is, of course, my opinion) and not enough of a focus on getting activity. Still a good resource and interesting reading, but I have a feeling I'm going to like Primal Blueprint more.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not scientifically detailed but the idea checks out and makes sense.

[Sara Kenyon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of the Paleo Diet and this guy is one of it's main proponents. However, the book was boring, unmotivating and uninformative. I recommend the Paleo Solution by Robb Wolf.

[Kelly Deriemaeker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Voor het werk. Boeiende materie.

[lézengő reader]

A paleolit választ érdemes elolvasni a szerzőtől, ezt a könyvét n e m . Zsírfóbia, sómítosz, koleszterinmesék, rostpropaganda - hát köszi, legalább paleós szerzőktől nem kéne.

[Lynda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Problem is I am allergic to half the food I am supposed to eat.