Reflection on Paleo Diet

Do you feel bombarded with change from every direction? Are you fascinated by the world and you want to explore it and experiment? Our imagination takes us to many wonderful places and our creativity also finds its outlet in our attitude towards food. Modern trends in diet change fast and they are no longer about weight loss, but the new lifestyle. Paleo food lovers turn away from our traditional western diet and toss out all processed food, to replace it with natural and healthy lifestyle. They believe, it is a journey into the roots and something much greater, but is it really? Is Paleo diet really the diet we are predisposed to naturally and the only solution to retain health, or simply our romantic fascination with tradition?

Meat consumption is part of our evolutionary heritage and some say, that we are genetically predisposed to eating meat. Hence it does not surprise me, that we have seen a huge success of Paleo diet in recent years, because it relies heavily on meat, as the main source of protein intake. Another reason is, that it appeals to our sensibilities, and scientific reasoning claiming, that we cannot escape our genetic makeup. It is the only healthy lifestyle for us, but is it really?

Before we jump to any conclusions, let's concentrate on the diet itself. According to recommendations we should derive 50% of our daily calories from meat, or meat products (lean meat, fish and eggs), 35% from oil and 15% from fruit, vegetables, seeds and nuts. There is no room in this diet for processed food, diary, grains, legumes, starchy veggies like potatoes, sugar, but also for coffee and alcohol. So if we assume, that our daily allowances are 2000 calories, then we should derive 1000 calories from meat products, 700 calories from fat and 300 calories from fruit, vegetables, seeds and nuts. With those assumptions, is it possible to create a healthy diet? Let's take a look.

I have analyzed the diet and have to admit, that it is NOT possible to include seeds and nuts into the same category with fruit and vegetables. The simple reason is, that seeds and nuts are dense in calories and 300 calorie limit is far too low to include all types of food. The best solution is to include them into either meat or fat category. So if we do that, then it is possible to create a healthy plan, which is not only nutritious, but it also fulfills our daily vitamin and mineral requirement regime. However, in order to achieve it, we should consume liver daily together with some lean meat and fish. If we toss out liver then consuming just meat does not make it OK or healthy.

So if we want to eat healthy we should consume every day the following: 250g meat (50g liver – chicken, 100g chicken breast, 100g fish – the best would be small fish, that we eat with bone), 100g almonds, and 2 eggs; 100g olive oil or any other healthy oil (I prefer olive oil, due to high content of vitamin E), and eat every day 100g broccoli, 200g dark-leaf vegetables, 1 beet, 1 carrot, 1 tomato, 1 small cucumber, 7 radishes, ½ red pepper, ½ onion and 20g sunflower seeds. If we follow those recommendations, then the nutritious breakdown will look like this:

VitA: 800%, VitC: 430, VitE:194%, VitK: 434%, VitB1:84%, VitB2: 198%, VitB3: 167%, VitB5: 88%, VitB6: 123%, VitB12: 308%, Folate: 241%, Ca: 91%, Fe: 117%, Mg: 143%, K: 110%, Zn: 90%, Se: 259%.

We will also have enough VitD providing we will stick with small fish and of course we would not need to worry about omega-3.

COMMENTS:

Deficiencies in VitB1, B5 and Zn can be overcome by eating more liver every day. For my calculations I used 50g of chicken liver, but if we change that amount to 75g, then we should be OK. As for calcium, it is tricky to ensure adequate amounts in this diet. Everyone should be aware of it and make sure to eat regularly small fish, almonds, and the tiny seeds, which I omitted in my analysis – sesame seeds. They are also a very good source of calcium, but in order to take advantage of them, they need to be fermented first (see here) – the same is true for almonds. Hence 28g of sesame seeds, or 3 tbsp, are equivalent to 160 calories, and this amount contains 25% Ca, 25% Fe plus other vitamins and minerals. So others are right in saying, that Paleo diet is the source of calcium deficiencies. Improperly eaten almonds and/or sesame seeds will not provide adequate amounts of calcium, because most of it will be bound to phytic acid and will be removed from our bodies. Something to think about.

My analysis has been done for 2000 calories, which means, that it is more representative of a diet for men, then women. Women on this diet should be very careful about their menu, due to calorie restrictions (1800 calories). They should get rid of traditional meat and switch to, for example, chicken liver and fish only. As for calcium they should experiment with almonds and sesame seeds. Sesame seeds are less dense in calories than almonds, but they are as nutritious as almonds. For example, 100g almonds translates into 500 calories and 28g sesame seeds (see above) equals to 160 calories. Both products are dense in nutrients, so it is a good idea to eat them every day.

I hope you noticed, that my analysis lacks fruit. They are high in calories, which makes them unattractive for this diet. A 2000 calorie diet should contain 300 calories coming from fruit, vegetables and seeds. So if we include fruit, then we do that at the expense of either vegetables or seeds. This means, that men can afford to eat fruit from time to time, but women should stay away from them and completely forget that they exist.

 

REFLECTION ON PALEO DIET

Killing animals and eating meat have been significant components of human evolution, that had a synergistic relationship with other key attributes, that have made us humans, such as evolution of human intelligence, development of language and of capacities for planning, cooperation and socializing in particular.

Given, that there are more of us now, we need more animals than our ancestors, to keep up with the tradition of meat consumption and deal with its “side effects”. Is it then possible to come up with a comprehensive appraisal, in order to contrast the positive effects of meat consumption with the negative consequences of meat production and to answer a simple question: are the benefits (health and otherwise) of eating meat greater than the undesirable cost, multitude of environmental burdens in particular, of producing it?

I hope, that I convinced you, that it is possible to stay healthy on Paleo diet. But this also means, that we need to consume 1kg of meat (700g traditional meat and 300g of meat liver) plus 700g fish every week or 48kg of meat (or 48 chickens) and 30kg fish every year. This amount is not particularly alarming, because in western countries consumption of meat is much greater, approximately 80-90kg/year. But comparing this amount to the average, which is 42kg/year, it is quite a lot, and there are consequences both from the production standpoint and the environment. However, the above calculations are based on the assumption, that we group almonds to the protein category, and if we move them to fats, then we will need to consume twice as much meat, which means, that we will consume 156kg/year of meat. A horrifying amount! Is this the price everyone needs to pay, so we can stay healthy???

Industrialized production of animals for human consumption is the source of multiple environmental burdens. At risk are land, water and energy sources, but it is also a source of greenhouse gas and reactive nitrogen burden. For example, while production of 1 ton of meat (poultry) requires 4,000L of water, cultivation of 1 ton of wheat depends on 1,500 L and 1 ton of potatoes has need for only 133 liters of water. Production of beef is more exploitative and it uses 17,000L of water to produce 1 ton of meat. On average production of 1kg meat requires 100 times more water than cultivation of cereal. By insisting on increasing the production of meat at the expense of other types of food we are wasting away natural resources unnecessary.

The same problem is with energy and we know how important it is for us. Meat production system relies on a ratio 25:1, which means, that to produce 1 calorie of meat we need to spend 25 calories of energy. Milk industry uses a ratio of 14:1, beef industry – 40:1, eggs – 39:1 and wheat – 2:1. To illustrate the situation, I have made my own calculations and found out, that to produce 1kg of beef meat we require 70 kW/h energy, which also means, that this energy will be enough to provide light to 250 apartments for 1 hour (or to drive 250km by car). In comparison production of 1 egg will provide light to 8 apartments for 1 hour (2kW/h) and 30 eggs are equal to 1kg of beef meat. I find it interesting and horrifying at the same time, don't you think?

Negative consequences of meat production are seen in other areas of our life. A rise in greenhouse gas emissions, landmass erosion and the fact, that we need more animals every day for our consumption purposes. Currently there is 5 times more cultivated animals in the world than us and if we continue to follow the trend the consequences are quite obvious.

I am not against meat consumption, but what I am against is our belief, that eating meat is the only choice to stay healthy. Relying on chicken breast leads to overeating, because we overcompensate the lack of vitamins and minerals in our bodies. Knowledge is power, so let's select food consciously. Living consciously means, that we take care of ourselves and the environment we live in at the same time. If we want to stay on a meat diet, then we should remember to include meat organs and fish into our menu. They are very nutritious and filled with vitamins and minerals.

In my mind, Paleo diet is not going back to the roots, nor it is a natural or healthy lifestyle. Presently it will contribute to degradation of the environment simply, because we need more animals to feed us. Paleo diet is an extreme approach, because it does not take advantage of other food, which has been shown to be nutritious, such as legumes or some type of grain, which by the way are less of a burden to our environment. Throughout history we experimented with food and now we can capitalize on our heritage to make intelligent choices. While meat was a prestige food throughout the millennia of pre-industrial history and associated with affluent economies, it does not have the same connotation anymore. Times are changing and affluence now means intelligence, so why not base individual diets on nutritional value of food and their vitamin and mineral content?