The Paleo/Primal Spectrum

The "Caveman Diet" has been getting a lot of press lately. Unfortunately, the press seems to single out people who follow an extremely restricted version of the diet, and pretty much makes them sound weird. I've had a couple of conversations about this with people at work, and I just have to say that the press is not doing a very objective job of showing what a true Paleo lifestyle is like. I have no problem with people who are dedicated enough to the Paleo Lifestyle that they completely give up dairy, grains, beans, alcohol, vinegar, etc. More power to them!

However, bloodletting, and running around in the underbrush is really not that common...Call us what you will, cavemen and cavewomen, hunter-gathers, Paleodieters, most of us are pretty average. We probably sit next to you on the bus, or in the lunch room, and you would never know, if we didn't tell you. It is important to remember that a lot of us follow a Paleo/Primal lifestyle that is much more in tune with modern food choices and the spirit of the Paleolithic diet without depriving ourselves so much that all we can eat is raw, wild game. I call this broad picture of the Paleo lifestyle the "Paleo/Primal Spectrum."

On one end there are the Paleo Purists, they follow the diet pretty much as outlined by Loren Cordain in his book "The Paleo Diet".
They eschew grains, beans, dairy, sugar, vinegar, and alcohol. They eat lean meats, and consume lots of omega3 fats to replace the saturated fat missing from the meat. (The idea behind this is that the meat our ancestors would have consumed would have been much higher in Omega3s than modern grain-fed meat, and the modern diet of today is very high in Omega6s—so it is necessary to balance these fats in such a way that it mimics the eating patterns of our forebears.)

If they can, Paleo Purists eat wild game or grass fed free range meat as much as possible. They also may follow the principle idea that they can eat things which can be digested by a human without any preparation, i.e. cooking—that doesn’t mean they have to eat everything raw, just that they can. Therefore, no white or sweet potatoes, winter squash, etc…They may also intermittently practice fasting to re-create the eating patterns of our ancestors. Many members of this “tribe” are also Crossfit-ers, or choose to exercise in a way that is more Paleolithic, and less cardio-centric like many modern exercise regimes.

On the other end of the spectrum are “Whole Food” or “Traditional Food” advocates, who may eat whole grains and beans if they are soaked and sprouted, consume grassfed raw dairy, and utilize “natural” sugars like honey and agave syrup. Many people begin here if they are Celiacs or have other autoimmune diseases, and want to learn how to live with their disease.

Of course there are thousands of us who live in between these two extremes. I have some days where I am very strictly Paleo Purist, and eat only grass-fed meat and salad, and other days where I bake cookies and cakes from nut flours and egg whites, sweetened with honey and fruit, and frosted with whipped cream. I don’t feel deprived most of the time, because I know that I can pretty much have what I want, and if I “want” pizza, or tacos, or burgers I can create versions of them that still avoid most of the overly processed ingredients of modern junk foods. I don’t really consider this way of eating to be unusual or even that complicated—there are many dishes you can prepare with Paleo/Primal ingredients and never even notice that the foundations of our modern food pyramid are missing. The truth is, I don’t really miss them…