I believe there is great wisdom in obeying our nutritional ancestry, since evolution has fated our bodies to work optimally under certain dietary conditions. I recommend the basic dietary tenants of The Paleo Diet, but I don’t consider paleo to be “eating like a caveman.” However, when compared to other nutrition protocols and the Standard American Diet, it is the closest thing to our roots.
If you wish to address disease though diet or lose weight or simply feel more vitality, then go for paleo. To me, that means:
- Eliminate grains/beans/legumes, highly processed oils, and refined sugar
- Cook your meals from scratch, using fresh ingredients
- Fill your plate up with a variety of veggies
- Incorporate moderate amounts of sustainably-raised animal products
However – and I’m speaking from my own experience – it’s easy to fall into Paleo pitfalls. Here are 3:
1. Slow down on the nuts and seeds
If you are searching Pinterest for paleo recipes, it often appears that nuts and seeds replace grains in everything. Breads, biscuits muffins, cakes, cookies, crackers and even cereals seem feature ground nuts as the primary ingredient.
While appropriate as a treat (as in, enjoying a couples times per week) nut-based baked goods present multiple pitfalls:
- Nut/seed butters and flours disguise the actual volume of nut/seed consumption. For example, a cup of almond flour contains 90 almonds and a tablespoon of almond butter contains 7 almonds.
- Nuts and seeds were traditionally a seasonal food. For example, almond harvest lasts from August to November and walnuts are in season from November to June (source).
- Nuts and seeds contain anti-nutrients including enzyme inhibitors.
- Nuts and seeds are high in omega-6 fatty acids. Contrary to popular belief, nuts/seeds don’t provide the body with useable omega 3. Instead, most contain high levels of omega-6 fatty acids which, when consumed in over-abundance, can impair the body’s anti-inflammatory pathways.
For more details, please read my posts 5 Reasons to Avoid Almond Flour and 3 Things Everyone Should Know about Omega 3 Fatty Acids.
2. Ditch the boneless, skinless chicken breast
A baked chicken breast with some steamed veggies seems paleo-friendly and easy. But, while that meal doesn’t contain non-paleo foods, it’s not quite paleo enough.
As Dr. Weston Price recorded in his landmark book, primitive cultures greatly valued the organ meat and fatty pieces of animals. To make paleo closer to the eating habits of actual cavemen, we should consume animal protein along with the nutrient co-factors found in the skin, organs, collagen and fat.
According Nourishing Traditions,
Protein cannot be adequately utilized without dietary fats. That is why protein and fats occur together in eggs, milk, fish and meats. A high protein, low fat diet can cause many problems including too rapid growth and depletion of vitamin A and D reserves.
I recommend enjoying organ meats weekly, making homemade bone broth, and incorporating grassfed collagen into your diet. Collagen and gelatin contain amino acids that help our bodies utilize the nutrition from meat.
3. Find Your Optimal Carb Intake
Carbohydrates. Oh boy, that’s a topic.
I’ve struggled to find the optimal carb intake for my body. It’s been a struggle because there is no one-size-fits-all answer. Carb needs vary depending on sex, body type, exercise, ancestry, weight loss goals, and more.
I’ve experienced the spectrum: eating both too much and too little carbohydrate on my grain free journey. Now, I think I’ve found my balance… but only after a bumpy ride.
To find your own carb balance, I suggest observing your body’s symptoms.
What are some indicators that you may be consuming too much carbs?
- Using sweeteners (honey, maple syrup, etc) on a daily basis
- High fasting blood sugar in the morning (a glucometer readers over 100)
- Craving something sweet or starchy with each meal
- Feeling tired after meals
- Not feeling hungry in the morning
- Slow wound healing and tissue regeneration (indicates insulin resistance)
How can someone eat too many carbs on paleo? By replicating old eating patterns as a grain-free version. Eating almond flour pancakes with syrup for breakfast, having a tapioca bread sandwich for lunch, and eating sweet potato pasta for dinner is not a balanced paleo diet. When we trip into that pitfall, we often end up consuming too much carbohydrate.
Going paleo requires that you reimagine your meals, rather than just replicating grain-based foods with grain-free recipes. For example, open your breakfast options beyond the realm of traditional “breakfast foods.” Who says a potato-and-veggie hash, or a warming vegetable soup, isn’t breakfast? If you haven’t, please download my free Reset Your Health Guides here to expand your meal ideas.
I found my carb balance by using a glucometer (available here with test strips) to measure blood sugar. I suggest taking your fasting glucose (upon waking, before breakfast) at least a few times per week. For information on the best glucometer and optimal glucose numbers, I used Chris Kresser’s article here and highly recommend it.
If your blood sugar is too high, it usually indicates excessive carb consumption for your physiology, or not eating enough fat with carbs.
Very low carb diets can bring the body into a state called ketosis, where it abnormally burns only fat for fuel. Ketogenic diets are controversial. I consider it an extreme therapeutic diet, and I haven’t done enough research to recommend them, but I can recommend that you don’t to ketosis on accident. It’s a drastic metabolic shift in your body that carries risks and problematic symptoms.
What are some symptoms that indicate you may not be eating enough carbs?
- Constipation
- Feeling dizzy or light-headed upon standing quickly
- Feeling chronically chilled
- Having very cold fingers and toes
- Too much weight loss
What are sources of paleo-friendly carbohydrates?
- Winter squashes
- Starchy vegetables, such as sweet potatoes and parsnips
- Fresh fruit
- White potatoes, if tolerated
Do you follow a grain free, Paleo or Primal diet? Have you struggled with any of these pitfalls?
Hi Lauren,
I’ve been on your website for quite sometime now and I can’t get off it! So much information!! See this is a problem for me, theres soooo much information about diet and health out there especially with the internet and all that it completely overwhelms me and I feel like I have to do everything and I’m missing out on a lot. I sometimes feel like I can’t cope up with this much and just so much people are throwing so much info as well. Its difficult actually trying to explain what I mean but I hope you understand. Do you have any advice for me??
Hi, very interesting comments and great site. I grew up with Spanish grandparents and a Mediterranean diet in my youth, offal, soups, fish, salads. Hardly any sweet things or baked goods. Lots of olive oil and butter. Lots of aubergines, potatoes, tomatoes. Many years later in the UK I got very sick to the point of hospital visits, medication, all to no avail. Eventually after keeping a food diary I went grain and gluten free and went back to my childhood eating habits, and have slowly but surely recovered my health. 6 months down the line I feel much better. I’ve started on raw grass fed milk, just a small amount, and it’s really helped my stomach. I think the most important thing is to listen to your body, your common sense, and not listen too much to the “experts”. Drink when you’re thirsty, and exercise in moderation only. Grok would not have spent his time jogging or doing gym unless he was chasing prey. Do what feels natural, genetics play a big part here. I have a friend of Swedish ancestry who thrives on cereals and dairy products. She can’t digest potatoes. For my part, I crave oily fish, seafood, olive oil and nightshades, and don’t feel right unless I eat those things. My grandmother died at 94 and her mother was 108. They both drank small amounts of red wine daily. I also know a British man of Indian descent whose father is still alive in India, he’s about 110.. He eats nothing but pulses, white rice and curries, and is teetotal. There is so much more to learn about diet, health, genetics and environment, I think we’re scratching the tip of the iceberg as far as knowledge goes, and this means that health experts and doctors keep switching ideas, discovering new facts, it causes a lot of confusion and doubt. Thanks for reading, love to follow this great blog and learn from the experience of others, too.
Hi! I just began a clean vegan diet while learning more about Paleo and Neo-Paleo theories. My switch to veganism is because of animal rights and environmental concerns associated with the practices of our current meat and dairy industries.
The Paleo science on a bio-chemical level is very compelling, but I am growing more curious how we rectify Paleo diets with our modern lifestyles. As one example, I am pondering if animal fats are still necessary since we are not seeking shelter in caves and staving off cold nights. I presume Paleolithic man needed these fats to sustain long winters with less food and maintain his metabolic system without indoor heat and fluffy blankets. I find myself thinking, there may be varying degrees of adapting a caveman’s diet that once met survival needs, considering some of those survival threats are eliminated from (most) homes, while practicing moral beliefs on animal rights.
My question is, with the food options available to us today, can a vegan diet that ascribes to much of the same science be as healthful as a more pure Paleo diet? For example, I currently enjoy avocados and coconut oil as a few plant-based fat sources instead of consuming animal fats. Is this an acceptable swap in the context of longevity and health?
I am looking forward to your thoughts and advice; thank you!!
I just wanted to add a comment about “paleo” breads made with almond, coconut and other non-grain flours. I’ve been on a no-grain paleo-ish diet for a couple of weeks now and have been craving bread lately. So I found a biscuit recipe online that used almond flour and asked my wife to make them. She did so last night and I ate three of them with dinner. To be honest, they weren’t very good, but as I said, I was craving bread so I slapped on a little grass-fed butter and choked them down anyway. Later in the night the bloat hit me and it was so bad I actually had to vomit three times. The next morning I was still bloated but no longer nauseous. I expect further discomfort from this poor choice before it’s all over. So beware those non-wheat breads. They’ll do a number on you.