The Paleo Diet - Loren Cordain [4]
Nutritional science is not static. What we once believed to be true ten years ago is invariably replaced by fresh knowledge based on better experiments, more comprehensive data, and a newer understanding of how our bodies work. When I first wrote The Paleo Diet, a great deal of the dietary advice I offered was cutting edge—so much so, that it was looked on with skepticism by scientists and the public at large. Here’s a perfect example. One 2002 online review of The Paleo Diet read, “Claims of improving diseases from diabetes to acne to polycystic ovary disease may be a little overstated.” I feel vindicated knowing that the original dietary recommendations I made for type 2 diabetes, acne, and polycystic ovary syndrome have been confirmed by hundreds of scientific experiments.
Especially gratifying are a series of epidemiological experiments from Dr. Walter Willett and colleagues at the Harvard School of Public Health that linked milk consumption and the occurrence of acne. Even more convincing evidence for the diet-acne link comes from Dr. Neil Mann’s research group at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, where acne patients were actually fed high-protein, low-glycemic-load diets and reported significant improvement in their symptoms.
Anytime a diet/health book survives eight years, the hindsight rule (hindsight is 20/20) surely has to come into play. Indeed it did with this book, as reflected by my current updates and edits to the original volume. The elegance of The Paleo Diet concept is that the essential idea (the evolutionary basis for optimal human nutrition) is fundamentally sound and will never change; as Boyd Eaton, the godfather of Paleolithic nutrition commented, “The science behind Paleolithic Nutrition is indisputable; however, we will continually hone the concept as newer information accumulates.”
So, what’s new in this edition, and what are the noteworthy changes?
The first revision involves recommended oils. We are now down to only four: olive oil, flaxseed oil, walnut oil, and avocado oil. I no longer can recommend canola oil at all, and the only oil I believe should be used for cooking is olive oil. My friend and noted nutritionist Robert Crayhon always said to “let the data speak for itself,” and I believe his words ring true. The rationale for these new recommendations is solely based on new facts that have emerged. You can find this updated information in this revised edition.
Another shift is that I have softened my stance on the saturated fat issue as more and more data become available, including information from my recent evolutionary paper on the topic.
Finally, as scientists begin to unravel the mystery of autoimmune diseases, it is becoming apparent that multiple nutritional elements of the Paleo Diet may protect us from these one hundred or more illnesses that afflict nearly 10 percent of the U.S. population.
All of this information, along with the tweaks needed to bring The Paleo Diet up to date in 2010, is to be found within this edition. I’ve also just published a new book, The Paleo Diet Cookbook, which contains more than 150 Paleo recipes. I owe a debt of gratitude to each and every Paleo Diet supporter for making this concept known to the world.
Acknowledgments
I am the storyteller, but the tale I tell would not have been possible without the dedication and lifework of countless scientists from many diverse fields. I am particularly indebted to my friend and colleague S. Boyd Eaton for enlightening me with his seminal New England Journal of Medicine article “Paleolithic Nutrition” and then for generously recognizing me in the midst of a sea of faces. I have had countless hours of discussion (both on and off the electronic ether) regarding diet, disease, and anthropology with many notable scientists,