The Paleo Diet is the most recent and popular approach to weight loss, improved health, and longevity, and is accomplished by eating large amounts of animal-derived foods (which are no-carbohydrate, and high-protein and/or high-fat foods).

The Paleo Diet, nutritional hypothesis is based on the presumption that our ancestors, living during the Paleolithic era—a period of time from 10,000 to 2.5 million years ago—were nourished primarily by animal foods. According to the basic theory behind Paleo dieting, as a result of more than two millions of years of evolution, we are now genetically adapted to eat what the hunter-gathers ate—mostly animal foods.

What is Paleo Diet?

The Paleo Diet consists mainly of meat, poultry, shellfish, fish, and eggs; non-starchy orange, green, and yellow vegetables; and fruits and nuts. This approach forbids starches, including all grains, legumes, and potatoes. To its credit it also excludes dairy products and refined sugars. Salt and processed oils (with the exception of olive oil) are also excluded.

How Paleo diet Causes Heart Disease, Diabetes and Cancer

In particular, trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO), a gut microbiota-derived metabolite of dietary choline and L- carnitine, obtained from red meat and other animal foods, has been associated with an elevated risk of colorectal cancer, as well as cardiovascular disease and diabetes.

A “paleo diet” increases levels of TMAO, a metabolite associated with heart disease, according to a study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Researchers tracked TMAO levels and markers of gut-bacteria health for those following a "paleo diet," which included meat, while excluding grains and dairy products, and compared results to a control group. Decreased consumption of carbohydrates, especially from fiber-rich grains, and increased fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol intake in the paleo group led to more gut bacteria species linked to heart disease and inflammation than those in the control group. The authors note that these results suggest that a paleo dietary pattern may be harmful to long-term health.¹

The intake of animal products in food has been associated with both the development of insulin resistance and gastrointestinal cancers (GIC). Through the digestion of animal protein and other constituents of animal products, the commensal bacteria in the gut (the gut microbiota) forms metabolites that can contribute to the development of both insulin resistance and cancer. Trimethylamine-N-Oxide (TMAO) is such a molecule and has recently drawn a lot of attention as it may be a risk factor for - and a link between - the gut microbiota and cardiovascular and renal disease.²

Paleo Disproved

“If You Repeat a Lie Often Enough, It becomes the Truth”

Teachers of Paleo nutrition claim our ancient ancestors were hunter-gathers with an emphasis on hunting, regardless of the bulk of current scientific research reports. They base their hypothesis largely upon a flawed review of contemporary hunter-gathers.

Personally, I believe in Bible's Creation and the earth is around 6000 years old after living beings are created by God. But I would like to share evidence from people who belive in Evolution theory that grains are an instinctive diet during the so-called paleo era.

When asked about the commonly held idea that ancient people were primarily meat-eaters, the highly respected anthropologist, Nathanial Dominy, PhD, from Dartmouth College responded, “That’s a myth. Hunter-gathers, the majority of their calories come from plant foods…meat is just too unpredictable.” After studying the bones, teeth, and genetics of primates for his entire career as a biological anthropologist, Dr. Dominy, states, “Humans might be more appropriately described as ‘starchivores.’”

* Research published in the journal Nature (on June 27, 2012) reports that almost the entire diet of our very early human ancestors, dating from 2 million years ago, consisted of leaves, fruits, wood, and bark—a diet similar to modern day chimpanzees.

* According to research presented in a 2009 issue of Science, people living in what is now Mozambique, along the eastern coast of Africa, may have followed a diet based on the cereal grass sorghum as long as 105,000 years ago.

* Research presented in a 2011 issue of Proceedings of the National Academy of Science shows that even the Neanderthals ate a variety of plant foods; starch grains have been found on the teeth of their skeletons everywhere from the warm eastern Mediterranean to chilly northwestern Europe. It appears they even cooked, and otherwise prepared, plant foods to make them more digestible—44,000 years ago.

* A 2010 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science reported that starch grains from wild plants were identified on grinding tools at archeological sites dating back to the Paleolithic period in Italy, Russia, and the Czech Republic. These findings suggest that processing vegetables and starches, and possibly grinding them into flour, was a widespread practice in Europe as far back as 30,000 years ago, or even earlier.

Conclusion

Paleo diet effort is supposed to disguise, and compensate for, the unhealthy effects of consuming animal foods at every meal.

References

1. Genoni A, Christophersen CT, Lo J, et al. Long‑term Paleolithic diet is associated with lower resistant starch intake, different gut microbiota composition and increased serum TMAO concentrations. Eur J Clin Nutr. Published July 5, 2019.

2. "Trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) as a New Potential Therapeutic Target for Insulin Resistance and Cancer", https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28641532/