The document discusses the health benefits of the paleo diet. It notes that human DNA has changed little since the paleolithic era when humans were hunter-gatherers consuming a low carbohydrate, high protein diet. Several studies have found that paleo diets are associated with better health outcomes than modern diets high in grains and processed foods, including lower rates of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and some cancers. Adopting a diet and lifestyle similar to our ancient ancestors can help address widespread chronic health conditions in modern Western societies.

1. Health Benefits of the Paleo Diet
• Current Benefits of a “Healthy Diet” continue to be issued by government and
private sources.
• Unfortunately, many people have not benefited from following the most popular
diet recommendations.
• Human DNA remains largely unchanged from our pre-agricultural homosapien
relations, who were hunter-gatherers, with a significantly different diet.
• The solution to modern diet considerations is the “Paleo-Diet.”

2. Paleo Man, Simplified
• Fossils of Modern Man have been found in Africa which date to 160,000 years ago.
• Anthropologists speculate that for most of modern man’s existence, we have been
hunter-gathers.
• The DNA genotype of the hunter-gatherer favored a diet rich in protein, high in
fiber, vegetables, nuts, and relatively low in sugars found only in fruits and berries.
• Benefits of this type of diet include better weight management, a decrease in
cardiovascular disease, less risk for diabetes, lower cancer growth rates, and
optimal performance for the human body.

3. Paleo-Diet Recommendation
Nuts & Berries provide vitamins,
fiber, minerals, and good
fats.
Fruits & Vegetables provide vitamins,
fiber, antioxidants, and good
carbohydrates.
Meat for a complete protein,
containing all essential amino acids,
the building blocks for the Human Body

4. Claire Cassidy PhD case study:
Hardin Village v. Indian Knoll
• Compared two Ohio Valley native American
communities.
• Indian Knoll were hunter-gatherers.
• Hardin Village were farmers.
• Both were only separated by time and diet, but all
other factors such as, climate, water, and vegetation
were the same.
• Neither interacted with European influence.

5. Conclusions of Hardin’s Study
• The bones of the hunter-gatherers of Indian Knoll had stronger bones, better
teeth, a lower infant mortality rate, a longer life-expectancy, and healthier
children.
• The Hardin Village agricultural community, with a diet based upon milled seed of
grains and corn, suffered from similar maladies seen in our current, 21st Century,
population.

6. Dr. Loren Cordian, Colorado State
University
• Dr. Cordian is a professor of health and exercise science, and author of over 100
peer review studies on the diet and lifestyle of Paleolithic Man.
• “The adoption of diet and lifestyle that are very different from what shaped the
human genome for more than 2 million years is a major factor in the widespread
prevalence of chronic degenerative diseases that are epidemic in western
countries”.
• “Giving support to this notion, four recent human intervention trials and one
animal trial have demonstrated that a diet composed of
meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables, roots, tubers, nuts, and seeds
may be superior to so-called healthy diets such as the Mediterranean diet”.
(Cordain 1980)
• “When I initially became involved in evolutionary nutrition, I knew that common
diseases of civilization like hypertension, high cholesterol and cardiovascular
diseases could be reduced or totally prevented by maintaining a contemporary
Paleo diet.”

7. What is the problem with our post agricultural diet?
• Grains, beans, legumes and dairy are the mainstay of the modern diet.
• Many people cannot effectively digest these food types efficiently.
• People can experience bloating, cramps, and stomach aches.
• Long-term issues arise as proteins called lectins from wheat impacts the physical
health of the digestive tract and blood circulatory system.
• The body’s immune system will often make antibodies against this form of plant
protein, and an inflamed gut will result. (Relief is often realized when individuals
eliminate wheat from their diets.)
• Sugar is another significant concern, because grains are broken down into sugar by
the digestive system.
• Excess sugar, glucose, is stored as fat, and results in weight gain, which can lead to
numerous health issues, such as, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.
• According the Dr. Dwight Lundell, heart surgeon, “ The discovery a few years ago
that inflammation in the artery wall is the real cause of heart disease is slowly
leading to a paradigm shift in how heart disease and other chronic ailments will be
treated” (Lundell 2012).

8. Paleo Diet v. Arguments Against
• For developing nation, if starvation or diet is the question, preventing starvation is
more important than diet.
• However, in the western world, obesity is becoming the number one health issue.
• While studies may support more complex carbohydrate diets, paleo diets control
glucose blood levels better than grain based diets. (Wolf 2010)
• Ethically, a paleo diet may not be appropriate for vegetarians, however, this does
not mean that the paleo diet is less healthy than one which avoids animal proteins
and fats.
• For the modern world, a balance between the more popular agriculturally
based, processed food diet, and the paleo diet makes sense especially for that part
of the population that is sensitive to the impact of processed grains and dairy
products.

9. Paleo Diet Conclusions
• While significant research continues, some conclusions can be made regarding paleo
diets.
• A more robust diet that recognizes our anthropological DNA has beneficial effects related
to lowering health risks associated with the lifestyles of modern man.
• Health is related to diet and lifestyle, the lower the level of carbohydrates and by
extension, sugars in the human body, the more healthy the body becomes.
• Together with exercise and proper levels of sleep and stress reduction, current studies
conclude that the paleo diet can add significantly to the health of individuals.
• People who are now following both the diet and the lifestyle are experiencing life
changing improvements that range from better diabetes control to lowering cholesterol
levels in the blood stream.

10. Works Cited
Cordian, Loren, Pedro Carrera-Bastos, James H. O'Keefe, Staffen Lindeberg, and Maelan
Fontes-Villaba. "The Western Diet and Lifestyle and Diseases of Civilization." Research
Reports in Clinical Cardiology (2011): n. pag. Web
Jerome, Norge W., Randy F. Kandel, and Gretel H. Pelto. Nutritional Anthropology:
Contemporary Approaches to Diet & Culture. Pleasantville, NY: Redgrave Pub., 1980.
117-45. Print.
Lundell, Dwight. "World Renown Heart Surgeon Speaks Out On What Really Causes
Heart Disease." World Renown Heart Surgeon Speaks Out On What Really Causes Heart
Disease. N.p., 01 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.preventdisease.com/news/12/030112_World-Renown-Heart-Surgeon-
Speaks-Out-On-What-Really-Causes-Heart-Disease.shtml>.
Wolf, Robb. The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet. Las Vegas: Victory Belt, 2010.
Print.