Paleo doesn't have to be high calorie per say. Not all paleo plans are high fat. I agree that CR, with say an Okinawan diet, may be better for longevity. But paleo can be worth going on if you're already obese. When you're insulin or leptin insensitive with metabolic syndrome or prediabetes other diets may be disruptive. Being fat is pro-aging — so some have to end that first.
Most of the Paleo people I read about promote a high calorie, high fat, low carb, moderate protein diet. DukeNukem explicitly.
But let me be clear. I'm buying into the Paleo diet framework. There just isn't enough good research out there to really promote its longevity effects. Thats really whats missing, irrefutable compelling evidence of lower incidences of chronic diseases and optimal health. People on Paleo have for the most part outstanding bloodwork with the obvious exception of higher Total Cholesterol values though many say its a meaningless figure. We do have a bias towards high vegetable intake and high fruit intake but its because there's a great deal of biochemistry supporting it. Everything from phytonutrients, minerals, antioxidants, fiber are really what fit into our framework of what we know about the body. Now, if you say adding meat to that isn't bad or may even further enhance health, i'd like to see it on paper. I'd like to see long term studies with a face-a face between a proper vegetarian diet and a proper paleo diet (though my idea of a REAL vegetarian diet would, with the exception of beans, be a subset of a paleo diet). From what I read in the literature there are rare populations that do eat a true paleo diet though they seem to be ignored in the last few decades. Its a shame. We should have a more conclusive picture of optimal health.
These studies aside, there is also compelling evidence that beans are beneficials and are completely excluded from paleo. Anyone care to point to research clearly indicating the harm or inflammatory consequences of eating beans?
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You also mentioned Vit D 400UI as the RDA daily value. Heart Scan (Dr. Davis, cardiologist) recommends way more. Yes, you get Vit D when you hit the sun for 20 mins, but that ages skin. And if you're darker it takes longer to sythesize.
I know. I've been taking ~4000IU fir a bit now it was just a comment as to the RDA not being a really significant measure of good nutrition.
Edited by biochemie, 17 July 2009 - 10:15 PM.