Dr Loren Cordain has devoted his life to studying Palaeolithic eating, and started a global nutrition movement while he was at it. The Paleo Diet is an international phenomenon, with followers swearing by the energy lifting, health enhancing and weight loss boosting benefits of this wonder diet.
Currently in Australia, Rescu. caught up with Dr Loren Cordain to uncover the science behind The Paleo Diet, and find out the best ways to introduce Palaeolithic eating into our daily lives for optimum health.
RESCU: As the world’s leading expert on Paleo, how exactly would you describe the diet to any readers who know nothing about it?
Dr Loren Cordain: The Paleo Diet is based upon everyday, modern foods that mimic the food groups of our pre-agricultural, hunter-gatherer ancestors. This is based upon the fundamental concept that the optimal diet is the one to which we are genetically adapted. The aim is to optimise health, minimise risk of chronic disease, and lose weight.
RESCU: When did you first become interested in nutrition?
Dr Loren Cordain: I first became interested in nutrition during my childhood – my mother would always encourage me to eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and my father would give me books about Stone Age people and how they lived off the land from wild plants and animals. At a young age I competed in intercollegiate athletics, and this really peaked my interest in diets that had the potential to improve performance. I was a big reader too – I read a variety of popular, and now classic, health books on vegetarian dieting by authors such as Frances Moore Lappe, Norman Walker, and Paavo Airola.
RESCU: And what was it that prompted you to start studying the paleolithic diet?
Dr Loren Cordain: After finishing my Ph.D. at the University of Utah, I became involved in research involving body fat measurements and exercise performance during my first few years as a young professor at Colorado State University. I was first introduced to the Paleo Diet concept in about 1987 when I read Dr. Boyd Eaton’s seminal New England Journal of Medicine paper, “Paleolithic Nutrition.” At the time it made perfect sense to me, and I read everything I could about the concept and related topics. A number of years later, I gave Dr Eaton a call and invited him to speak at Colorado State University. We hit it off after a meeting together, began writing alongside each other, and the rest is history!
RESCU: Can you tell us about some of the biggest transformations or healings you’ve witnessed as a result of people adopting the Paleo Diet?
Dr Loren Cordain: A few years after I wrote my first book in 2002, I received a letter from a law enforcement officer from a small town in Georgia who was on the verge of losing his job because his excessive obesity prevented him from physically performing the duties required as a police officer. He weighed nearly 400 lbs (181.5kg) before his physician prescribed my book. After 18 months of faithfully following a modern day Paleo Diet, this man lost nearly 200 pounds (91kg). He said that his weight hadn’t been this low since his high school days almost 20 years earlier and was so impressed with the diet that he convinced at least half of his entire police force to follow suit.
I have also received a letter from a woman who successfully battled breast cancer and came into full remission from this life threatening disease after about a year on the Paleo Diet. Her story and symptoms are fully outlined in my book, The Paleo Answer, 2012.
I have received numerous letters from Crohn’s disease patients who have completely come into remission after following the Paleo Diet for as little as 2-4 weeks.
RESCU: You’ve written extensively about the link between diet and acne — can you share with us the top diet culprits causing bad skin?
Dr Loren Cordain: High-glycaemic load carbohydrates may cause long-term hyperinsulinaemia and insulin resistance which in turn cause a cascade of other hormonal effects resulting in blockage of the pore, increased sebum production and inflammation. All of these physiological events are fundamental steps in producing acne.
Milk and dairy products also elicit an exaggerated insulin response similar to high glycemic load carbohydrates. They also contain bovine hormones which are suspected of eliciting acne.
RESCU: Many would argue that going without dairy will lead to bone degeneration – what’s your counterpoint?
Dr Loren Cordain: No mammal on the planet requires the milk of another species to produce strong, healthy bones. Primates and humans are no different. Our genus (Homo) has resided on planet earth for about 2 million years, and none of our ancestors ever consumed the milk of another species until about 10,000 years ago when cows, goats and sheep were first domesticated. The fossil record indicates our ancestors maintained robust, fracture resistant bones without ever consuming the milk of another species.
65% of the adults on earth lack the enzyme (lactase) necessary to breakdown the sugar (lactose) found in milk and suffer from digestive upset if they consume milk. This is powerful evidence that most humans have not experienced any evolutionary adaptations to consume milk as adults. Accordingly, humans like all other primates build strong, fracture resistant bones by consuming the foods normally found in their native ecological niche (hunter gatherers).
RESCU: For anyone looking to start eating Paleo, where’s the best place to begin?
Dr Loren Cordain: The Paleo Diet is based upon eating wholesome, contemporary foods from the food groups our hunter-gatherer ancestors would have thrived on during the Paleolithic era. If you’re getting started with the Paleo Diet, these foods include fresh meats, preferably grass-produced or free-ranging beef, pork, lamb, poultry, and game meat, fish, seafood, fresh fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, and healthful oils including olive, coconut, avocado, macadamia, walnut, and flaxseed.
Foods to avoid include dairy products, cereal grains, legumes, refined sugars, and processed foods.
RESCU: And finally, what does your own ‘day on a plate’ look like?
Dr Loren Cordain: A typical day goes like this:
Breakfast: Two poached free range eggs and whatever fresh fruit is in season (grapefruit, blue berries, strawberries, cantaloupe, melons, blackberries, peaches, cherries etc. I frequently replace the eggs with a bit of last night’s meat or fish dish.
Lunch: I frequently skip lunch altogether as I am not typically hungry in the middle of the day. If I do eat lunch, it may consist of a salad with just about any and all fresh veggies you can imagine (lettuce, tomatoes, purple onions, avocados, green onions, parsley, grated carrots, red cabbage, radishes, bell peppers etc). My favourite dressing is extra virgin olive oil with either lemon juice or red wine vinegar. Tossed into the salad are usually some meat or fish. Crab and shrimp are favourites, but so is thinly sliced beef, lamb or pork.
Dinner: The central feature of all dinners is fresh meat or fish (beef, lamb, pork, poultry, organ meats, game meats, fish, shellfish or seafood). We almost always have one or two steamed vegetable side dishes (see The Paleo Diet Cookbook for example recipes (www.thepaleodiet.com) and a big salad or fresh vegetable trays. Hors d’oeuvres might be fresh oysters, mussels or peel and eat shrimp. Dessert is almost always some kind of fresh fruit or mixture of fresh fruits (again see The Paleo Diet Cookbook for example recipes).
Beverages throughout the day consist mainly of water and spring water. In order to help with compliance we have developed the 85:15 rule which allows people to “cheat” a little by eating 3 (15 % of all meals) non-Paleo meals per week. Accordingly, coffee, tea, wine, spirits and gluten free beer are permitted in moderation. Greater adherence to The Paleo Diet can be achieved with 90:10 % compliance (two non Paleo meals per week), 95:5 % compliance (1 non-Paleo meal per week) or 100 % compliance. I typically run between 95:5 % to 90:10 % compliance over the course of a month.
For more from Dr Loren Cordain, visit: thepaleodiet.com
Dr. Loren Cordain will be a speaker at the forthcoming 2nd Annual BioCeuticals Research Symposium in Sydney April 11-12, 2014. For more visit: bioceuticals.com.au
Image Credit: PaleoDietAustralia.com
