In the first instance, Paleo was an intention to understand an optimal human diet following the dietary principles of primitive man as it has been passed down through hundreds of thousands of years of evolution.
As Paleo has developed, it has become more than dietary re-enactment and a number of Paleo writers have sought to modernise the approach; the food available to primitive man is NOT available to us today. So, we should take the principles of ancestral eating and take that forward.
In essence, Paleo rejects the following neolithic and industrial foods:
- Processed "food"
- Sugar - that's soft drinks, too
- Grains, beans and pulses
- Polyunsaturated oils and trans-fats
- Meat, fish, shellfish and eggs
- Animal fats
- Vegetables
- Nuts and seeds
- Fruit
Kurt Harris, author of Archevore and father of the term "Archevore": http://www.archevore.com/get-started/
... and ...
J Stanton of gnolls.org and author of many fine essays into Paleo activism, one of the most notable his 'Predator' thesis:
- Eating foods that best support the biochemistry of human animals with a multi-million year history of hunting and foraging, primarily on the African savanna
- Avoiding foods, such as grains, grain oils, and refined sweeteners, that actively disrupt the biochemistry of these human animals
So, what is Paleo+? Plus what?
Paleo+ holds the central tenets of the original Paleo diet as described by Loren Cordain and Robb Wolf, while embracing all manner of foods which do not disrupt human biochemistry and which the imbiber is not intolerant of.
Paleo+ builds on Paleo.
- Dairy - cream, butter, cheese and yoghurt
- Safe Starches - white potato, plantain, sago, taro, tapioca and even white rice
While meat, fish, shellfish and vegetables make a fulfilling and infinitely interesting diet, the inclusion of dairy and safe starches add further sources of quality macro-nutrients.
I thoroughly and fully endorse dairy, and endorse it as Paleo.
I guess dairy was kicked out of the initial definition due to perceived intolerances by most of the population that was being considered. Once Paleo went global, huge and vast portions of the world showed themselves not to be intolerant, and even the scope of dairy opened up - cow, goat, reindeer, buffalo; and huge and vast portions of the world showed that dairy was simply not an issue.
In fact, dairy is good! Fermented dairy, particularly. You will find a lot of my food uses dairy ingredients, but you will not find milk in almost anything I cook. I use cream, yoghurt, soured cream, cheese and other fermented dairy. If you are intolerant, or just don't want to use dairy then skip it - the meal will be good without it!
In as much as Paleo is not a low carbohydrate diet (more that lower carbohydrate is more natural to the diet), Paleo+ is not edging towards a higher carbohydrate diet.
Limiting carbohydrate intake to less than the glucose requirement of activity in order that any defecit will still be made up by gluconeogenesis is still core the principles of Paleo+ and care should be taken to understand the context of safe starches as sources of glucose.
Finally, Paleo+ is a more balanced diet for metabolically sound people with a healthy body fat index. Balancing the fat, protein and carbohydrate macronutrients is more about quality than quantity.
So, why should you eat this?
Well, it's damn tasty for a start ... and it won't kill you, ultimately.
Pretty simple.
The food I cook is for me and my family. It is good, wholesome food which is interesting and tasty, moreover, it satisfies and carries us from one meal to another without snacking.
If you drop the "paleo" or "paleo+" tag, you're left with just good food.
"Dining is and always was a great artistic opportunity" Frank Lloyd Wright
Enough talk ... eating! Take me to the food: Paleo+ Cuisine
