Yet another person has written a poorly researched article against Paleo.
Kimberly Snyder’s article is entitled “The Ugly Truth About the Paleo Diet”.
She’s a celebrity nutritionist (that’s her in the pic) and has a lot of fans, and that’s why I’ve bothered writing up a retort to her post. It frustrates me to see so many people misinformed by authors they trust, as good as her intentions may have been.
Negativity in The Media
Her article, along with this video called “Does Science Back Up The Paleo Diet?” and this article called “Paleofantasy: Stone Age Delusions”, have left me flabbergasted by people’s unwillingness to do research before they write about a topic. Kimberly’s article was frustrating because it was so full of conventional “wisdom” that people refuse to let go of, despite the evidence and despite the rampant success of people living Primal/Paleo lifestyles.
She, as well as the authors of the other articles I mentioned, clearly got most of their information from Loren Cordain’s outdated book, The Paleo Diet, which was written in 2002. The tenets and philosophies of the Paleo and Primal diets have moved so far beyond his recommendations of tons of “lean” meat, very limited starchy veggies, very little fruit, and low saturated fat. Thanks to the work of people like Mark Sisson, Chris Kresser, Staffan Lindeberg, and many others, we understand now that our Paleo diets can be much more varied than what Cordain first suggested, and that many hunter gatherer people’s diets did not look quite like what he first described.
Please read her article, but if you don’t have time, here’s a summation.
Kimberly Snyder is a nutritionist, and has decided that Paleo is bad because of the following.
- It’s high in protein and protein causes health problems (here’s an old rebuttal of mine to that myth).
- All Paleo diets consist of mostly meat, and meat is bad for you (here’s an old rebuttal of mine to that myth).
- The China Study says protein is bad, so it is. (Read these in-depth analyses of how the China Study is a sham. The author of the China Study found that casein, a dairy protein, MIGHT contribute to cancer and then extrapolated that to all protein. Huh?).
- There’s no evidence to support Paleo (really? see below).
- Hunter gatherer people died young, so why would we want to emulate them?
- Grains have been found in the fossilized teeth of our ancestors, so we should continue to eat grains in large amounts.
Here is my response to her article.
Hi there,
This post was brought to my attention by one of your faithful readers, who was thoroughly disappointed by your “misinformed” article on Paleo. Could you please cite at least one piece of evidence for your claims?
There is actually plenty of published research pointing to Paleo’s efficacy in improving health. Here’s an article that contains 7 research papers on that topic. There are many more beyond those 7. I’d be happy to point you in their direction.
As for hunter gatherers’ lifespans being only 25-30 years, that is not actually an accurate assessment of how long people lived/live in those societies, as you admitted at the end of your article. Many children die due to complications at birth, as well as infectious diseases as toddlers. But many of those who live past the age of 15 live to be very old even by our standards (PDF). And none of the hunter gatherer societies ever studied have been found to commonly die of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, or other diseases people die so commonly of today. I wrote an article on that here and the pdf cited above goes into it as well.
We have the best of both worlds in our present situation: we have medications to fight infectious diseases, and excellent medical practices to prevent deaths during childbirth and after injuries. AND we have the option of eating what these hunter gatherer societies are/were eating: veggies, tubers, fruits, properly raised meats, eggs, seafood, nuts, seeds, and some properly prepared grains for those who can tolerate them. Why not take advantage of the wisdom of our healthy ancestors (recent and ancient) while also taking advantage of our newfound medical advances? It’s a perfect environment for long, vibrant life.
Yes, there were definitely grains in people’s diets before the dawn of agriculture, but the point is that grains, sugar, and pasteurized dairy did not make up the majority of those healthier people’s diets, as they do ours now. And grains were processed properly, they were more varied, had less gluten in them, and were not made from GM crops, like they are now. A grain is not a grain is not a grain. You may think that everyone can tolerate gluten-free grains, and that they should be a part of everyone’s diet, but I, for one, can not tolerate any of them, and I talk to people every day who say the same. This is a real thing, and it’s unfair to dismiss people’s sensitivities to certain foods, whatever your opinion about those foods may be.
I think we can all agree that Paleo has a lot of desirable traits. It encourages people to eat real, whole foods that have as few toxins in and on them as possible. It discourages factory farming and GM consumption. It’s an easy way for people to decrease the amount of grains, sugar, and legumes they’re eating, all of which are commonly overeaten and contributing to obesity and diabetes.
There’s no one way of doing Paleo, as the hunter gatherer societies have shown: their diets were highly varied in macronutrient ratios as well as food sources, depending on where they lived. We all do it differently. I don’t eat just meat, and I don’t know any Paleo people who do. I eat all kinds of colorful, beautiful, well-raised foods, and my health is much better than it used to be pre-Paleo.
People eating Paleo/Primal are just trying to stay away from toxic foods. Isn’t that what you’re trying to do, too?
If you liked this post, please tell us by liking us on Facebook or subscribing to the blog!
![Pin It](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://www.paleoplan.com/2013/03-14/my-rebuttal-to-kimberly-snyders-attack-on-paleo/&media=http://www.paleoplan.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Screen-Shot-2013-03-14-at-3.46.05-PM.png&description=Yet another person has written a poorly researched article against Paleo. Kimberly Snyder's article is entitled "The Ugly Truth About the Paleo Diet". She){kind=link}
35 Comments
Manuel Herrera
Just want to point out that L. Cordain’s book has been updated. I think it’s still the best one to read in order to understand the basic premise of the diet and lifestyle.
Neely Quinn
Manuel Herrera – Yes, it’s been updated, but I still think he’s too much in the camp of low fat, and he only slightly eased up on starchy veggies and fruits other than berries, which are actually really important to a lot of people.
Allison @ With Faith & Grace
I guess she hasn’t heard that dietary saturated fat and cholesterol really doesn’t affect cardiovascular health like they thought. So… why should I listen to her? Doesn’t seem like much of an expert to me!
Deidre Stapen
Great rebuttal! I read her book before coming to Paleo and was even more sick after having tried her method. Paleo lifestyle healed my leaky gut and candida. I’m more healthy, have more muscle and a higher endurance after becoming Paleo….thanks for all your help and your continued research!!
Anna
I agree, my gut was in worse shape after really wanting her diet and recipes to work. My body just does not like grains at all. I started the paleo diet a week ago and I am already feeling a bit better.
Bonnie Finger
AMAZING! I had the same experience as the above comment. I read her book, my health issues did not resolve with those practices. I am sensitive to all grains! My husband and I have had much better health since beginning Paleo. I am 29, he is 45. No more depression, inflammation, high cholesterol ect. WE are happy with the results, our medical records are proof!
George @ the High Fat Hep C Diet
Casein was used to promote liver cancer in laboratory animals in the 50s because it it is deficient in selenium.
Hepatoma cells are able to survive selenium deficiency better than healthy cells, so casien drives the selection for cancer.
This was the research that Campbell based his theory on. He also published a paper showing that low cholesterol is associated with liver cancer in China, but somehow failed to incorporate that into his theories. Truly, veganism weakens the mind.
Peace
I was actually quite disappointed with how poorly written her (KS) article on Paleo was and I too have read her book and subscribe to her blog. She has since removed it from the Facebook fan page. I used to consume gluten- free grains until i listened to lectures about even these so called “gluten-free” grains also contributing to autoimmune disease. Kudos for writing this piece.
Hannah
Thank you for writing this post! I read her article this morning and it only confirmed my belief and methods in the Paleo lifestyle. I do not follow a strict Paleo diet, (I still eat organic yogurt and some rice here and there because of my ethnicity and rice is something I’ve grown up eating). This post puts everything I wanted to say in response to her post. It really is unfortunate that society/people (not pointing the finger at her) will come to a conclusion and make a judgment about other lifestyle choices without giving it a fair chance or doing thorough research on it. Whether it is following a Paleo diet, becoming a vegan, vegetarian or a raw-foodist, etc. I believe that all of these lifestyles have their advantages and disadvantages, given that each of these diets include a fresh, natural, wholesome and sustainably resourced foods. Everybody reacts differently to different things and the Paleo lifestyle/diet may work wonders for some while it may not for others. But I think it’s important to shed some light on the different options that we have while respecting the choices that others make. Everybody’s paths/goals are different so I don’t think it makes sense to expect that only ONE diet/lifestyle will work for everyone. It just bothers me that people have the wrong information and don’t bother to take the time to research! (People can be so closed minded about their diet/lifestyle! Even within the Paleo community!) So, THANK YOU for writing this!!
Kim @ Living, Laughing & Losing
She must have removed her article? It’s not available through the link you provided. Great rebuttal!! :)
Martin Lauter
Great job. I encourage people to follow your work and educate themselves on the Paleo Diet and Paleo Lifestyle. It works for me.
Kimberley’s article sounded and felt like a bitter rant. I certainly didn’t enjoy the tone of the article.
Thank You.
mm
really disappointed in kimberly snyder, i posted the link to her article on her facebook page as some were asking for it and then she blocked me! not cool behavior..
Elyn
Another beautifully written and researched article! My son has Hashimoto’s disease and every time he eats any grain he has another episode. He has learned that to keep the disease under control he needs to be strong and cheat very infrequently. Even the sugar in jelly beans can set him off.
Pat
I eat a healthy vegetarian diet with no processed foods and feel much better. If you are not sure try both lifestyles/diets and let your body be the judge. Everybody is different.
Alice
I had Kimberlys article saved to read this weekend, but it appears to have bee removed from her site interestingly enough. Makes me question whether her advice is trustworthy, or just a way to sell her program’s and make money
Danielle
I see that the article was removed, so I didn’t get a chance to read it. I won’t be following her anymore. I think it’s so cowardly to write about something controversial and then take it down. Thanks for writing this rebuttal…love your site!
bjjcaveman
Fantastic rebuttal!
Cait
I haven’t been Paleo very long, but in that short amount of time, I can already see a difference in my energy and general well being. I am a firm believer that you should do what makes you feel good, since you are living in your body. I basically ignore the rest of the media, especially those “trainers to the stars.” Any diet works when you can work out 5 hours a day and spend money on a personal chef. I prefer something that I can do in the real world and see results. For me, this is Paleo. I had no idea who this woman was when I read the rebuttal, but I think the fact the article is no longer available is very telling! Also telling is just how happy Paleo makes me…and that’s enough for me :)
Harshani
I am not a paleo fan. I am a scientist and I study cancer and I used to study metabolism. The media has a way to distort scientific contents from articles and I don’t think this diet has been backed by many. Cancer is a dangerous disease and cancer can be caused by many different methods. Any oncogene or a tumor suppressor that can be mutated by any amount of methods endogenous and exogenous can affect our system. I believe in a good organic diet because I study the effects of environmental factors and many chemicals which we ingest everyday mainly through food. This diet is good to lose weight in the long run whether this is going to hurt in the long run has not been backed by an scientific study. I might not back Kimberly about everything she states ….. But I know she has a lot of sense and that her ideas about organic plant based sources are by sound.
Jonesy
@Harshani
“Cancer is a dangerous disease”.
Did you think this was something only you “scientists” knew ?
Jay
Kimberly is a typical, by the “old” book nutritionist. Grains are crap. She doesn’t know a damn thing about proper nutrition, neither do her peers. She looks like she could use a buffalo tenderloin.
Harshani
My point is ….. It’s better to use the natural rhythm in the body and the standard metabolic functions. You might see weight loss and energy during a short time period … But you could not predict the long term effects of altering the normal metabolic functions and pathways. Cancer metabolism is a huge topic these days and we are constantly trying to understand how metabolic pathways can lead towards deregulated pathways that can result in hyperplasia or dysplasia. More than ever when you think about the meat production in this country you can see all the hormones and unnatural ingredients that’s injected into these animals. Something that will stay with me for a long time is a talk that I went to last week … This lecturer stated “a japanese person living in Japan has less chances of developing breast cancer than an American woman. However if she moves to the USA she increases her chances of developing breast cancer by almost 40%. This means something within our country is aggravating this effect.” This is so true … Ad that’s what I like about Kimberly snyder … Her plan introduces natural organic ingredients that helps the natural metabolic pathways.
Up to you … You can do what you like and believe in which ever food you like to eat. I am against paleo for many reasons (scientifically) but that’s my choice. I will raise my doubts but I would not raise any negative thoughts towards someone who might have a different opinion than me. Kimberly has an opinion and let her have it. Sme will share it and some will not. But all I can say is … Don’t take the easy route out. Think carefully and critically about what is good for you and your children. Mutations you can accumulate by food can carry into your offspring (hence the reason why so many kids so sadly have cancer now). I vote for a healthier natural option :))
Cheers everyone :))
Jay
Good point Harshani, and yes you are correct. If you use meat that’s been processed, shot full of hormones and antibiotics, inundated with nitrates and nitrites which change their compounds 2000 times when you cook them then you are taking a chance. However, using grass fed beef,and other meats free of all those other additives and cooked properly as to not be heated to the point of producing HCA(heterocyclic amines), then there is less chance if any of producing those negative effects. Just like you can eat organic but not if the grow field is downhill from a cattle farm where the fecal matter smothers the soil and food that is growing there. Caution and education should be taken on all accounts and continuous research is pertinent for optimal health. Cheers and good health to you!!
Melissa
I think it is interesting that her article is no longer accesible with your links. Hmm, hacked?
Neely Quinn
Melissa – she took the article down…
HenTee
Meh. Paleo got big enough to where talking trash about it gets traffic. That’s all it is, IMHO.
For me, I get cranky, tired, and my six pack goes away inside 60 days if I stray from my paleo ways. And, my vision goes to hell too. If you haven’t, google Frauenfeld Clinic. Alex is a big paleo proponent, and genius vision improvement guy. As long as I follow Alex’ advice, and stay out of the sugar and carbs, I can see fine without glasses (where before I was legally blind, per California rules).
Melissa
Curiouser and curiouser. (article removed) too much back lash or that sudden, cold chill of realization that you wrote something embarrasing?
Bob
Quinn-
Thanks for composing a well reasoned rebuttal to KS’s inaccurate emotional hyperbolic rant against Paleo. She mischaracterizes it, then bashes it.
I’ve been slow carb (no fast carbs; sugar, bread, pasta, grains, juice) for about 8 months.
I’m 6 ft. I’ve gone from 220 lbs & 39” waist to 195 & 36” waist, from ~24% body fat to ~18%.
At my age, it’s been YEARS since I was a gym rat. I have no interest or desire to exercise that hard anymore. By a shift in eating, I have shed fat & gained muscle with very little effort.
I started via The Blood Sugar Solution – Dr. Mark Hyman. Then drifted towards 4 Hour Body-Tim Ferriss and finally Primal Blueprint-Mark Sisson which is pretty much Paleo. They all seem to exist is a similar “space”, with fair amounts of overlap. Minimal dairy, no refined carbs, lots of veggies, good fats, good protein and reasonable exercise.
For those who wish to bash Primal….it ain’t Aktins & it ain’t butter, bacon & hotdogs.
Research it, try it before you dismiss it.
Melissa-
“Curiouser and curiouser. (article removed) too much back lash or that sudden, cold chill of realization that you wrote something embarrassing.”
A “retraction” without comment smacks of “cold realization…you wrote something embarrassing.” Otherwise she would have taken the opportunity to complain about being bashed by angry meat eaters. :) My guess, the article was written by overzealous (and now, potentially unemployed staffer) with KS’s tacit ‘ok’. The post got pulled when the negative comments started to roll in.
Yes, KS blocks replies that she doesn’t like. She blocked my reply to her original post as well. You’re not welcome if you won’t drink the Kool-Aid.
For those of you who missed KS’s original blog post, I snatched up a cached copy and saved it after she had it pulled, but here’s a link to a re-post by one of her fanboys….
http://marcshealthzone.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-ugly-truth-about-paleo-diet.html#!/2013/03/the-ugly-truth-about-paleo-diet.html
Enjoy
Bob
Hey… any chance my comment is lost in spam folder? Silly me, I forgot to save a copy.
Michael Acquista DDS
Thanks for your rebuttal. I am a Dentist and have studied and researched a great deal about nutrition.
C. Everet Koop, M.D., our esteemed Surgeon General under President Reagan said that Doctors do not receive enough education about Nutrition in medical school and they really should, but most of them know it and don’t care. Anyway it seems that even some nutritionists do not know much as you pointed out. I just finished her article about fish oil and sent her a rebuttal that shows she is short on facts. She also has some problems with reasoning. What a shame for all those who buy her books thinking she is an authority who can be trusted and counted on to give good advice. Shame on her. Keep it up! Dr. Michael
Angela
Kimberly’s diet is helping to heal my gut. For the first time in three years, I’m not throwing up nearly as much as I was.
Nobody needs to slam her: she has her opinions and you have yours. Figure out what’s good for you, and keep doing it! Simple as that.
Karen
Omg! I absolutely agree with Angela, whatever works for you, DO IT! Kimberly Snyder’s approach has changed my life, my health! Kimberly I love you so much, thank you for your awesome books and I’ve been having the GGS for 3 yrs now, will not ever go back to the paleo stuff! Ha!
Johanna
I think if you can digest meat, there is no wrong in eating it once or twice a week. Always moderation in everything. However, I can’t digest meat (my doctor found out). I also don’t digest lactose very well, it gives me acne. Kimberly Snyder’s diet suits my best, still removing all gluten is a bit absurd to me. I love eating rye, because it contains a lot of phytase, an enzyme that breaks down phytic acid. So no, a little bit of grain (with gluten) won’t do harm. A little bit of nut won’t harm either, but the amounts that are sometimes used in the paleo-kitchen are just not healthy anymore. I don’t think that hunterpeople eat/ate the amount of nuts that are some of us eat nowadays. “Nut season” is only once a year in autumn, what makes us think that we should exchange the amount of grains for the same amount of nuts all through the year?
Those were just my thoughts on the matter. Before changing a diet and a lifestyle, it’s always important to do a lot of research and not to take the words of a nutritional guru for pure truth. No diet is perfect.
XX
Neely Quinn
Johanna – Just for the record, you may just not have the right equipment to be digesting meat, which happens to a lot of people after a lifetime of eating foods that wreck your digestion. Try taking some digestive enzymes and hydrochloric acid for a while to kickstart your body’s own ability to digest it. As for nuts, I don’t eat nuts and I am the author of this Paleo blog, so they’re not an obligatory part of the Paleo diet. And “a little bit of nut won’t harm either” is false. If I have just “a little bit of nut” I get bad intestinal cramping and joint pain. And removing all gluten may be “absurd” to you, but it isn’t absurd to the many people out there, like myself, who suffered greatly before we did just that. So please speak for yourself, as I try to do as often as possible.
Johanna
I am really sorry if it didn’t seem like I spoke for myself, I did.
Thank you by the way for the tip about the enzymes.
I know there are a lot of people with a gluten sensitivity, it runs in our family as well, it is just very hard for me to understand that in former times people would only eat animal protein and vegetables. What about the cavemen in the high north during winter, would they eat only frozen meat and not have some grains or seeds stored in their caves? I know, this is a strange mind twist, but still.
I just have one other question. What do you eat for breakfast then, when nuts and grains are of the table?
Please, this is no sort of attack, just some questions of someone who wants to know a bit more about the paleo diet.
xx
ps English in not my native language, I’m sorry if I made any mistakes in grammar/spelling