Page 60 - Fall2013

All Thumbs Book Reviews

The Paleo Solution, meats, fish heads and seal oil. But apart from
The Original Human Diet egg yolks, there is no source of true vitamin A
by Robb Wolf in Wolf's diet―the book includes not one recipe
Victory Belt Publishing for liver or other organ meat.
Wolf's paleo diet poses two major dangers.
Mentored by Loren Cordain, author of The First, the high protein content, along with vitamin
Paleo Diet (published in 2002), Robb Wolf is D supplements (recommended to provide 2,000-
today's leading spokesman for the paleo diet. His 5,000 IU vitamin D per day), can rapidly deplete
interpretation of the diet in The Paleo Solution vitamin A. When vitamin A is depleted, we are
(published 2010, eight years later) allows lean vulnerable to all sorts of medical conditions,
meat, seafood, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, particularly autoimmune disease. Wolf sees
and "healthy fats," namely fats rich in omega-3 autoimmune disease as a widespread problem
and monounsaturated fatty acids. Foods to avoid without appreciating the irony of vitamin A de-
include all grains and legumes, all dairy foods, ficiency brought on by a diet too high in protein
processed food and sugars, starches and alcohol. and vitamin D.
(If you have autoimmune disease, you should also The second danger is a deficiency of satu-
avoid eggs, nuts and seeds, tomatoes, potatoes, rated fat. Our bodies need saturated fat in large
eggplant and peppers, he suggests.) amounts―to build cell membranes (which
This diet is low in carbs, low in saturated fat, need to be at least 50 percent saturated to work
and high in protein, with protein comprising up properly) and to support hormone formation
to 30-35 percent of calories. "Protein consump- and the immune system. The fats in Wolf's diet
tion beyond this point for an extended period of are mostly monounsaturated, with saturated
time," he says, "results in a condition called rabbit fats comprising a measly 18 grams (just over 1
If Wolf knows starvation,. . . a disease characterized by muscle tablespoon) per day. When we do not get enough
about rabbit wasting, lethargy, diarrhea and eventually death saturated fat in the diet, the body can make these

starvation then if one relied too heavily on lean game animals from carbohydrates―but carbs are not allowed
such as rabbits." But Wolf's diet does precisely in the diet either. The result is either severe defi-
he must know that―it leans heavily on lean animals, domestic ciency in saturated fat (for those with will power
about the animals, to be sure, but nevertheless lean. This to stay on the diet) or bingeing and splurging on
work of Arctic book is all about lean, lean, lean―just a teaspoon refined carbs and foods rich in saturated fat, like
or two of olive oil for cooking, no butter on the chocolate and ice cream.
explorer vegetables, no sauces on those large portions of Fat does not make us fat, Wolf insists, and

Vilhjalmur lean meat. we should not be afraid of it. Saturated fats have
If Wolf knows about rabbit starvation then gotten a bum rap, he says, but the number one
Stefansson, he must know about the work of Arctic explorer message in his book is to eat lean meat―lean
who described Vilhjalmur Stefansson, who described rabbit beef, lean hamburger, lean pork, lean seafood,

rabbit starvation and who noted that primitive peoples and chicken meat but no skin. No added animal
starvation and never ate lean meat. According to Stefansson, fat is allowed on this diet. The main fatty acid
the diet of the Eskimo and North American in paleolithic diets, he insists, was monounsatu-
who noted Indian did not exceed 20 percent protein, with rated.
that primitive the remaining 80 percent of calories, as fat. The After raising our expectations about satu-
peoples never cure for rabbit hunger was to eat lots of animal rated fat, he then demonizes 14-carbon saturated
fat. Weston Price noted that these northern diets palmitic acid, which he claims may cause heart
ate lean meat. were particularly rich in vitamin A, from organ disease by raising LDL cholesterol. But, he
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