In this episode, Stacy and Sarah launch their three part series discussing Paleo philosophy. In part one, Sarah and Stacy set the stage for the discussion that is to follow by addressing the most prevalent controversies in the Paleo community, examples of leaders within the community allowing sound research to continually shape their philosophies (as opposed to being stunk on one concept), and the “Paleo police” issue that has sparked a great discussion on the role of judgement.

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The Paleo View (TPV), Episode 48: Paleo Philosophy

• 0:00 – Introduction
• 1:19 – News & Views
  • Sarah is recording from her mom’s house, as she is in Canada visiting
  • Sarah is in editing mode so hasn’t been spending a lot of time outside of the house
  • Editing is a beast of a job, but Sarah is getting through it
  • Sarah’s mom is helping out a ton: cleaning, taking care of the kids, and even cooking super foods to keep the family running strong
  • There is some serious sardine loving happening at Sarah’s mom’s house
  • Stacy can’t do sardines, but does broth and chicken liver mouse, and other super foods to make up for missing those from her diet
  • If you haven’t recently left a review for The Paleo View podcast on iTunes, PLEASE DO! Shows are ranked by those ratings, so please keep them coming so new folks can find us
  • Please also post reviews for Beyond Bacon on Amazon
  • Stacy has a series going on social media and it can be found at #heygirlPaleo, featuring all of Stacy’s favorite men of Paleo – check it out on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook
  • If you have ideas, make them and tag them with the hashtag #heygirlPaleo
  • Sarah has been working on some great blog posts for her site, but it will take a bit for them to go live due to book editing – be on the look out for them though!
  • Matt and Stacy’s oldest son Cole has joined Instagram and can be found @ColeCaveman – he shares pictures of his food and general cavekid updates
  • Cole has outgrown wanting to join Stacy or Matt in kitchen for cooking/baking, so teaching him the ropes of social media through Instagram has been fun
  • Today’s post will be part of a three, possibly four, part series
  • There are some great posts to check out that relate to this topic: Are you a Paleo perfectionist by Balanced Bites, Sarah’s links on starting Paleo and transitioning families, Stacy’s links on transitioning families (please be sure to check out the ‘Start Here’ drop down menu!), Chris Kresser’s resources on defining your own version of Paleo (his upcoming book Your Personal Paleo Code will cover this topic in greater detail)
  • The idea for this show was sparked from a recent conversation that Matt and Stacy had on how their Paleo elevator pitch has changed throughout the last couple of years as they “sunk” deeper into the Paleo lifestyle
  • In the first year Matt and Stacy described their diet as gluten and dairy free, year two the emphasis of their description was on the removal of processed foods, and the way that they define it now is a lifestyle that focuses on eating the most nutrient dense foods possible and avoiding foods that are irritating to their gut
  • They stress that the template of that lifestyle varies for everyone, and they have found that this approach has sparked great dialogue
  • There will be no dedicated ‘Science with Sarah’ section because science will be sprinkled throughout the discussion
• 23:42 – Controversies
  • Where the science is inconclusive with the nutritional guidelines, there tends to be dramatic variations in opinion on what is best for human health
  • What should be constructive areas of debate, sometimes get nasty and heated since people have such strong opinions
  • All the areas that have controversy are highly represented and there tends to be some misinformation that negatively influences these areas
  • When Robb Wolf changed his stance on omega-3 supplementation due to Chris Kresser’s research and influence, Stacy took note of how great it was that Robb changed his philosophy, displaying how his opinions are shaped by research and his ego isn’t the driving force behind his Paleo philosophy
  • Sarah shared background information on the short-term benefits and long-term risks of supplementing with high doses of fish oil
  • When Stefani Ruper challenged Mark Sisson’s research on intermittent fasting as it pertains to women, Mark acknowledged the well-cited points in Stefani’s counter-post and fully acknowledged the great points she raised
  • These examples represent cases where leaders in the Paleo community let sound research lead their philosophies, they showed the importance of flexibility and stayed adaptable with their beliefs
  • In this post Sarah and Stacy will share their philosophies, and Stacy encourages listeners to give considerations to the points being made so that you can mature your own Paleo philosophies as well because it is a benefit to the community
  • Carbohydrates are a big issue in the Paleo community – there is a huge variety in opinions on what type of carbs should be consumed, and how many in relation to fat and protein should be consumed for optimal health
  • Dairy is a close second as a big area of controversy in the community
• 33:48 – Gray Area: Carbohydrates
  • There is the extreme camp where people believe that fruit should be avoided because it is a sugar, there is the extreme that believes we should only eat fruit and not starchy vegetables, there is the extreme belief that we should only eat safe starches, including white rice, and then there are those that believe we should all eat low carb and be in ketosis
  • All of these camps are well represented within the Paleo community
  • Sarah feels that the scientific literature shows that there is a huge amount of variability on how much carbs an individual should consume for optimal health
  • Sarah feels that the nutrient density of what people eat is far more important than how much of that food is protein, fat and carbohydrates
  • There is science to support the whole spectrum of opinions, it is an issue that will take some extensive, well-designed clinical studies to nail down if there is a optimal macronurtrient ratio or if it depends on your metabolic history
  • For Stacy she had to include starch since she doesn’t have a gallbladder, she needed the starch to balance the fats and absorb nutrients
  • For Stacy it isn’t about Paleo, Weston A. Price, primal, or perfect health, it is about taking all the fundamentals from those different geniuses that came up with them and finding out what works for her and her family
  • Stacy eats more root vegetables on days when she works out, if she is having a high fat food she know she needs carbohydrates to balance it out – that is what works for her
  • Stacy points out that every Paleo blogger out there is sick of answering the question, ‘is it Paleo’
  • There is very little that is actually “Paleo”, look at what is part of a healthy balanced life instead as opposed to how something falls into a definition set by others
  • Define what healthy living means to you
  • There are certain foods that are never touch foods for Matt and Stacy’s family, and there are other things that they flex their day-to-day habits for, and they do what they need to do to both maintain a healthy life, but make this a lifelong endeavor at the same time
  • One of the things that Sarah finds most frustrating is when people shut others down and impose their Paleo philosophy on others – i.e. that is fruit, it isn’t Paleo
  • When Sarah sees really judgmental comments that reflect an idea on carbohydrates and not a consensus it is irksome
  • Stacy challenges everyone to consider when they use the word ‘shouldn’t’ because it is not up to others to monitor and decide other people’s decisions – the bottom line is you don’t know what others need and why
  • When you place judgement on others, which is what you are doing when you use the word should or shouldn’t, you are participating in behavior that is negative and a downward spiral, which only leads to personal problems and negativity
  • The negative behaviors perpetuate the misinformation about the Paleo community, besides it being unnecessarily aggressive and judgmental, it turns people off
  • There are so many transitional people on sites out there and they rely on certain recipes to ease them through the process, the judgement can and does quickly turn them away
• 49:57 – What else is to come on the Paleo philosophy discussion
  • Stacy and Sarah will talk about fat and dairy
  • Be sure to check the hashtag #morevegetablesthanavegetarian
  • Sarah and Stacy will also talk about if you can be Paleo and still eat conventional produce or meat
  • Macronutrient ratios, ketosis, nutrient density, Paleo perfectionism, the 80/20 rule, orthorexia, and scientific rational for Paleo will all be touched upon in upcoming episodes covering this topic
  • However, next week Amy Kubal will be on discussing blood sugar regulation, and the week after that will be Paleo philosophies part two
  • Don’t forget to review the podcast on iTunes
  • And next week a mega giveaway related to Beyond Bacon will be announced, which will be epic!
• 56:18 – Outro