18 Jan 2013

Can the Paleo Diet help you lose weight?

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Is the idea that we should eat like our Paleolithic ancestors good for our waistlines? Rosie Brogan chats to Sydney-based dietitian, Milena Katz.

Weight management

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Is the idea that we should eat like our Paleolithic ancestors good for our waistlines? Rosie Brogan chats to Sydney-based dietitian, Milena Katz.

Rosie Brogan (RB): Milena, you’re the spokesperson for the Dietitians Association of Australia. What do you make of the Paleo Diet?

Milena Katz (MK): It’s got a lot of media attention and there are merits to the diet, like eating more lean meats, fish, fruit and vegies.

But we don’t generally support the diet because it’s not in line with the Australian Guidelines for Healthy Eating. The Paleo diet talks about cutting out some of nutritious core food groups, such as breads, cereals and dairy, for instance.

The Australian Healthy Eating Guidelines talk about serving size and volume; whereas the Paleo Diet says, ‘listen to your appetite and eat these types of foods’ – but it doesn’t give exact volumes, so it’s very open to interpretation.

RB: Which parts of the diet do you agree with?

MK: The Australian population, in general, doesn’t eat very well. For one thing, we don’t eat enough veggies, only one to two serves per day, when we really should be getting five. So we can all take something from the Paleo Diet’s message to make sure you eat a lot of vegies, fruit, lean meats, fish, nuts and seeds.

Back in Paleolithic times the meat, of course, was free range and animals were grass-fed… like our kangaroos, really. And Paleos would have caught fish. But different people around the world caught what was possible, based on what they could get their hands on.

RB: The Paleo Diet advocates cutting out carbs and dairy. Why is that a bad idea, in your opinion?

MK: The Guidelines suggest four to seven serves of carbohydrates, breads and cereals per day.

Cereals provide energy, fibre and B-group vitamins. They also provide calories, calcium and protein.

Vegetarians in particular get a lot of their protein and calcium from dairy foods – so they’re quite good for you when eaten in the right volumes. The same thing applies to high-fibre bread – I’m not saying go and stock up on white bread or anything. But the healthier versions of dairy and bread are good for you.

RB: Why do you think the diet has been so popular?

MK: It’s different and it’s natural. People think, “Oh well, we’re born to be eating like this” in a sense. But we don’t really know, we don’t have good evidence. All we have is anecdotal, circumstantial evidence. We can’t go back in time and take a snapshot of their [the Paleolithic] week. We’re assuming certain veggies were available all year round, which I’m sure is not the case. But it does make sense to eat more vegies, healthier protein – such as lean meat – and more berries and fruits. And you should eat in season – eat the cheapest fruit at the grocers.

This is the next fad, people want a quick fix. But as soon as you start restricting calories you’re going to get weight loss, no matter which diet you follow. There is a result. But it’s hard to maintain that over a period of time.

The best way is to lose weight is work out what you’re doing wrong and adjust it. You may drink when you go out, etc, so you need to cut down there. It’s hard to have a general message that applies to everyone, so instead get an individualized plan that works for you.

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