When you have been a proponent of Paleolithic nutrition for nearly 30 years, have read the research on its health benefits, and have knowledge of thousands of individuals that have benefited by its adoption, you receive negative research1 with a healthy dose of skepticism. That being said, one still has to examine the research and make an objective assessment to either include it in the database of relevant studies, move it into the “more research needed” column, or confidently challenge it as yet another biased attempt to discredit an important area of nutritional research.
I say this because we’ve been here before. In fact, last time we felt the research/reporting was so poor and biased, that three of us from The Paleo Diet® Team wrote articles addressing the issue. This previous research came out of Australia, as does this new research paper published by Genoni et al. claiming the Paleolithic Diet raises serum trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO), a potential biomarker of cardiovascular disease (CVD). In fact, the few negative studies published about the Paleo Diet all appear to come from Australia. So, it might be worth starting by taking a quick look at some of the nutritional politics down under.
The Dietitians Association of Australia (DAA) presents itself as “the peak body for dietetic and nutrition professionals, representing more than 7,000 members around Australia and overseas.” Further, the DAA states that, “we recommend looking for the Accredited Practising Dietitian (APD) credential when choosing a dietitian.” The DAA, of course, is responsible for bestowing that title on any nutritionist wanting the same. That also means anyone coming along with something successful that they don’t own, or control, would obviously be competition and in theory could result in their member number decreasing.
So, when Australian celebrity chef, Pete Evans embraced the Paleo Diet® and simply used his skills as a chef to create recipes to share with his followers, the DAA made it a cause to discredit him at every opportunity.
Continue reading Doc Smith’s article on thepaleodiet.com. This article excerpt used with permission of The Paleo Diet, LLC.
