Pro and Cons of the Paleo Diet It is widely accepted that some basic changes in lifestyle and diet that took place, following the Neolithic Revolution, and mostly following the Industrial Revolution and the Modern Era, are very recent, when weighed on an evolutionary time-measuring scale. This mismatch that exists between western lifestyles and diet, and our ancient physiology, triggers several modern day diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, epithelial cell cancers, etc., which were rarely or never seen in ancient non-westernized populations. It has therefore been proposed that one way of reducing these degenerative chronic diseases is to copy the diets and lifestyles of the ancient men. This research seeks to add to these issues by carrying out the analysis of the benefits and disadvantages of the Paleo diet to the health of humans through the nutrients it contributes to the human body (Coerdain 2011).

Purpose and Scope of the Work

It has been discovered that taking whole grains and dietary fibre helps prevent all sorts of cardiovascular diseases. It is not clear if any special type of fibre or its source have links to colorectal cancer. Taking dietary fibre, whole grains and cereal fibre have been linked to reductions in the risks of colorectal cancer. There is, however, no evidence for the links between taking fruits, legumes, or vegetable fibres and the risk of developing colorectal cancer. There was, however, a link between the intakes of dietary fibres, especially cereal fibre and whole grains, and a slight reduction in the risks of colorectal cancer. One major cause of modern health issues is over-dependence on processed foods. So going back to the stone ages when men depended on natural fresh foods might be the only way out. The advocates of the paleo diet propose that people should eat the way their hunting and gathering ancestors did, depending only on animal proteins and plant foods. The diet may cause weight loss and increase maintenance, as well as the prevention and control of several modern diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart -related problems. This research will focus on discussing the advantages and disadvantages of the paleo diet as it relates to cancer prevention due to its fibre and whole grain content. This study will compare the paleo diet and western diets to see if there are links to diseases that have been said to be caused by an individual's choice of diets (Berardi, 2014).

Expected Report Benefactors

The results of this study are expected to add to the increasingly popular debate on the Paleo diet effects human health through its pros and cons. These results will be useful to both teachers and students that work on Paleo-related topics.

Sources and Methods of Data Collection

There were literature researches and data was gathered up to December 2015. A lot of databases were searched, which includes ISI Web Science, PubMed, BIOSIS, EBSCOhost, Cochrane Library, and in Process Medline. A predefined procedure was adopted for the evaluation in accordance to the normal criteria for the meta-assessment of observational researches. Abstracts, unpublished results and grey literature were not included. The researches needed to possess a potential cohort, case-cohort, or a nested case-control design and carry out an investigation on the link between paleo diets and better health. From each of these studies, extracted data was on the results of the link between diet and health, the characteristics, and how it benefits the body.

Preliminary Outline:

i. Nutrition of Paleo Diet

a. Protein

b. Carbohydrates

c. Fat

d. Legumes

e. Grains

f. Dairy

ii. Pros of the Paleo Diet

a. Prevention and control of diabetes

b. On cardiovascular

c. Grains and legumes

i. Cons for Paleo Diet

a. Restrictions and preferences

b. The problem with Paleo

c. Health risks

Letter of Transmittal

Abstract

The Paleolithic diet is also referred to as the diet of the cavemen. This diet definitely has a lot of positive sides to it. But, it sure has some disadvantages just like every other diet. There have been several attempts to restructure the diets of homonins. Some of these attempts focused on the morphology of the masticatory system and its functioning, and some focus on tooth wear, while others focus on some physicochemical beliefs about an animal's diet and how it relates to its hard tissues. Some common advantages of the paleo diet include: it is highly individualized; and, the calorie content may be either high or low due to individual differences in the choices of food. Thus far, researches on the link between the paleo diet and diabetes show that the former prevents and controls diabetes. Studies have...

However, paleo proponents recommend abstinence from legumes due to their high concentration on anti-nutrients like phytates and lectins. But, some reliable studies show that taking whole grains improves the human health. At least, whole grains seem to be neutral to inflammations, although only few people can cope with the restrictions and preferences of the paleo diet such as the intake of supplements. Some challenges with the paleo diet are that the evolutionary arguments hardly hold up, and there are no strong evidences for excluding legumes, dairy foods and grains from the diet. However, one big concern is that there is no feasible one-size-fits-all best diet approach. Moreover, there may be health risks associated with the paleo diet. For instance, one stands the risk of missing lots of nutrients by shunning grains and dairy products completely.
Table of Contents

1. Introduction 7

1.1. Background 7

2. Nutrition of paleo diet 8

3. Pros for paleo diet 9

3.1. Prevention and control of diabetes 9

3.2. On cardiovascular 10

3.3. Grains and legumes 10

4. Cons for paleo diet 10

4.1. Restrictions and preferences 10

4.2. The problem with Paleo 11

4.3. Health risks 11

5. Conclusion 11

6. References 12

1. Introduction

The Paleolithic diet, also known as the diet of the caveman, certainly has a lot of good things to look forward to. But, it sure has some problems like every other diet. The main theory behind this diet is that the cavemen never suffered diseases like diabetes or any heart diseases, which means, if the modern man goes back to the diet of the cavemen, these diseases will become past experiences. The Paleolithic diet suggests eating only foods like nuts, seeds, meat, fresh fruits and vegetables. These, according to the diet, were the only available foods during the Paleolithic era-about 25 million years ago, which falls between the era of tool invention and the dawn of the agricultural era. Before the dawn of the agricultural era, our ancestors had no way of gaining access to dairy foods, legumes or grains. So, these groups of foods were never part of their diet (Cordain, 2011).

Figure 1: Paleo Diet Elements (Adopted from Stephenson, 2016)

So, what are the several good things that the diet has going for it? It does not accept any processed or packaged food; instead, it relies on whole and natural foods. It has low sodium and sugar content. It has a high protein content, as well as fiber and potassium. And, it has lots of fresh fruits and vegetables as its core basis. These are great building blocks for a very healthy diet (Berardi, 2014).

1.1. Background

Several approaches have been adopted in an attempt to restructure the diet of humans, with some focus on the morphology of the masticatory system and its functioning, tooth wear, and others targeting the physicochemical signatures on how an animal's diet relates to its hard tissues. Some chemical approaches include using strontium/calcium and barium/calcium ratios, but this study concentrates on the evaluation of the stable carbon isotopes (Cerling, Manthi, Mbua, Leakey, Leakey, Leakey, Brown ... & Woodi, 2013).

The study of this diet evolution depends on the discrepancy in the carbon isotope ratios of plants that make use of either the C3 or the C4 photosynthetic pathway. Therefore, the ?13C fossil tooth enamel can determine the difference between diets that depend on the C3 resources (fruits and leaves from shrubs and trees together with non-grassy herbs and forbs and their fruits) and diets that depend on the C4 resources (primarily sedges and grasses). Meat and other organic tissues are mildly rich in 13C when compared with any plant-based diet, but they can be utilized when tracing the diet back to the main resources: C3 or C4 plants (Cerling et al., 2013).

In the words of Cerling et al. (2013), there are excellent, well-dated fossil records on Hominin from ca.4 Ma to date, at the Turkana Basin. Therefore, one can use the Hominin taxa diets represented at the Turkana Basin sites to learn the diet preferences of the hominin era during this time. Paleo proponents recommend that we go back to the diet of the past era. Specifically, the paleo diet expects us to base our diet on the following: whole animals -- the organs, bone marrow, cartilage, etc., animal produce like honey and eggs, fruits and vegetables, raw seeds and nuts, and some added fats like avocado, coconut oil, ghee, butter, etc.

2. Nutrition of the Paleo Diet

Below is a breakdown of the daily nutritional value of a paleo diet and the recommendations of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. This…