Why you shouldn't follow the paleo diet

My proof that the paleo diet is not the optimal diet for humans is quite simply this: Personal testimony from many, many people of problems and side effects they have experienced from this diet. This is not to say that it will necessarily be harmful for 100% of the people that follow it and that is why it is still somewhat popular because some people feel good on it. However, saying that this is the best diet for humans and then simply disregarding the evidence that shows many people can have extreme problems on this diet is just irresponsible.

The most common complaint that I have heard about following the paleo diet is that it makes many people (if not most people) constipated. Some people don't realize what a serious problem constipation is, they think you can just take something to relieve it and no harm done, but constipation is a very prominent sign that something is wrong in your body and can lead to a large amount of very severe diseases, it should never be taken lightly. Again, I am not saying that 100% of people will experience this, but if the claim is that the paleo diet is the optimal diet for humans, then no one should experience these effects. Other problems that seem to be prevalent are gout-like symptoms/inflammation and swelling of joints, decreased energy levels, acne, and many others. Personally, I have not followed the paleo diet exactly but I have experimented specifically with high protein/high fat diets, the higher the level of protein and fat in my diet the more prevalant all of the preceding symptoms become.

Supporters of the paleo diet will probably claim that these are all symptoms of your body detoxing but this is a cop-out explanation and just basically an excuse that all fad diets use for all side-effects from extreme dieting. The simple fact is that people who feel this effects, have the problems for the duration of the period they follow the diet and then the symptoms go away when they go back to a more moderate diet. I have read many posts and spoke to people personally that have stated this fact. Telling people that the paleo diet is the optimal diet for human health even though personal testimony states otherwise is irresponsible. Tweet