Paleo diet/ gluten free for everyone?

March 24, 2011

Looking for RD prospective regarding the hypothesis that all humans, not just

those with an allergy or intolerance to gluten, should avoid gluten due to the

presence of " anti nutrients " such as

lectins, phytates, prolamines and saponins.Yes, I am reading Robb Wolf's Paleo

Solution. And those of you who read the book, know he hates RDs, because " RDs

don't challenge conventional diet principles " , that he believes are not evidence

based. The book states that humans can " tolerate " these anti nutrients and plug

along, but that we really have not evolved to live on a 60% grain based diet,

and that high nutrient density foods (meat, veggies, sat/0-3 fats) should

contribute the majority of our kcals.

The Paleo folks (yes I just joined a CrossFit gym) believe there are anti

nutrients in dairy and legumes as well. The Paleo Diet (unprocessed foods, high

nutrient density foods, high Omega 3 fat/sat fat) looks like this:

About 30% protein - from grass feed animals

About 60% fats- from meats, coconuts, avocados, olives, fish and fish oils

About 10% carbs from veggies. Higher carbs, add more and fruit when working out

more.

Small amounts of nuts and seeds are OK, but their fat profile (higher in O-6)

keeps them on the limit list.

Low fructose fruits are ok, like berries, but fructose is also believed to be a

neurotoxin, and a " food crack " for the average human.

The worst possible diet, according to this camp is a high grain, high fructose,

high Omega 6 diet, with corn oil, gluten and fructose being the major bad guys,

and protein, saturated fats, O-3s and root/bulb veggies being the good guys.

I am searching NIH and PubMed and not finding much at all discussing the dangers

of these anti nutrients in the human food supply. I see some info about anti

nutrients in soy, and data about gluten toxicity in Celiac dx, but not the

general population.

The Paleo Internet sites are full of information stating that most diseases

(obesity, general fatigue, allergies, GI in tolerances, DM, etc) would disappear

if grains, dairy and legumes are eliminated.

Is anyone else reading this book?

I would love to discuss all this conflicting information.

Osowski MS, RD, LD

Registered Dietitian

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