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westonaprice.orghttp://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/differences-between-the-weston-a-price-foundation-diet-and-the-paleo-diet/

Sally Fallon Morell October 7,

2013

Differences Between the Weston A. Price Foundation Diet and thePaleo Diet

We are posting this information to clear up the considerable confusion about the Weston A. Price Foundation dietaryprinciples and the “paleo diet.” We feel it necessary to do this because we often hear the two diets mentionedtogether—“the Weston Price Paleo Diet”—and we feel it very important to notethat the principles of these two dietsare not the same.

Rest assured, we are not doing this to “attack” anyone personally; we are posting this information because we havea duty to provide accurate information about nutrition.

We are aware that many people experience short-term benefits from the paleo diet, especially people coming off theStandard American Diet (SAD) or vegan/vegetarian diets. However, in the long term, the paleo diet can lead tocravings and serious deficiencies.

We also appreciate the fact that many people who have adopted paleo diets are supporting farmers and rancherswho produce pasture-raised animal foods; and many paleo dieters are members of the Farm-to-Consumer LegalDefense Fund.

We also realize that there are many versions of the paleo diet, some of which incorporate some of the WAPF dietaryprinciples. Nevertheless, the principles proposed by the two main spokesmen for the paleo diet—Loren Cordain andRobb Wolf—have virtually NO points in common with the WAPF principles.

For reviews of these two books, see

The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain: www.westonaprice.org/thumbs-down-reviews/paleo-diet

The Paleo Diet Solution by Robb Wolf: www.westonaprice.org/thumbs-down-reviews/the-paleo-solution-byrobb-wolf

A Google search for “Paleo Diet” brings up first the Loren Cordain and Robb Wolf websites, along with the Wikipediaentry for the paleo diet; The following analysis compares the WAPF diet with the paleodiet principles expressed inthese websites and the books by Cordain and Wolf

WAPF DIET .. PALEO DIET

Anima l Foods E at the whole animal, including the meat, fat, organ meats,bones, cartilage and skin (poultry, pork)..

.. Only lean muscle meats, noadded fat

Meat Should be pasture-raisedfor higher levels of minerals, andvitamins, especially fat-soluble vitamins and minimalhormones, antibiotics and other harmful chemicals; always eatmeat with the fat. If the meat is lean, prepare it with added fat..

.. Prefer pasture-raisedbecause it is lean.

Organ Meats More important than muscle meats, should be consumedfrequently.

.. No mention of organ meats

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Poultry Always eat with the fat and skin; make pate with the livers andhearts; eat the gizzards also.

.. Skinless; no organ meats

Pork OK to consume when cured (bacon, ham), marinated in anacidic medium before cooking, or with a lacto-fermented foodsuch as sauerkraut.

.. No special preparationneeded.

Seafood Wild seafood, particularly shellfish, oily fish, fish heads, fishliver oils and fish eggs. Prepare seafood with added fat. Eatthe skin of the fish..

.. Wild fish and shellfish, noadded fat

Raw AnimalFood

All traditional cultures consumed some of their animal foodraw; so it is important to include raw dairy, raw meat, raw fishand/or raw shellfish in the diet on a frequent basis..

.. Not mentioned.

Eggs Preferably pastured-raised; emphasis on egg yolks rather thanegg whites.

.. Allowed; no emphasis onpasture-feeding; extra eggwhites encouraged.

Vegetables Raw or cooked, always with added fat, such as butter .

.. Raw or cooked, no addedfat

Fruit Raw or cooked, some fruits more digestible when cooked; addfat (butter or cream) or consume in the context of a mealcontaining fat..

.. Raw, no added fat

Grains Recommended on the observation that many healthy primitiveand traditional peoples included grain in their diets; need to beproperly prepared to neutralize anti-nutrients and improve

digestibility. Individuals who have trouble with grains may beable to eat them (properly prepared) after following the GAPS(Gut and Psychology Syndrome) protocol.

.. No grains, based on thetheory that paleolithicpeoples had no grains in

their diet, and also becausegrains contain various anti-nutrients.

Legumes(beans, lentils,etc.)

Should be included in the diet; need proper preparation toneutralize anti-nutrients. Legumes are consumed as a major source of calories by many healthy traditional culturesthroughout the world..

.. Not allowed, because theycontain anti-nutrients

Nuts Good to include in the diet after careful preparation toneutralize anti-nutrients..

.. Allowed, even though nutsalso contain anti-nutrients(just like grains andlegumes). No specialpreparation recommended..

Starchycarbohydrates(potatoes,yams, sweetpotatoes)

Can be included in the diet. Should be well cooked andconsumed with a fat, like butter .

.. Potatoes/carbohydrates notallowed, although Wolf includes sweet potatoes insome of his recipes.

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Dairy (milk,cheese,cream,yoghurt, kefir,etc.)

Should be raw, whole, full fat. Wonderful foods for growingchildren..

.. Not allowed

Butter Consume liberally.

.. Consume only occasionally(Wolf) or not at all (Cordain).

Meat fats—lard, tallow, etc

Consume liberally.

.. Not recommended.

Oils No industrial oils (corn, soy, canola, etc); Olive oil and coconutoil allowed, but the diet needs to also include liberal amounts of animal fats..

.. No industrial oils (corn, soy,canola, etc). Very smallamounts of olive oil andcoconut oil allowed..

Lacto-fermentedfoods

Include with every meal..

.. “Not worth the hassle” and asource of “too much salt.”Take a probiotic pill instead..

Bone broths Consume liberally.

.. Not mentioned

Fat-solubleactivators,Vitamins A, Dand K

Most important WAPF principle; consume liberally of foods thatcontain them..

.. Wolf: “Vitamins A, D and K,Who Cares?”

Vitamin D Needs to be consumed as part of food, in balance with vitamin A.

.

.. Take 2-5000 IU per day as asupplement, with no

supporting vitamin AVitamin A Animal form of vitamin A vital to health; vitamin A-rich foods

need to be balanced by foods containing vitamin D. Precursors(carotenes) in plant foods are a poor source of vitamin A for humans; many lack the enzymes needed for conversion..

.. Avoid animal form of vitamin A. Claims adequate vitamin A can be obtained from thepre-cursors in plant foods.

Calcium Best source is raw dairy foods; cultures that don’t have dairyfoods made use of bones (fermented fish bones or bones of small birds and animals ground up and added to food)..

.. Paleo diets provide onlyabout half the RDA of calcium, virtually all fromplant foods. Oxalic acid,phytic acid and other mineral blockers makeassimilation of calcium fromplant foods difficult.

Protein No more than 20% of calories.

.. 30-35% of calories. Proteinlevels this high will depletevitamin A.

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Fats Can be anywhere from 30-80% of calories, with saturated fatpredominating. When fat intake is low, balance of caloriesneeds to come from carbohydrates (which the body can turninto saturated fat)..

.. 39 % of calories, withmonounsaturated fatty acidspredominating

Saturated Fat No limit. Saturated fats are critical for good health..

.. Only 7% of calories (about 3½ teaspoons per day). Nocarbohydrate foods in the

diet that the body can turninto saturated fat.

Carbohydrates Some carbohydrate in the diet is necessary. Avoid refinedcarbs..

.. Carbohydrates notnecessary. Avoid bothrefined and unrefined carbs.

ProcessedFoods

No industrially processed foods; eat liberally of foods preparedby artisan processors (lacto-fermented foods and beverages,naturally cured meats, cheese, sourdough bread, etc).

.. No processed foods

Fish liver oils Recommended as a daily supplement for vitamins A and D.

.. Not recommended

Fish oils Not recommended; can overload the body with omega-3 fattyacids and interfere with arachidonic acid. Humanrequirements for omega-3 fatty acids like DHA are actually verylow..

.. Recommends up to 2tablespoons fish oil per day.

Salt Very important; adults need at least 1½ teaspoons per day; weconsumed up to 3 teaspoons per day in the past.

.. Little or no salt

Cholesterol Very important to have enough cholesterol for hormoneproduction, production of bile salts, healing and repair,protection against cancer. For men under 60, no additionalrisk for heart disease with cholesterol levels up to 300 mg/dl.For women at any age, and for men over 60, higher cholesterollevels are associated with longevity; no need for these groupsto reduce cholesterol levels even if very high..

.. Total cholesterol should bekept at 120-140 mg/dl. Verylow levels of cholesterol inthis range are associatedwith increased rates of cancer, intestinal diseases,violence and depression,accidents and suicide.

Chocolate Not recommended.

.. Allowed

Coffee (andtea)

Not recommended.

.. Allowed

Alcohol Wine and unpasteurized beer in moderation with meals.

.. Tequila on an emptystomach.

Pre-ConceptualandPregnancyDiet

Nutrient-dense diet, rich if fat-soluble vitamins, extremelyimportant to ensure the health of the next generation.

.. No special dietrecommended.

RECOMMENDED READING

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Letters on the Paleo Diet: Link

Guts and Grease by Sally Fallon Morell: http://www.westonaprice.org/traditional-diets/guts-and-grease

Precious Yet Perilous by Chris Masterjohn: http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/precious-yet-perilous

On the Trail of the Elusive X Factor by Chris Masterjohn: http://www.westonaprice.org/fat-soluble-activators/x-factor-is-vitamin-k2

The Right Price: http://www.westonaprice.org/basics/the-right-price

The Cod Liver Oil Debate: http://www.westonaprice.org/cod-liver-oil/cod-liver-oil-debate

BOOK REVIEWS Tending the Wild by M Kat Anderson: http://www.westonaprice.org/thumbs-up-reviews/tending-the-wild-by-m-kat-anderson

The Biggest Estate on Earth by William Gammage: Link

VIDEOS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggr1KkNOBGk

30-35% of calories. Protein levels this high will deplete vitamin A.