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One of the core ideas that the Paleo diet rests upon is the concept of human evolution, and how it applies to agriculture and food sources. The argument goes, since grains and other neolithic foods have only been a part of the human diet for a relatively short period (in evolutionary terms), the human body has not had sufficient time to fully adapt. This lack of adaptation thereby increases the risk that these newer food sources pose to human health.

This theory is of course just a heuristic, and not really based on qualified experimental data. Matt Lalonde made it quite clear that approaching nutritional science in this manner is bound to get you laughed out of the room by guys with Ph.D.’s behind their names. But, it at least serves as a good starting point for exploring the modern human diet. From there you perform controlled experiments to test this hypothesis, many of which are now being done on a regular basis.

Well, what if that theory is just flat out wrong?

David Csonka: Even If the Paleo Diet is "Wrong" it's still a Good Idea

Let’s get this straight. There are few things that we know for certain in science, and even those things could potentially change tomorrow. For instance, the theory of general relativity is in jeopardy because those guys in Geneva managed to make neutrinos go really fast.

In a similar manner, we might learn something new about human nutrition that will blow the paleo diet out of the water. I doubt it, but it could happen. And of course, we still don’t fully understand or have clear experimental data on things like gluten intolerance, obesity, and atherosclerosis. “Pretty sure” doesn’t really cut it when you’re actually serious about science.

Ok, so let’s play with around with a hypothetical. Let’s pretend like the paleo diet really is wrong, just like that lady at CNN told me. I still think it’s a pretty damn good idea to eat a paleo diet. Why, you ask? It’s a good idea because the modern industrial/corporate food system sucks, and most of the staple foods are tainted or unknowably risky to consume.

Modern wheat has been mutated to extremes to become something completely unlike what our ancestors ate even 100 years ago. Several strains of corn (maize) have been developed that have an innate insecticide produced by it’s cells. Soy has been engineered to resist herbicide, so it’s readily drenched in it. Dairy cows have had synthetic growth hormones and antibiotics injected in them to “enhance production capacity”.

All of these agricultural innovations might be innocuous, but the truth is we really don’t know for sure if they are. When companies like Monsanto pressure news organizations like Fox not to report damaging information about their products, and Fox actually complies, it becomes difficult to ascertain if these “foods” are actually safe for human consumption.

The difference between the U.S. and most other developed countries, is that the others (like some of those in Europe) have decided to err on the side of caution by refusing these products, primarily because they don’t know for sure if they are safe. In the U.S. the foods are readily approved because we can’t prove that they are dangerous. Of course, when the food corporations are pressuring journalists to not release evidence that they are dangerous, it’s difficult to challenge the status quo.

The really scary thing is that they haven’t limited themselves to just bullying billion dollar companies. Eat our crappy food Europe, or else! Of course, Barack Obama promised in 2007 to get GMO foods labeled, but so far nothing has been done.

So, if you remove wheat, soy, corn, and dairy from your diet, what does that leave you with? Basically a paleo diet. The funny thing is, that it may turn out that part of the benefits of the paleo diet stem from removing exposure to these modern food hazards.

Round-up ready soy can’t be responsible for much of the modern ailments that have progressed even since the middle of the last century (since it is rather new), but it and other frankenfoods might have some connection to problems like the curiously rising increase in childhood food allergies.

Personally, I have nightmares sometimes that Monsanto has made a genetically modified radish, and wind-born pollen has infected my garden, forcing me to pay licensing fees to the corporation. Silly, yes. Possible one day? Maybe.

Until that day, it’s probably wise to seek culinary refuge in vegetables and crops that exist outside the targets of large agribusinesses. Thankfully, due to a need to grow plants at a large scale, less productive heirloom varieties and less conventional vegetables (like my radishes) are safe from their clutches. Avoid mass produced grains and legumes, where quality and sourcing is almost always suspect in the U.S., and focus more on colorful greens and tap root plants.

When it comes to meat and dairy, sourcing from a reputable pastured-based farm will be your best bet. In many cases you can go to these farms and talk to the farmers about their practices. You know what you are getting because you can see it. If you can’t find a local farm, U.S. Wellness Meats is a great option for grassfed meat.

In the end, I’m a bit concerned that the rest of the developed world finds the primary food crops of the U.S. to be too repulsive to eat. However, I’m even more concerned that more people in the U.S. aren’t bothered by that.

Today's WOD:

We were going to do the same workout again but in a different order. Not sure about you but I am sick of Muscle-ups, Clean and Jerks and running with a plate, so let's mix it up... each class today will do a different workout at each time slot.

See you at either 6am, 9:30am, 5pm or 6:30pm.

Out.

BOOM.