A reader left a comment in the last blog post citing several references detailing how Paleo isn’t healthy or the best diet to adhere to. I appreciate comments and wish to clarify my thoughts.
We can find enough literature and opinion pieces on the internet about any diet to occupy at least a full day of reading. What I’d like to promote is questioning, tolerance and the overall idea that as we strive to make advancements in technology, exercise, rehab, medications, vaccination, diet, education, etceteras, we as individuals and as a society will make many errors. Additionally, much of the time, some of what we think is right for some people, and all of it is seldom accurate or best for all people. Regardless, blindly accepting any idea just because it’s on the internet or some expert made a proclamation, is unwise. It’s the same with reposting political sound-bites on Facebook. A quick sentence or two seldom shows all sides of a story and it takes great effort to figure out what is fact and opinion and to form our own considered opinions. I personally have spent hours researching some of the posts my father makes on Facebook. I then forward him articles and information trying to encourage him to think critically about an issue he thinks he is passionate about. By the way, when it comes to politics, I mostly fail.
I spent this past weekend in Dallas listening to Dr. Mercola. (www.mercola.com) is the largest and most successful health website in the world. Dr. Mercola is committed to empowering people to take control of their health, conducts research, makes some terrific contributions to the field of health and draws clear opinions. As much as I enjoy and appreciate his work, during the seminar I also noticed that he interwove fact and opinion seamlessly, and in a way that left the listener no idea which was which! The overall result was acceptance of everything he said as fact, when in fact, over half of it was actually Dr. Mercola’s opinion. If in a professional conference we cannot blindly accept what is being taught and are forced to pursue additional information, then not only do we return from a conference saddled with extra research work, but we also must understand that what we are told is largely opinion and we cannot adopt anything until we have more fully investigated an issue. This is no more apparent than in politics, but in daily life, it is also crucial to question and critique. We all believe our opinions are right; or else we’d change them!
So back to diet… I know many people who thrive on Paleo. I personally am not one of them. I know happy and healthy vegans, I know vegetarians and I know hard-core carnivores. I toggle between vegan, vegetarian and pescatarian and have for the past 30 years. The only thing I can state with a high degree of certainty is that if your diet is mostly clean (whole unprocessed foods), then your body will tell you what it needs. Sometimes it needs chocolate.
We try to expose our patient base to a wide-array of philosophies and ideologies. I am not advocating any particular way of eating. It is my hope that everyone will figure out what works best for them. How you feel, sleep, engage, think and behave are far more important than whether or not you enjoy a burger on occasion.
So please, go for it. Make comments, let your own opinion be known. But try not to judge. Try to simply put forward what works for you and what you have discovered.
Yours in Questioning and Health,
Michelle Paris, DC