From Carola Vyhnak on theStar.ca
“One can only guess what a cavewoman would have taken to a potluck party some 2 million years ago. But Jennifer Bruer, who’s committed to eating the way our primal ancestors did, shows up with almond-flour banana bread.
It’s a bit difficult, the modern mom admits, when “everyone else is eating pie.” But that’s a small sacrifice in return for feeling healthy and being 50 pounds lighter since starting down the paleolithic path two years ago.
Known as paleo, primal or caveman, the diet has blossomed into a lifestyle for devotees who believe the ancient past holds the secret to lean bodies and good health.
At a time when scientists are starting to grow burgers in a lab, paleo enthusiasts are going whole hog for real food, nature’s way. Food that cavemen would have consumed — although critics argue that point.
To believers, it means fish, grass-fed, pasture-raised meat, eggs, organic vegetables and fruits, nuts and seeds. Taboo are grains, dairy, legumes, refined salt and sugar.
Paleo proponents contend that our species, Homo sapiens, was doing just fine until the development of agriculture 10,000 years ago. But processed and genetically modified food, agricultural methods and sedentary lifestyles have made us sicker than we have ever been, they argue.
Bruer, 37, knows that all too well. The Mississauga mother to a blended family of nine children suffered from depression, acne, constipation, mood swings, joint pain, fatigue and insomnia until she discovered paleo.
After first going grain-free then dropping dairy, she’s shed six sizes’ worth of extra weight and healed most of her ailments….”
The Bovine 
It is frightening to read this kind of thing. People refuse to understand paleo and primal ways of eating. There is nothing at all wrong with using raw dairy in paleo type ways of eating, and there is also nothing wrong with using properly prepared grains.
So much misinformation and misunderstanding surround these subjects. Making changes considered to be healthy will only be healthy if they are entirely understood. Yes, she made changes to her health, but she and her family are missing out on a lot of foods they could be enjoying. Ah well.
Why would raw dairy–especially butter & cream–not be paleo?
In recent years, the “paleo diet,” a diet based on the perceived eating habits of prehistoric people has become wildly popular. But, says paleontologist Christina Warinner, this diet is based on an incorrect view of how early humans lived. Using modern day research, Warinner traces the roots of the human diet to discover what we can really learn from the food of our ancestors. http://tedxtalks.ted.com/video/Debunking-the-Paleo-Diet-Christ
Science Debunks the Paleo Diet—Again
http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/07/16/science-debunks-paleo-diet-again
The Paleo Diet Is Uncivilized (And Unhealthy and Untrue).
http://www.drmcdougall.com/misc/2012nl/jun/paleo2.htm
If the Paleo Diet fad is so healthy and responsible for brain growth, then why didn’t the Neanderthals survive and thrive? They had 300,000 years in Europe following the diet to make themselves into “Einsteins!” Speaking of Albert Einstein, this is what he had to say on the subject of health and survival: “Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” http://www.veganfitness.net/viewtopic.php?t=723 & http://nutritionfacts.org/.
You get better results with a vegan lifestyle, without the high risks of cancer and heart disease, which most cavemen didn’t live long enough to experience. It’s eliminating processed foods and eating veggies that make you healthy!
@ jc: You don’t understand paleo/primal either, do you? I think you’ll learn more from reading the true information about paleo eating if you stay away from the bloggers who tend to misunderstand it, as well. Veganism certainly wasn’t how “cavemen” lived . . .
In our highly processed and fast-food world, eating a ‘paleo’ diet is probably the easiest way to be healthy. It is very difficult for most people to find the time to prepare grains properly and also to find a source of raw milk. I have been a primal princess for about a year now and have never felt better. I am also a keen road cyclist and have never been fitter/ had as much endurance and power on the bike since going paleo. I do however eat some grains when I have time to prepare them correctly and do make milk kefir at home. So I am not 100% strict, but have cut out all the crap from my diet. I believe that alot can be acheived though adopting a paleo way of eating, even it is just in some areas of the diet. It beats growing on Mc D’s and KFC!
ever since I was told to start eating liver if I expected a healthy baby at 5 months gestation I have been a meat eater. I figure my body was anemic because it was missing something it couldn’t get from being a vegan for 10 years. Everyone’s body is different and that is how my body reacted to the stress of pregnancy. Since going primal two years ago I am almost 40lbs lighter, a lot healthier, and the arthritis they said I had for the last 10 years disappeared…found out it was “just” gluten intolerance, but they gave me 10 years of medication instead of testing anything to be sure of their diagnosis.The Paleo diet might not work for everyone but it sure works for me!!
that baby is now 31… 😉