8. Special nutritional considerations: trendy diets

Palaeolithic diet (paleo diet)

• Tries to replicate the diet of hunters and gatherers during the stone age
  • Assumes that people in the stone age didn’t consume starchy carbohydrates like potatoes and grains
  • Based on the premise that human genetics haven’t adapted to the change in agriculture, and so a diet similar to the cavemen is best
    • However, recent studies have shown that genetics can and have changed in response to changes in agriculture
    • Recent studies have also shown that people in the stone age did actually consume starchy carbohydrates
• Diet is characterised by eating
  • Fish
  • Grass-fed pasture-raised meats
  • Eggs
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
  • Fungi
  • Roots
  • Nuts
• The following are not consumed
  • Grains
  • Legumes
  • Dairy products
  • Potatoes
  • Refined salt
  • Refined sugar
  • Processed oils
• The diet is generally
  • Low in calories
  • Rich in micronutrients
  • Rich in fruits and vegetables
  • Low in salt
• Special nutritional considerations
  • Calcium
    • Lack of diary can lead to calcium deficiency and is commonly seen
  • Iodine
    • Lack of table salt and dairy products can lead to iodine deficiency

Atkins diet

• Characterised by:
  • High protein
  • Very high fat
  • Very low carbohydrate
  • Unrestricted calories
• Forbidden foods
  • Grains
  • Vegetables
  • Fruit
• Promoted foods
  • Meat
  • Cheese
  • Eggs
  • Fats
• Disadvantages
  • High saturated fat intake
  • Low fruit and vegetable intake
  • High meat intake