This just in from my friend who enjoys this blog and has yet to join:

"    It really seems like a lot of the evidence for the paleo diet that I have seen is anecdotal.  I am wondering if there are any controlled studies showing benefits, as has been done with other diets.
  
      For instance, Carleton Esselstyn has proven the benefits of his vegan low fat recommendations by showing Xray images that definitively demonstrate healing of damaged arteries in very ill patients over a period of years.  He has a clear definition of  the diet he put them on. His first group of patients in the 1980s, all of whom had documented cardiovascular problems such as strokes and heart attacks, were expected by other doctors to die soon from cardiovascular disease.  They have done well, he has followed them closely, documented their health carefully, and I understand many are still doing well years later with no further cardiovascular events.  He has documentation, clear definitions, and good follow-up of their actual health---in addition to their lab results--of a good number of patients.  

   This kind of evidence is hard for me to ignore.

    Unfortunately, as far as I know, he has not followed up on the cognitive status of his patients with neuropsychological testing or other cognitive tests, so I am not aware if his diet is neuroprotective (as has been shown with calorie restriction or intermittent fasting.  He has only focused on cardiovascular measures.)


      I think there are still problems basing predictions on blood work alone, or from anecdotal results, or very small N's, as I try to make my decisions.  For instance, there is a widespread belief that eating several small meals a day is healthy. No one knows how this idea started but many people believe it because it 'makes sense'.   Andrew Weil, MD, recently stated that there is no solid evidence for this widespread idea which actually may be an unhealthy way of eating for most people.

     There is no doubt that the current Western diet is devastating to health for many reasons.  I want to listen carefully and respect and weigh any evidence that comes up on dietary recommendations and I tend to shy away from emotional commitments without sufficient body of evidence to back them up."


I'm sure someone in this group could answer her concerns much more validly than could I, a relative newbie..

Diane H.