Jim Walsh wrote:
> I am a 42 yo guy with heart and weight problems. I am not expecting
miracles from a paleo diet, I just believe giving my body the correct fuel
should allow it to fix itself as best it can.
>
> I have been looking for a natural diet plan for years. This list and the
web sites are great! (Despite some contradictions!)
>
> I probably have a million questions. Primarilly I am looking for a single,
concise explanation of what is paleo, and what is not. (The web sites do
disagree somewhat.)  :)

Welcome to the list, Jim:

My $0.02:

paleo = anything except dairy, beans, grains, potatoes, artificial chemical
additives

Ray says if you can eat it raw with nothing but a sharp stick, it's paleo.
You don't *have* to eat it raw, but if you *could*, that meets the test.
Beef is paleo even if you don't eat it raw.

White potatoes can't be eated raw in any quantity, so they aren't paleo.
Some people believe yams and sweet potatoes are paleo because they can
(apparently) be eaten raw.

The idea is that we are genetically suited over eons to eat certain foods.
We are less suited to newly introduced foods, foods associated generally
with agriculture, such as wheat and corn.

A separate concept is the low carb diet. You can do low carb paleo, or you
can do low carb non-paleo, or you can do regular paleo. Low carb paleo
limits your fruit and tuber intake. A lot of people do much better on a low
carb diet anyway, or at least a reduced carb diet, healthwise, with or
without the paleo concept.

I find it hard to eat high carbs on paleo although I never drink fruit juice
and I am not heavy on the fruit in general.

Nobody knows why a paleo approach works. It could be foods that have
"foreign proteins" found in wheat, dairy and grains. It could be
pasteurization that denatures dairy proteins that people normally eat. It
could be an imbalance of omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids, or an imbalance of
certain amino acids, or just high carbs.

--Richard