I figure that Paleo addresses two major dietary issues,

1.) Too much carbohydrates.
2.) Allergens in food.

From these two points you can judge whether something is Paleo.

Does it cause carbohydrate overloading/ high glycemic index?

Is it edible raw, and thus does not have allergens in it, or do
you have too cook it to break down allergenic substances
to make it not cause immediate distress?

In the case of Honey or Maple Syrup, both are edible
raw and do not exhibit allergenic symptoms in the general
population. (I've never heard of anyone being allergic to
Maple syrup, thought there probably is some mutant somewhere
that is.  Some people are alergic to Honey, but more because
of the pollens.)

Maple syrup and Honey both are concentrated sugars
and thus must be used very sparingly.  Obviously Paleos
ate both so they are Paleo, but they also were available on
a very limited basis.  Thus they should be eaten sparingly.

I like the adage, "Anything eaten every day will become toxic".

On the other hand, grain, dairy and the other agricultural products
often show allergic symptoms in a significant portion of the
population, and probably have slow cumulative allergic
symptoms in most of the population (arthritis).  They also
usually have very high carbohydrate content and
shock the sugar management system when eaten (diabetes).
Thus they are not Paleo.

R. Keene


Richard Keene, Novell Inc, Provo, Utah, 801-861-4389,
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