Is There Proof in the Paleo Pudding? Three Reasons Why The Microbiome Diet is Better for Your Mind, Body, and Life

February 20, 2015

A lot has been said about the paleo diet over the past few years, much of it positive. While we’re not in the business of speaking negatively about another modality, treatment, or diet plan, we are committed to giving our patients and community everything they need to make an informed decision about their health and well-being. As popularity for the paleo diet increases (read our HuffPo review of Paleo here), we’ve come to wonder if you’re getting all the facts about what your body needs, how nutrition works, and what effect genetics have on both.

Is there proof in the paleo pudding? To help you decide, we’ve compared three facts about it to three facts about The Microbiome Diet below.

Fact: The paleo diet focuses on food that should be removed from your diet.

Fact: The Microbiome Diet believes that you should include more variety in your dietary plan.

Most of the diets out there focus on what you can’t eat and what you should remove from your diet, the paleo included. We’re not saying that they’re wrong with their suggestions—we, too, believe in decreasing your sugar intake, limiting grains, and staying away from processed fare—but The Microbiome Diet strives to empower and create potential within the framework of your lifestyle, which may be very different from someone else’s.

Instead of focusing on what you can’t eat The Microbiome Diet emphasizes what you can eat and what you should include more of in your daily meals. Good advice or not, the defiant child in each of us comes out when we’re told no more cupcakes after dinner. Instead of feeding this identity (no pun intended!) we want to empower another one, the one that gets excited to create, cook, and feast with their mind, body, and lifestyle as guides.

Diversity is one of the most important elements to vibrant health and for those following The Microbiome Diet, that rings true in food as well.

Fact: The paleo diet asserts that everyone should eat this way because that’s how our ancestors ate.

Fact: The Microbiome Diet does not believe in one-size-fits-all nutrition.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: diversity is key to achieving optimal health (learn why here). It’s also a beautiful reality for our world, and something that should impact the way we advise, treat, and heal. Like so many nutrition plans on the market the paleo diet believes that it’s rigid structure is perfect for nearly everybody and every body out there.

But we’ve got to ask:

Does a four-mile run have the same effect on a marathoner as it does on a sprinter?

Do chocolate chip cookies impact your eight-year old daughter’s waistline the way they do yours?

Did our paleolithic ancestors have to meet two deadlines before 11:00 am on a Tuesday?

Different strokes for different folks is the idiom that comes to mind here and it’s a guiding principle throughout The Microbiome Diet. We believe that personalized care is the cornerstone of every health journey and that understanding what works and doesn’t work for your palate, body, and lifestyle will help you reach your health and wellness goals. The Microbiome Diet leaves space for flavor preferences, busy schedules, and tight budgets all while providing targeted suggestions that can put you on the right dietary path.

Look, our ancestors may have eaten a certain way that served them well but they didn’t have iPhone updates, back-to-back soccer games, rush hour traffic, and 9:00 pm dinner meetings on their calendars. History and nature steer a lot of our treatments at The Kellman Center, but we’re keen on integrating that wisdom into a 21st century context that serves the modern individual.

Fact: The paleo diet only addresses the food you put into your mouth.

Fact: The Microbiome Diet understands the dynamic experiences associated with eating and incorporates them into every nutritional guide.

Part of the personalized care that we provide at The Kellman Center and through The Microbiome Diet is understanding the social, cultural, and religious implications that affect people’s lives.

Maybe you’ve got a mother who is constantly packing your bags (and jacket and pants pockets and mailbox) with food.

Maybe you live in a food desert and have limited access to quality produce.

Maybe you’re part of a big family and seven-hour Sunday feasts are mandatory weekly events.

Maybe you battled an eating disorder in the past and you’re struggling to stay healthy without igniting prior bad habits.

Maybe you’re training for your first 5K (yahoo!) and don’t get home until 8:30 pm on Mondays and Wednesdays.

Eating is a lot more than just the food you put into your mouth, yet most diet plans demand that you shift your entire identity to accommodate a new nutrition pattern. And while there are plenty of instances when that’s exactly what we and The Microbiome Diet recommend—no more late night snacks, no more double foam lattes to start the day, no more emotional eating—we also understand that some things in life just can’t be changed, especially if you’ve got a family who likes to cook.

The Microbiome Diet, unlike the paleo diet, strives to support your entire eating experience, not just your food.

There is a way to finish your plate, make grandma happy, and still not overeat.

There is a way to get creative and stay healthy with limited resources.

There is a way to feel empowered, not shackled, by your diet plan.

It’s a fact, The Microbiome Diet is designed for you – not for your ideal body, not for next year’s work schedule, not for someone else’s life, but for you.

Can the paleo diet say that?

If you are looking for a new diet doctor in NYC, call the Kellman Center today!