Is the Paleo Diet Low-Carb?

Low-carb diet and paleo diet advocates often align themselves, even though S. Boyd Eaton’s 1988 version of the paleo diet doesn’t appear to be very low-carb at all: 46% of total calories from carbohydrate.  The standard American diet provides 50-55% of calories from carbohydrate.  Paleo proponents and low-carbers do share an affinity for natural, whole foods, and an aversion to grains, milk, and legumes. 

A 2010 article by Kuipers et al (reference below) sugggests that the East African Paleolithic diet derived, on average, 25-29% of calories from protein, 30-39% from fat, and 39-40% from carbohydrate.  That qualifies as low-carb.  Modern Western percentages for protein, fat, and carb are 15%, 33%, and 50%, respectively.

Loren Cordain and associates in 2000 suggested that Paleolithic diets may have derived about a third—22 to 40%—of calories from carbohydrate, based on modern hunter-gatherer societies. 

You can make a good argument that these paleo concepts are healthy: high physical activity, nonsmoking, consumption of natural whole foods while minimizing simple sugars and refined starches.  The paleo community is convinced that grains and legumes are harmful; many others disagree.  Also debatable are the roles of dairy, polyunsaturated to saturated fat ratio, low sodium, and high potassium.  Modern diets tend to be high-sodium and low-potassium, which may predispose to high blood pressure and heart trouble—diseases of modern civilization.

It appears that the average paleo diet may have derived about a third of calories from carbohydrate: that qualifies as low-carb.

For more on the paleo diet and lifestyle, visit Robb Wolf’s website, Mark’s Daily Apple, and Archevore. 

Steve Parker, M.D.

References:

Kuipers, R., Luxwolda, M., Janneke Dijck-Brouwer, D., Eaton, S., Crawford, M., Cordain, L., & Muskiet, F. (2010). Estimated macronutrient and fatty acid intakes from an East African Paleolithic diet British Journal of Nutrition, 1-22 DOI: 10.1017/S0007114510002679.  Note that one of the authors is Loren Cordain.  Good discussion of various Paleolithic diets.

Eaton, S., Konner, M., & Shostak, M. (1988). Stone Agers in the fast lane: Chronic degenerative diseases in evolutionary perspective. The American Journal of Medicine, 84 (4), 739-749 DOI: 10.1016/0002-9343(88)90113-1

Cordain, L., et al.  Plant-animal subsistance ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in worldwide hunter-gatherer diets.  American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 71 (2000): 682-692.