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Comment by mtrimpe | Hacker News Reader

That's exactly my problem with the Paleo diet though: it can be summed up by the following sentence:

"So you're saying that eating a lot of vegetables, beans and quality meat is good for you? Who would've thought that!" </sarcasm>

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The fact that it's obvious doesn't mean that it's incorrect. One could say the same thing about many widely accepted dietary recommendations:

"Oh I shouldn't be drinking tons of liquid sugar? Eureka!!" </s>

That doesn't mean that recommendation to cut back on soda should be removed from public health, because obviously there are still far too many people who aren't aware of exactly how and how bad excessive soda consumption is for you.

My point is more that there seems to be little proof that 'full Paleo' is better than eating lots of veggies and cutting processed carbs from your diet alone.

My understanding is that paleo opposes eating beans. Impurifies our precious bodily fluids, or something.

Beans (like grains) have a lot of phytic acid in them. Phytic acid prevents the absorption of minerals. The amount of phytic acid can be reduced if the beans are soaked in water that contains lactobacilli for a day or so, but almost no one does that.

Not just phytic acid, but lectins and all sorts of nasties. Red kidney beans are poisonous unless you soak them properly before cooking.

There are aspects to beans that are hard to digest, and may inhibit the intake of some nutrients... that said, I'm not hardline on paleo, I do try to keep my net carbs under 100g/day, and consider my diet paleo-ish. I usually have a couple some eggs/sausage, lunch is usually a savory crepe (low carb wrap essentially), and 8-16oz of greens at dinner (huge salad, with a nominal amount of dressing).

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