Conclusions and Recommendations

I would say it is worth a try but personally I love bread and yogurt too much to become a true Paleo advocate. I could go with a Paleo diet over a month or two but wouldn’t stick with it because being a foodie means I have to eat everything and I don’t have the willpower.
Out of all the things that stand out and looking at the Paleo diet objectively is that it is a diet that has done many positive things for people with weight and health issues – I don’t doubt this at all. I think it is great that there a people out there willing to make a change and if the Paleo diet works for them, more power to them.
However there are some things that still raise questions in my mind and what I believe the Paleo community needs to establish:

• What degree of ‘processness’ is acceptable? To me, something that has been processed means that it has been modified if some way or form. If a spinach has been washed with water– it’s been processed. It wasn’t the same spinach before it was washed. it would be great if someone from the Paleo community could stand up and say what is acceptable and what isn’t which leads to my next point.
• There are NO legal certification or standards on what Paleo TRULY is. The Paleo Certification even have a forum and email list where they among the community argue what should and shouldn’t be Paleo. I believe that this is incredible confusing and as such many bloggers, food manufacturers have taken it upon themselves to define Paleo to meet what their customers or consumers want. I have seen a large amount of inconsistency of the ‘processness’ allowed in Paleo recipes where some allow the use of sausages (it’s the most processed meat in the world!) to using coconut oil which in its true essence still a processed refined oil.
• So if you see ANY food product that has any kind of so called certification or standard saying it is Paleo – it is can be very misleading. Hence why a lot of products say the words ‘Paleo friendly’ on front of pack as a claim instead.

• Because of the lack of consistency across all things Paleo, this has caused a lot of scepticism and questioning the true validity of the Paleo diet despite that it has some scientific backing in some cases. To prevent and reduce the scepticism, I feel that it would be best if the Paleo formed a type of collective to really hone down on what is Paleo and what isn’t.
  

Overall the Paleo diet is fusion of the Ketogenic and Atkins diet with a few things added and removed which could help with improving your health and well-being.

To conclude, I think the Paleo diet message is clear – that the Western diet of processed food such as high carbohydrates is not working. Whether it is the shining light of the healthy way of living is still up in the air and to some, the Paleo diet may seem to be a trademarked diet that only the privileged and most resourced have access to. However, whether it stays or goes depends on whether the consumers can be educated enough to understand what the diet is and if the Paleo community can answer any questions that come their way from the scientific community and the media. The Paleo jumped on the right time just when the “NO sugar” social media campaign had gone rampant and the rise of anti-processed foods – I cannot deny that the Paleo diet has helped many people around the world and has gained tremendous momentum in the eyes of the food industry and the unknowing consumer.