Every couple of years a new diet emerges with promises of being the new BIG cure to obesity and other weight/diet related health woes. And many people jump on the bandwagon without truly educating themselves about the ins and out of the diet's pros and cons. Therefore I am going to start choosing a different diet to profile every few issues and give my two cents on the bonuses and minuses of the program. No, I am not a registered dietitian but I have been helping people with lifestyle modifications for over 10 years, and think I have heard just about everything under the sun when it comes to the varying opinions on what is "healthy" and what truly is. This issue I am going to explore the Paleo Diet.

The Paleo Diet is based on the idea that we should eat like our caveman ancestors, who consumed what they could catch and kill, pull out of the sea, and gather from trees and bushes.

By most accounts, this is not bad advice. No question that it's healthier to eat fresh food that is close to its natural state, that is unaltered in any way and unprocessed; Unargueably better than a diet rich in than a daily diet based on sugary cereals, candy bars, burgers, soda, and fried foods. Duh?

However, when we dive deeper into what this exactly means things get a little more sticky, and challenging. Paleo blacklists dairy products, legumes (e.g., peas, beans, peanuts), and grains. The premise is that none of these were part of our diet before we began to domesticate animals and farm crops. The argument is that we're not genetically adapted to eating these foods and they therefore lead to disease and obesity.

While I do agree with fresh foods are best when compared to processed, I do have a couple of points of issue. First, all human ancestors did not eat the exact same things based on culture, geographic location, etc. Clearly there wasn't one diet back then which equates to the current paleo diet. For example, I read that the diet of one African tribe called Maasai used to be primarily meat, whole milk, and blood. Whereas, Northern Europeans adapted to a diet high in dairy products with very low levels of lactose intolerance, while more than 90 percent from most African and Asian countries can't handle dairy products. So, there truly isn't ONE paleo diet in this regard.

Secondly, I warn against a diet that strictly labels foods as "bad" and completely off limits. This entirely disallows for vast amounts of food which in great moderation are a nice diversion from a faithfully healthy diet. Sure, I avoid processed foods for the most part, but do I enjoy and pizza and a scoop of ice cream here and there? Sure! And the case against legumes being off limits...? I would struggle very hard not to have my nearly daily dose of hummus! The truth is that people who are physically active and consume a nutritious, portion-controlled diet can accommodate occasional servings of what fanatics consider bad foods.

Thirdly, the paleo diet highly restricts carbohydrates. The problem with this is that the word "carb" has been highly abused. People have been brainwashed to think that if they have a single bite of a carb they will turn into a blimp immediately. Fact is, some carbs provide more nutritional value than others. If I want to be healthy and energetic, I'm going to eat more whole grains, fruits and veggies than chocolate cake.

So, my take-away on the Paleo diet is this: Following the general guidelines of the paleo diet should be fine for most people, but dairy is fine in moderation for those who are not lactose intolerant. Also, steer away from completely eliminating certain foods and/or carbs altogether. Stay active, eat healthy, and allow yourself a treat here and there!...as long as HERE isn't far more often than THERE :)