Paleo Resources

Even though eating a paleo diet seems so natural for most people who’ve been following this lifestyle for a great while, it can be a real challenge for others. Some people also just need more information for a deeper understanding of everything related to nutrition. It also gets hard, from time to time, to discern bogus information from true facts rooted in science and observations, especially since, in my opinion, general nutritional guidelines fall more often then not on the bogus side.

So what exactly are the best ways to learn more about the diet, lifestyle and ways to improve your health through your eating habits and lifestyle? I think that there are a couple of very good resources available out there, but I’ll try to point you to the main ones, the ones that where really important for my own dietary changes.

I’ve included informational websites and blogs, books, products and websites to find food online.

Websites and blogs

Mark’s daily apple

Mark Sisson is the one person who made me discover the Paleo diet. He calls his version of the diet the Primal blueprint, because he also incorporates lifestyle and habit changes that are in line with our ancestor’s lifestyle (e.g. sleep, leisure time, intermittent fasting, …) He his a super impressive guy and always tries to bring balance to his recommendations to make things very easy to integrate in the day to day life. His site is called Mark’s daily apple and you’ll find a tons of great information. I would definitely put his blog in my bookmarks and check it every day if I were you.

Robb Wolf’s blog and podcast

Robb Wolf is a personal trainer and biochemist who’s passionate about the paleo diet and likes to go deep into the subject with exact explanations as to why certain things work while others don’t. He has a great weekly podcast where he answers questions people send him through his blog and you’ll find lots on gems in there, especially if you’re dealing with specific problems or autoimmune diseases. I strongly recommend that you listen to a couple of his podcasts and see if you can get some of your questions answered.

PaNu

PaNu stands for Paleolithic Nutrition. This is the blog of Dr. Kurt Harris with great introductory material as well as more in-depth explanations. I absolutely love the unapologetic and sometimes cynical style of Dr. Harris and certainly share some of his ideas around the benefits of high fat nutrition and the benefits of butter and grass-fed ruminants.

The Weston A. Price Foundation

I think that the work of the Weston A. Price foundation is a true gem in the paleo diet world and I wrote about it in a separate article. They certainly have diverging opinions concerning dairy and some grain products, but the basis is the same as the paleo diet and the site is full of great information and in-depth articles written by people who really know what they are talking about.

The Healthy Skeptic

Chris Kresser from the Healthy Skeptic really does a great job of going in-depth into subjects like thyroid diseases, GERD, heart disease, fish oil, … I really like his style of writing and I’ve learned a lot from his blog.

The Perfect Health Diet

This is another great blog by two scientists that can probably teach you a thing or two about nutrition. They have a very interesting take on some aspects of a perfect diet for health and longevity and they bring nice ideas to the table like keeping proteins on the low side for example and the consumption of safe starch. Excellent website!

Hyperlipid

Peter is a vet and a genius and his information will blow your mind. He’s well-versed in science and biochemistry and if you’re like me you’ll only understand 25% of his posts, but just that 25% will be very mind blowing. He digs out the truth behind nutritional and health papers.

Dr. Michael Eades’ blog

Dr. Michael Eades, along with his wife, Dr. Mary Eades, are pioneers in low-carb, high-fat nutrition and have been spreading the right nutritional information now for a number of years. Dr. Eade’s blog his great and often very insightful.

Paleo Hacks

This is the site I like to hang around all the time. It’s a question and answer site where you get to ask any Paleo diet related question that you have in mind and get knowledgeable members of the community give you their answer. It’s a site where participation and respect is greatly encouraged and you’ll find a ton of information. I could spend whole days on that site.

Whole Health Source

One of the best blogs about nutrition out there. Stephan Guyenet is the guy to read for information regarding ancestral nutrition. He likes to analyse papers and to study traditional cultures in regards to their health and nutritional habits. Very insightful and thought provoking.

Free The Animal

Richard is a colorful guy who isn’t shy to voice his opinion against the conventional dogmas and nutritional stupidity spread around nowadays. Sometimes informative, sometimes funny, sometimes shocking, a very fun blog to read.

Hunter Gatherer

John Durant has become sort of the poster buy for the Paleo diet. After having been featured in a New York Times article and on the Colbert Report, he his now well-known and active in the Paleo community of NYC. His blog is very entertaining.

Hunt Gather Love

Melissa McEwen is also active in the growing Paleo community of NYC and she as a great and often entertaining blog where she discusses all matters around the paleo lifestyle.

Books and cookbooks

The Primal Blueprint

The Primal Blueprint, is the one book I recommend you start with. In fact, it probably is the only book you’ll need on the subject, unless you want to go even deeper afterwards. It is the book that started it all for me and I think this kind of information is gold and could save or greatly improve tons of lives. If you don’t already have your copy, don’t waste a minute and get your hands on the primal blueprint, you won’t regret it!

The Primal Blueprint cookbook

Mark Sisson released a brand new hardcover cookbook, the Primal Blueprint cookbook. This is a big announcement, because it’s one of the first cookbook out there geared especially towards those who chose to eat like our ancestors did. The book is filled with over 100 paleo diet recipes and over 400 glossy, full color photos. You don’t get only a photo of the finished meal, but the steps to preparation as well! I honestly think this paleo cookbook is a great addition to your kitchen tools. You’ll always have something to fall back on when looking for a great paleo recipe that will stay true the the values of the paleolithic diet. Here is a sample of the type of recipes included: Roasted Leg of Lamb with Herbs and Garlic, Salmon Chowder with Coconut Milk, Tomatoes Stuffed with Ground Bison and Eggs, Baked Chocolate Custard…

Good Calories Bad Calories

This is the book that started it all for a lot of people that are now following a Paleo diet. Gaury Taubes does a great job of bringing the truth behind the dogma behind fat and carbohydrate and their effect on our metabolism. This is a very heavy book that will appeal to people versed in science, but it’s also a great read for anyone interesting in going deeper in understanding the mechanics behind what we eat and why the bad guy isn’t fat.

Primal Body Primal Mind

Nora Teresa Gedgaudas brought us a great book about ancestral nutrition. The twist is that she brings out tweaks with the goal of being even healthier than our ancestors, through a little less protein and even more fat consumption. She raises very interesting points.

The Vegetarian Myth

Lierre Keith, a reformed vegan, explains in great prose how eating a plant-based diet is not the answer to world hunger and happy cows. She does a great job and only religious vegans can read a book like that and not rethink their diet.

The Paleo Solution

This book is just out of the oven and his already poised for great success. Robb Wolf really knows his stuff and presents you his explanation and implementation of a paleo diet. Complete with a fitness section, a section on sleep, a meal plan and recipes. While I don’t necessarily agree with everything in the book, it’s a really good all around introduction to the paleo diet. You’ll go into a bit more science in this book than in a book like the Primal Blueprint.

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration

This is a required reading for anybody interested in health and nutrition. It represents the work and findings of Dr. Weston A. Price when he studied traditional cultures all over the world. This book is also available online here

Paleo cookbooks

Reading recipes on a website is one thing, but having an organized book filled with them is something else. Nikki Young is a Paleo diet specialist and she worked really hard to put together two great cookbooks that you can buy right now and receive right away electronically. I would recommend you check it out, it could really make your Paleo journey so much more enjoyable by having tons of great recipes ready to be prepared by you. A great addition to this site I think!

Nourishing Traditions

A great cookbook from Sally Fallon of the Weston A. Price foundation. The book also includes recipes with grains, but also features prominently good animal fats, meat and fermented food. A really great book overall.

Wild Fermentation

A great book to learn how to ferment anything but the kitchen sink. Seriously though, preparing our own fermented food can seem complicated, but this book does a great job at making it really simple.

Fat

A great book to learn to cook what that macronutrient that has been so demonized that we forgot it tastes amazing: fat.

Supplements and Weight-Loss

Mark Sisson from Mark’s Daily Apple also produces his own brand of Paleo diet approved dietary supplements. Like him, I think that even though we eat a perfect paleo diet, we are still surrounded by stress, bad sleep patterns, polluted air and vegetables full of pesticides and grown on poor quality soil so we might as well put all the chances on our side and take some basic general health supplements to cover those different stresses. I don’t recommend tons of different supplements, in fact, I advice against most of them. What I do recommend though is vitamin D, probiotic and fish oil supplementation and Mark as come up with a products that combines the three, the primal blueprint Essentials

Primal Blueprint Essentials - Probiotics, Vitamin D & Fish oil

Those are the three supplements I recommend to cover your basis and this product is a nicely priced and high quality combination of all three.

Damage Control Multivitamin

For those with specific nutritional needs or who do decide that a multivitamin is a good idea, you might as well go with a good kind that you know you can rely on to get the most bioavailable nutrients instead of the cheap formulations often found in health food stores. The Damage Control Multivitamin is a very high quality one without any nasty ingredients.

The Primal Leap weight loss program

Mark also setup a great weight loss program packed with content and perks. The program includes a guidebook, an audiobook, a video DVD, regularly posted podcasts, access to a private forum, a fitness guidebook and your choice of either the two books: the Primal Blueprint and the Primal Blueprint Cookbook or a Primal Essential Kit that includes a bottle of fish oil, vitamin D and probiotics. It is really great value for the money and Mark guarantees success with your weight-loss endeavors on this program.

Gear

Paleo T-shirts

This is a small online store I started that sells high-quality American Apparel t-shirts with Paleo diet related quotes. Feel free to contact me to propose any new t-shirt to the collection.