Robb Wolf's new Paleo Solution

20. September 2010 William Davis (16)
The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet


The Paleo Solution: The Original Human Diet

I have to say: I'm impressed. If you would like insight into why a "Paleo" nutritional approach works on a biochemical level--why you lose weight, burn fat, and gain overall better health--then Robb's book is worth devoting a few hours to, of not a reread or two.

Robb has a particular knack for organizing and presenting information in a way that makes it immediately accessible. You will gain an appreciation for how far American nutritional habits have veered off course.

Because Robb brings expertise from his academic biochemistry background, as well as personal trainer and educator running a successful gym in northern California, NorCal Strength and Conditioning, he delivers a book packed with information that is extremely easy to convert to immediate action in health and exercise. He seems to anticipate all the little problems and objections that people come up with along the way, dealing with them in his characteristic lighthearted way, providing practical, rational solutions.

Robb's book nicely complements what Dr. Loren Cordain has written in his The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat and The Paleo Diet for Athletes: A Nutritional Formula for Peak Athletic Performance. (My wife is now reading The Paleo Diet for Athletes and loves it. I'm going to add Robb's book to her reading list for her to read next.)

If nutrition has you stumped, if the USDA food pyramid still sounds like a reasonable path, or if you just would like to understand nutrition a little bitter, especially its biochemical ins and outs, Robb's book is a wonderful place to start.
Tags :

Comments (16) -

  • Carlos

    9/20/2010 10:24:56 PM |

    Does he subscribe to Cordain's anti-saturated fat view of nutrition? That is one of the biggest issues I have with Cordain's take on paleolithic nutrition. The biggest problems with speculations on paleolithic nutrition is the extinction of the megafauna that were the basis of human global expansion. Fatty acids in modern deer doesn't tell us anything about fatty acids in mammoths, cave bears, and aurochs.

  • LInda Middlesworth

    9/21/2010 2:46:19 AM |

    It is so sad that Robb is making money off of telliing people to eat the same SAD (Standard American Diet) that is killing Americans. The SAD diet is the same diet to promote heart disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, etc.
    and all other chronic diseases that plague western countries. Only animal foods have cholesterol so stop eating them. Go Plant BASED! goveg.com

  • kellgy

    9/21/2010 4:52:22 AM |

    Dr. Davis, I'm not sure if you meant to, but the book you have linked is for Cordian's Paleo Diet not Wolf's Paleo Solution.

    Here is Wolf's link: http://robbwolf.com/

    I've been interested in studying the paleo diet for a little while now. Since I am following some of the principles on my low carb/sugar regimen, it can't be too much of a stretch. The health benefits are probably a great improvement over the SAD and vegetarian diets I have tried in the past.

    Eating foods that readily provide nutrients for lean muscle mass development gives you a competitive edge on the health continuum.

    Maybe I'll take a dive on the upcoming release.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/21/2010 1:53:50 PM |

    Oops!

    Thanks for catching that, Kellgy.

  • Anonymous

    9/21/2010 2:27:42 PM |

    How old is Robb?  It says former research biochemist but he looks like he's 27?!!  Guess that's what paleo does for ya.

  • Diane

    9/21/2010 4:42:44 PM |

    @Linda- Actually, consuming animal based foods isn't what the SAD diet means. SAD is more about processed foods (largely grain-based) which is what the Paleo diet does NOT promote consumption of. The reality is that Robb doesn't make money by telling people to go out and buy whole, real food. None of us who promote a whole-food diet benefit in the pocket from it.

    A Paleo diet is actually largely plant based, though it clearly involves animal foods to a large degree. We eat TONS of plants.

    If you knew anything about cholesterol, you'd know that eating it actually isn't killing us. Processed grains and sugar will go way farther to damaging our health than a hunk of pork belly any day.

  • Diane

    9/21/2010 4:43:22 PM |

    Oh, Robb is around 38, I think...

  • Sandy Sommer RKC

    9/21/2010 7:03:33 PM |

    Linda, You may want to check and then re-check your facts. Wolf's ideas are the antithesis of SAD. I'm 49 years old, 8.5% body fat, eat no grains at all...None.....Have very low blood pressure....great blood chemistry and unlimited energy.

  • Drew

    9/21/2010 9:07:21 PM |

    @ Linda, quality meat (grassfed, wild, etc) is not bad. Humans have been consuming meat for 2.5 million years. Hell, the Inuit have a diet that contains about 95%+ animal products, and they don't suffer from the level of chronic diseases we do. If you actually do your research on the subject, you'll see that meat is not the source of all our problems. "The Vegetarian Myth", written by a former vegan, is a very good book I hear.

  • Drew

    9/21/2010 9:10:20 PM |

    @ Carlos, actually, Cordain's stance on saturated fat has softened quite a bit. He is actually releasing a revised version of his book, The Paleo Diet, in which some of stuff on saturated fat is revised.

    Robb Wolf tends to be saturated fat agnostic. He weighs the pros and cons in the book, and provides good info and research to back it up.

  • Dr. William Davis

    9/21/2010 11:53:07 PM |

    Drew said it well: Saturated fat varies in composition, depending on what mix of fatty acids it contains, e.g., stearic, lauric, and myristic.

    It also matters whether saturated fat keeps the company of exogenously generated advanced glycation end-products.

    Saturated fat, in and of itself, is not that bad. But it can keep the company of other things. In other words, saturated fat has served as a surrogate marker for these other things. Unfortunately, it means that, for years, the data have been distorted by these other measures.

  • Adolfo David

    9/22/2010 1:51:49 AM |

    Linda
    Go meat-eating! And read please.

    Cholesterol bad? What stupidity!

    Vegetarians are so so ignorants...

  • Anne

    9/23/2010 1:50:10 PM |

    Just catching up with the posts since I've been on holiday. Just posted in the Fred Hahn bit as I've been doing Slow Burn for over three years now. I have also been following a Paleo diet for over four years ! Wow, two of the things that have been most influential for my health and well being you posted on Dr Davis ! Wish I could have taken part in discussions while I was away. Never mind...I couldn't agree more with both the Slow Burn weight lifting technique and the Paleo way of eating....they both help me with my health problems: osteoporosis, atypical type 2 diabetes (thin and not insulin resistant) and congenital heart valve defect.

  • Carlos

    9/23/2010 5:05:07 PM |

    Drew: I'll be keeping an eye out for the updated PaleoDiet. Thanks for the heads up.

  • Dean Deleo

    9/24/2010 6:04:01 PM |

    Vegetarians are silly.

    That Paleo makes alot of sense

  • lala

    10/18/2010 4:06:25 AM |

    Thanks for your post and welcome to check: here
    .

Add comment

Loading