Hello everyone. This is an interesting thread. I have been around the paleo-diet for a few years now, mostly through my affiliation with the crossfit community. I have even done the strict paleo diet and the paleo-zone diet. I happen to be in the field of medical research and am trained in both human physiology and statistics. Needless to say I read a lot of research papers and more importantly I know how to read research papers. I have read Good Calories Bad Calories and think that it is an interesting book. It is important to keep in mind that Taubes is a science journalist and not a scientist. I acknowledge that he is a smart guy, trained in both physics and aerospace engineering, but he has no training in physiology or statistics. I don't have the book in front of me at the moment and it has been about a year since I have read it, but I do recall looking at some of Taubes' source papers and comparing to Taubes' inferences and being startled. I recall that he did not seem to appreciated the idea of statistical significance. That being said it is still a worthwhile read and I appreciate his attempt to popularize an important subject that will hopefully breed skepticism and encourage further research. As far as the paleo-diet is concerned, I agree that the substance of the diet is at least not harmful and to a rational human being seems a better diet than fiery hot chee-tos and french fries. What burns me up about the paleo-diet is that to my knowledge there have been no randomized controlled clinical trials assessing the diet. I have read studies that have lasted seven days, but I have yet to read any trials that have lasted 6 months or a year. Cordain and his posse would profit greatly if they carried out a legitimate trial and showed a real difference between the paleo diet and the 'food pyramid diet'. Instead they seem to be more interested in writing glossy how to books and making money. And if I could put in a little something about Dr. Weil. I work at the same institution as Weil. Take a look at Dr. Weil, do you really think he is a picture of good health?
