Ancestral diet researcher and author Dr. Loren Cordain is our interview guest today in Episode 722 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show.”
LISTEN AND DOWNLOAD AT ITUNES
[powerpress]
We’re back to our regular interview format again after three weeks of special Cholesterol Clarity-inspired episodes highlighting a few of the featured experts in Jimmy Moore’s new book. And we come back with a bang today featuring a very enlightening conversation with the man at the heart of a recent controversy that has been all the talk in the Paleo community over the past couple of months. He is Dr. Loren Cordain, the world-famous Colorado State University professor, evolutionary diet researcher and bestselling author of The Paleo Diet, and he is here to defend the diet he has helped put on the map over the past two decades.
The dust-up all began a few months back when The Weston A. Price Foundation President Sally Fallon Morell published some rather incendiary remarks about Dr. Cordain’s version of Paleo in the Summer 2013 issue of the Wise Traditions newsletter where she was answering WAPF member concerns about the differences between the diet they espouse and the Paleo diet promoted by people like Dr. Cordain and Robb Wolf. Jimmy invited Sally to appear on this podcast last month to give her an opportunity to expand upon her comments and she did so in Episode 711 sharing her sincere concerns with the lack of animal-based fats contained on the most popular Paleo diet web sites found in the top Google searches for this term (which happens to be the ones run by Dr. Cordain and Wolf). Now we give Dr. Cordain a chance to weigh in on what Sally had to say.
Listen to Jimmy and Dr. Cordain talk about what he thinks about Morell’s criticisms, how he changed his mind about lean meats and revised his original book to reflect this, the clear support he has stated over and over again for saturated fat, the natural macronutrient make-up of our hunter-gatherer ancestors, his concern about the lack of scientific credentials by Morell, and a whole lot more! If you’ve been following this issue in the Paleo blogosphere, then you won’t want to miss Dr. Cordain’s exclusive response to the concerns expressed by the President of The Weston A. Price Foundation. Get the rest of the story from the man himself in today’s episode.
TENDERGRASS FARMS GRASS-FED/PASTURED MEATS:
NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE: http://cmp.ly/3LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE 722
– SUPPORT OUR SPONSOR: Get grass-fed beef, pastured pork, pastured chicken and pastured turkey from Tendergrass Farms
– Dr. Loren Cordain bio
– 2010 updated version of The Paleo Diet Revised: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat
– The Paleo Answer: 7 Days to Lose Weight, Feel Great, Stay Young
– The Paleo Diet Cookbook: More Than 150 Recipes for Paleo Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, Snacks, and Beverages
– ThePaleoDiet.com
– All of Dr. Cordain’s research papers on the Paleo diet
– RELATED PODCAST: The LLVLC Show #711: Sally Fallon Morrell Says Paleo Unnecessarily Promotes A Low-Fat Diet
– RELATED PODCAST: The LLVLC Show #556: Professor Loren Cordain Introduces Antinutrient Foods In ‘The Paleo Answer’
– RELATED PODCAST: The LLVLC Show #449: Paleo Extravaganza Week: Dr. Loren Cordain
– RELATED PODCAST: The LLVLC Show #247: Dr. Loren Cordain’s ‘Paleo Diet’ Is The Original Low-Carb Diet
I finally got time to listen to this one, and I see (according to Wikipedia) that Mary Enig, in 2008, was listed as a nutritionist in Baltimore. Taking her age into consideration, she may be in a nursing home somewhere today. She may have even died, although her Wiki page doesn’t give a death date.
WAPF went through a major change back around then–the official website (the old one) went unattended for a year or two, and Sally herself got remarried, and went to work for a magazine (called Nourished). People probably thought WAPF went under, and so left it.
Years later, the site resurrected itself in blog form, with 2 younger, degreed bloggers as the most active part of the site (now even THAT has dropped off–note the time distance between posts), and Sally seems to have hit the speaker circuit.
In short, with the death of Weston himself, and the loss of Mary, the organization has become little more than a political lobbying group (for small farmers, raw milk drinkers, and rabid home economists–and they’re RAPIDLY losing clout there) and shell of its former self.
Soon, I believe the blog page of Christopher Masterjohn may be ending–didn’t he graduate? He’s now got to go out and make money, and being a blogger for WAPF isn’t going to pay the bills.
I was really, really sad to read Sally’s original Paleo-bashing comment in her summer newsletter. I couldn’t understand why she felt the need to alienate a whole lot of people who totally supported her and the work of WAPF. I think a lot of Paleo bloggers felt really hurt by her words – there is no other word for it but ‘hurt.’ She must have known that what she was doing would cause cause a bit of a firestorm.
And I still cannot understand why she won’t back down – just a little bit – and come out and say, ‘Okay, maybe I was incorrect in my original assessment of some of the Paleo people.” But it doesn’t look like she will even do this.
As Paleo and our understanding of nutrition changes, backing down and admitting we are wrong, and going onto a new path is something we all must do. Cordain has done this – and readily admits it. So has Robb Wolf. So have I. So have you.
I felt Cordain was more than gracious in his interview with you. And kudos to YOU, Jimmy, in attempting to be the peace-maker in all of this – and taking Matthew 5:9 to heart. You are a class act.
Actually, I think Sally made great points on your previous podcast.
I thought Cordain and Wolf both “pulled the punch” when it came to endorsing saturated fats. (Perhaps at the urging of their first editors.) I’m glad she called them on it, and it sounds like the current Paleo/Primal message is better for it.
I think you are all losing the point of all of this. Sally was just begging for the sites like Cordain and Wolf to show that saturated fats are the main ones. Wolf has not updated his book and Cordain is still talking about composition of deer meats and Olive oil. Yes he updated it, but look at his recipes, its not many bone borths and cooking with Lard. Its Americanized Paleo Diet. Maybe that is the best approach to get people in otherwise no one would do this, maybe that is the best marketing approach to all the community.
The whole point is that he does support saturated fats but it has nothing to do with Paleo that Paul Jaminet is talking about for example. Cordain is still 5 years behind because he is a scientist.
There is nothing bad she said, just the truth. Jimmy is just not being too neutral, he took Cordain’s side. But you can hear that Jimmy knows that he was wrong. How did he clear up the questions?
This Podcast completely confirms that she was right. Cordain completely did not answer the question, he still believed that Olive Oil is benign enough to eat and have meats like lean meats like deer.
I’ll let my listeners determine what they believe after hearing from both sides. I gave both of them an equal chance to make their case. I never took sides in either interview.
It is not even about taking sides. You did not even question him completely. You were in a way too “Neutral.” I think you could have taken her criticism more constructively instead of defensively.
It is kind of you just lost the whole point of what she was asking for. And you well know she is right that he still talked about composition of wild animal being lean and having no fat.
I just don’t get what that interview resolved?
We all knew he changed his stance on saturated fats, but he is not on the same boat per se :).
Again, I treated both with respect and allowed them to have their say.
Yes you were very respectful as usual. And you are doing an excellent job. My reasoning is not to point fingers. It is just that you missed the whole point that Sally was making. Funny that you do not realize it.
Thanks. This wasn’t about me. It was a chance for the two leaders to make their points. And they did. 😉 Thanks for listening.
I can’t believe this. Both of you missed Sally’s point completely. I got on the website and what she said “exactly” came up. As I listened to both of you talk about not being about lean meat I starred directly at Cordain’s site where it said “LEAN” meat as a recommendation. Cordain was trying to “talk around” the comments Sally said – she was pointing to the website ONLY and she is right! Come on guys. Sally studied WAP and along with Enig puts out scientific information. Cordain you renigged on a bunch of things a while back that was in your book – not fix your website……
I’m happy to share this with Dr. Cordain.
I’m in complete agreement with Elle, both Robb and Cordain need to fix their websites, both have “lean meat” and avoid listing Animal Fats, Cordains still says avoid salt. :>)