Ask the Trainer: What's your stance of the Paleo/Primal diet?

First things first, what is the Paleo diet?

Well (in my own words) the Paleo diet can best be described as eating what our ancestors ate, naturally grown and produced fish, veggies, fruits, eggs, meats and lentils. It is void of any refined and processed foods like pasta, bread, dairy and of course the junks (chips, chocolate, booze). The food mustn't come from big box agriculture producers and must be organic. It promises to help reduce ailments ranging from acne to heart disease and cancer as well as cause it's followers to lose excess weight from reduced exposure to "fat retaining" toxins in the food.

At first when I was asked this I had no idea what they were talking about, the concept sounded vaguely familiar but that's about it. The reason the concept sounded so familiar to me is because this diet has been popular for a very long time. I remember my high school science teacher (who was admittedly a big hippy) teaching several classes on this topic. She even convinced a class of sophomores to try her healthy chocolate made of smushed beans (um, yuck!).

Also Dr. Gillian McKeith of the UK`s ``You Are What You Eat`` TV show has been touting the benefits of this type of diet for sometime now.

In my humble opinion this is the perfect way to eat. I also am a firm believer in healing through nutrition, I`ve done it myself after years of painful skin rashes. I believe we are slowly poisoning our bodies with all of the chemical concoctions pumped into our food sources and that this is a leading (and underestimated) factor in most major chronic illnesses and the general feeling of unwell experienced by millions.

But realistically we all know Pobody`s Nerfect.

It is in my humble opinion that it would be next to impossible for the average family to uphold these eating habits for long. As I sit here I can see my Mother's huge vegetable garden just full of wonderful fresh produce. But I live in Canada. In 4 months there will be nothing left but rotting organic matter covered in snow, at that point if we wished for produce grown in a natural fashion we would have to pay a huge premium (if we could find it at all).

My overall view on this topic? If I had the resources I would jump into this lifestyle headfirst! But until I do I will simply try and keep to healthy foods that are affordable, and if the carrots that make it onto my plate aren't organic, so be  it. Is anyone out there following this plan?