Your Personal Paleo Code

December 2, 2013
A practitioner of integrative and functional medicine, Kresser began following the Paleo diet as a way to cope with his own debilitating medical issues, tweaking the plan to fit his individual needs and constitution. He offers three steps—Reset, Rebuild, and Revive—geared to help individuals use Paleolithic foods as a baseline while personalizing the diet. Kresser focuses on the high nutrient balance of various Paleo foods (meats, vegetables, fruits, and tubers), and details how agriculture has been harmful, pointing out that the hunter-gatherer diet was in many ways healthier than the way we eat in our contemporary world (though they faced many dangers, such ailments as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease were non-existent for our cavemen ancestors). Though Kresser is pro-Paleo (including “nose to tail” cooking and the consumption of organ meats), he admits that “there’s more to life than food,” and suggests following the guidelines for just 80% of the time. With his customized options for thyroid disorders, high cholesterol, and diabetes, Paleo followers will welcome this flexible and informative science-infused text. Agent: Richard S. Pine, InkWell Management.