Differences Between the Weston A.

Price Foundation Diet and

the Paleo Diet
westonaprice.org/health-topics/differences-between-the-weston-a-price-foundation-diet-and-the-paleo-diet/

Sally Fallon Morell 10/7/2013

We are posting this information to clear up the considerable confusion about the Weston A. Price Foundation dietary
principles and the paleo diet. We feel it necessary to do this because we often hear the two diets mentioned
togetherthe Weston Price Paleo Dietand we feel it very important to note that the principles of these two diets
are not the same.

Rest assured, we are not doing this to attack anyone personally; we are posting this information because we have
a duty to provide accurate information about nutrition.

We are aware that many people experience short-term benefits from the paleo diet, especially people coming off the
Standard American Diet (SAD) or vegan/vegetarian diets. However, in the long term, the paleo diet can lead to
cravings and serious deficiencies.

We also appreciate the fact that many people who have adopted paleo diets are supporting farmers and ranchers
who produce pasture-raised animal foods; and many paleo dieters are members of the Farm-to-Consumer Legal
Defense Fund.

We also realize that there are many versions of the paleo diet, some of which incorporate some of the WAPF dietary
principles. Nevertheless, the principles proposed by the two main spokesmen for the paleo dietLoren Cordain
and Robb Wolfhave virtually NO points in common with the WAPF principles.

For reviews of these two books, see

The Paleo Diet by Loren Cordain: www.westonaprice.org/thumbs-down-reviews/paleo-diet

The Paleo Diet Solution by Robb Wolf: www.westonaprice.org/thumbs-down-reviews/the-paleo-solution-by-robb-

wolf

A Google search for Paleo Diet brings up first the Loren Cordain and Robb Wolf websites, along with the Wikipedia
entry for the paleo diet; The following analysis compares the WAPF diet with the paleodiet principles expressed in
these websites and the books by Cordain and Wolf

WAPF DIET .. PALEO DIET

Animal Foods Eat the whole animal, including the meat, fat, organ meats, .. Only lean muscle meats,
bones, cartilage and skin (poultry, pork). no added fat
.

Meat Should be pasture-raised for higher levels of minerals, and .. Prefer pasture-raised
vitamins, especially fat-soluble vitamins and minimal because it is lean.
hormones, antibiotics and other harmful chemicals; always
eat meat with the fat. If the meat is lean, prepare it with
added fat.
.

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Organ Meats More important than muscle meats, should be consumed .. No mention of organ
frequently meats
.

Poultry Always eat with the fat and skin; make pate with the livers .. Skinless; no organ meats
and hearts; eat the gizzards also
.

Pork OK to consume when cured (bacon, ham), marinated in an .. No special preparation

acidic medium before cooking, or with a lacto-fermented needed.
food such as sauerkraut
.

Seafood Wild seafood, particularly shellfish, oily fish, fish heads, fish .. Wild fish and shellfish, no
liver oils and fish eggs. Prepare seafood with added fat. Eat added fat
the skin of the fish.
.

Raw Animal All traditional cultures consumed some of their animal food .. Not mentioned.
Food raw; so it is important to include raw dairy, raw meat, raw fish
and/or raw shellfish in the diet on a frequent basis.
.

Eggs Preferably pastured-raised; emphasis on egg yolks rather .. Allowed; no emphasis on

than egg whites pasture-feeding; extra
. egg whites encouraged.

Vegetables Raw or cooked, always with added fat, such as butter .. Raw or cooked, no added
. fat

Fruit Raw or cooked, some fruits more digestible when cooked; .. Raw, no added fat
add fat (butter or cream) or consume in the context of a meal
containing fat.
.

Grains Recommended on the observation that many healthy .. No grains, based on the
primitive and traditional peoples included grain in their diets; theory that paleolithic
need to be properly prepared to neutralize anti-nutrients and peoples had no grains in
improve digestibility. Individuals who have trouble with their diet, and also
grains may be able to eat them (properly prepared) after because grains contain
following the GAPS (Gut and Psychology Syndrome) various anti-nutrients.
protocol
.

Legumes Should be included in the diet; need proper preparation to .. Not allowed, because
(beans, lentils, neutralize anti-nutrients. Legumes are consumed as a they contain anti-nutrients
etc.) major source of calories by many healthy traditional cultures
throughout the world.
.

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Nuts Good to include in the diet after careful preparation to .. Allowed, even though
neutralize anti-nutrients. nuts also contain anti-
. nutrients (just like grains
and legumes). No special
preparation
recommended.
.

Starchy Can be included in the diet. Should be well cooked and .. Potatoes/carbohydrates
carbohydrates consumed with a fat, like butter not allowed, although
(potatoes, . Wolf includes sweet
yams, sweet potatoes in some of his
potatoes) recipes
.

Dairy (milk, Should be raw, whole, full fat. Wonderful foods for growing .. Not allowed
cheese, children.
cream, .
yoghurt, kefir,
etc.)

Butter Consume liberally .. Consume only

. occasionally (Wolf) or not
at all (Cordain)
.

Meat fats Consume liberally .. Not recommended.

lard, tallow, etc .

Oils No industrial oils (corn, soy, canola, etc); Olive oil and .. No industrial oils (corn,
coconut oil allowed, but the diet needs to also include liberal soy, canola, etc). Very
amounts of animal fats. small amounts of olive oil
. and coconut oil allowed.
.

Lacto- Include with every meal. .. Not worth the hassle

fermented . and a source of too much
foods salt. Take a probiotic pill
instead.
.

Bone broths Consume liberally .. Not mentioned

.

Fat-soluble Most important WAPF principle; consume liberally of foods .. Foods containing the fat-
activators, that contain them. soluble activators are not
Vitamins A, D . emphasized. Promotes
and K plant forms of A and K.
Wolf recommends vitamin
D supplement. (See Wolf:
Vitamins A, D and K,
Who Cares?)

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Vitamin D Needs to be consumed as part of food, in balance with .. Take 2-5000 IU per day
vitamin A. as a supplement, with no
. supporting vitamin A

Vitamin A Animal form of vitamin A vital to health; vitamin A-rich foods .. Avoid animal form of
need to be balanced by foods containing vitamin D. vitamin A. Claims
Precursors (carotenes) in plant foods are a poor source of adequate vitamin A can be
vitamin A for humans; many lack the enzymes needed for obtained from the pre-
conversion. cursors in plant foods.
.

Calcium Best source is raw dairy foods; cultures that dont have dairy .. Paleo diets provide only
foods made use of bones (fermented fish bones or bones of about half the RDA of
small birds and animals ground up and added to food). calcium, virtually all from
. plant foods. Oxalic acid,
phytic acid and other
mineral blockers make
assimilation of calcium
from plant foods difficult.

Protein No more than 20% of calories .. 30-35% of calories.

. Protein levels this high
will deplete vitamin A.

Fats Can be anywhere from 30-80% of calories, with saturated fat .. 39 % of calories, with
predominating. When fat intake is low, balance of calories monounsaturated fatty
needs to come from carbohydrates (which the body can turn acids predominating
into saturated fat).
.

Saturated Fat No limit. Saturated fats are critical for good health. .. Only 7% of calories
. (about 3 teaspoons per
day). No carbohydrate
foods in the diet that the
body can turn into
saturated fat.

Carbohydrates Some carbohydrate in the diet is necessary. Avoid refined .. Carbohydrates not
carbs. necessary. Avoid both
. refined and unrefined
carbs.

Processed No industrially processed foods; eat liberally of foods .. No processed foods

Foods prepared by artisan processors (lacto-fermented foods and
beverages, naturally cured meats, cheese, sourdough
bread, etc)
.

Fish liver oils Recommended as a daily supplement for vitamins A and D .. Not recommended
.

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 Fish oils Not recommended; can overload the body with omega-3 .. Recommends up to 2
fatty acids and interfere with arachidonic acid. Human tablespoons fish oil per
requirements for omega-3 fatty acids like DHA are actually day.
very low.
.

Salt Very important; adults need at least 1 teaspoons per day, .. Little or no salt
preferably unrefined; we consumed up to 3 teaspoons per
day in the past
.

Cholesterol Very important to have enough cholesterol for hormone .. Total cholesterol should
production, production of bile salts, healing and repair, be kept at 120-140 mg/dl.
protection against cancer. For men under 60, no additional Very low levels of
risk for heart disease with cholesterol levels up to 300 cholesterol in this range
mg/dl. For women at any age, and for men over 60, higher are associated with
cholesterol levels are associated with longevity; no need for increased rates of cancer,
these groups to reduce cholesterol levels even if very high. intestinal diseases,
. violence and depression,
accidents and suicide.

Chocolate Not recommended .. Allowed

.

Coffee (and Not recommended .. Allowed

tea) .

Alcohol Wine and unpasteurized beer in moderation with meals .. Cordain allows white
. wine. Wolf recommends
tequila on an empty
stomach.

Pre- Nutrient-dense diet, rich if fat-soluble vitamins, extremely .. No special diet

Conceptual important to ensure the health of the next generation. recommended.
and
Pregnancy
Diet

NOTE: As of May 2015, the diet recommended by Cordain at thepaleodiet.com is as follows:

EAT DONT EAT

Grass-produced Meats Cereal Grains

Fish/Seafood Legumes

Fresh Fruits and veggies Dairy

Eggs Refined Sugar

Nuts and seeds Processed Foods

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 Healthful oils (Olive, walnut, flaxseed, macadamia, avocado, coconut) Salt

Refined vegetable oils

Potatoes

As of May, 2015, Robb Wolf recommends the following diet at RobbWolf.com

OK TO EAT AVOID

Fruits Dairy

Vegetables Grain

Lean Meats Processed Food & Sugars

Seafood Legumes

Nuts and seeds Starches

Healthy fats* Alcohol

* Defined as HEALTHY FATS FROM NUTS, SEEDS, AVOCADOS, OLIVE OIL, FISH OIL AND GRASS-FED MEAT

RECOMMENDED READING

Letters on the Paleo Diet: Link

Guts and Grease by Sally Fallon Morell: http://www.westonaprice.org/traditional-diets/guts-and-grease

Precious Yet Perilous by Chris Masterjohn: http://www.westonaprice.org/know-your-fats/precious-yet-perilous

On the Trail of the Elusive X Factor by Chris Masterjohn: http://www.westonaprice.org/fat-soluble-activators/x-factor-

is-vitamin-k2

The Right Price: http://www.westonaprice.org/basics/the-right-price

The Cod Liver Oil Debate: http://www.westonaprice.org/cod-liver-oil/cod-liver-oil-debate

BOOK REVIEWS
Tending the Wild by M Kat Anderson: http://www.westonaprice.org/thumbs-up-reviews/tending-the-wild-by-m-kat-
anderson

The Biggest Estate on Earth by William Gammage: Link

VIDEOS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggr1KkNOBGk

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30-35% of calories. Protein levels this high will deplete vitamin A.

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