Paleo Diet Q & A - 16 December 2009

Dear Readers,

Today's edition of Paleo Diet Q & A:

Q: Is almond milk an acceptable drink for the paleo diet?

A: Yes, almond milk is a Paleo friendly food. You can also use hazelnut and coconut milk.

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Q: Dear Loren Cordain/Paleo Diet Team,

I can't thank you enough for your research. I have been living the Paleo Diet for nearly a year now, and it has completely transformed my life. I had been suffering from Sjogrens syndrome for years, but after starting this diet my symptoms disappeared almost instantly! I will never eat any other way again.

I also have a question. A friend of mine is suffering from ichthyosis. It is a rare disease where skin dries out. It has a genetic cause. Can the Paleo Diet bring relief to people with these type of diseases as well?

A: Ichthyosis Vulgaris has a genetic background. However, our colleague Pedro provided us some information regarding this rare disease. There's some scant evidence that a gluten-free diet might alleviate symptoms of Ichthyosis, and there appears to be an association with coeliac disease (a gluten-triggered disease).

Folic acid and vitamin D supplementation seems to improve this condition.

There's a case report of a patient suffering from ichthyosis whose symptoms improved within 6 months of treatment.

Please keep us posted.

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Q: In your book, you said not to consume fermented foods. However, in the new Paleo Diet blog (which is great, by the way), I've seen probiotics recommended a couple times.

So I'm wondering ... did Paleolithic man consume fermented foods?

A: Yogurt, leavened bread, alcohol, pickled foods and other fermented foods clearly require technology to produce and consume. However, pre-agricultural humans ate plenty of fruits and vegetables (good sources of soluble fiber), which encourage growth of gram positive gut bacteria. For most people, after years on a low-fiber high-glycemic load diet, probiotics have been demonstrated to have many therapeutic effects, perhaps because they restore the gut flora that likely would have been present had they been consuming large quantities of fresh fruits and vegetables throughout their life.