EO file photo
Sagar Sathuvalli, a potato breeder with Oregon State Universitys Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center, shows off potato varieties in November 2014.
EO file photo
Michaela Ewing flips potato flatbread while grilling it for the crop up dinner at HAREC in August 2016 in Hermiston.
The U.S. potato industry has taken umbrage with a popular dietary fad, which is based on the premise that humans ate healthier during the Stone Age than following the advent of agriculture.
The Paleolithic diet coined by Colorado State University emeritus professor Loren Cordain promotes foods that would have been available to hunter-gatherers more than 10,000 years ago, such as grass-fed meat, wild game, nuts, fruits and non-starchy vegetables.
In addition to processed foods and salt, the popular diet frowns upon some of the major commodities produced in the Northwest, including potatoes, cereals, dairy, sugar and legumes. Cordain reasons the foods werent present during the Paleolithic Period, and humans, therefore, havent adapted to eating them.
Cordain vows Paleo dieters achieve weight loss, reduced diabetes and diseases, increased energy, fewer allergies, better digestion and increased muscle. Critics counter that modern foods, developed over centuries of selective breeding, dont resemble Paleolithic foods. They also note the diets conspicuous absence of Stone Age dietary staples such as rats, mice, squirrels, stripped bark, insects and lizards and question the wisdom of emulating an ancient people who typically died in their 30s.
The potato industry still seeking to improve consumer perceptions affected by the low-carbohydrate Atkins diet craze recently launched a campaign highlighting the importance of the spuds protein, vitamin C, potassium and carbohydrates to athletic performance.
I think a lot of people are really getting tired of all of these really restrictive diets and are more interested in learning how to eat properly in a way they can work into their lifestyle, based on the basic ideas of moderation and good diversity, said John Toaspern, chief marketing officer with Potatoes USA.
The organization has been publicizing a paper critical of the Paleo diet, published in the December issue of the American College of Sports Medicines Health and Fitness Journal. The author, Katherine Beals, an associate professor in Utah State Universitys Department of Nutrition and Integrated Sociology, has consulted for Potatoes USA in the past, though her paper wasnt commissioned by the industry.
During the peak of the Atkins diets popularity, Beals conducted a clinical study finding its benefits were short-lived, and werent sustainable beyond a year. She has similar suspicions about the Paleo diet, and her recent paper found no scientific basis to support eating like a caveman.
Beals, who serves on the committee that ranks the best and worst diets for U.S. News & World Report, recommends diets that dont restrict food groups, but rather promote consuming a broad variety of foods in moderation. She emphasizes exercise is often overlooked in diets, and peoples survival depended on being active in the Stone Age.
I find it irritating that people are making money off of unsuspecting consumers that are truly looking for a way to become healthier and lose weight, Beals said.
Cordain, who credits his mentor Dr. S. Boyd Eaton with developing the concept for the Paleo diet in a 1985 landmark paper, said 25 scientific reviews confirm its long-term effectiveness.
Millions of people worldwide have been following the Paleo diet for more than a decade, suggesting that it is indeed sustainable and healthful, Cordain said.
Cordain points out that USDA-sanctioned vegan diets also restrict entire food groups, and USDA guidelines support Paleo diet goals of reducing consumption of refined grains and sugars, as well as processed foods. Furthermore, he said the vitamin content of wild and domestic plant and animal foods is nearly identical.
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Potato industry targets trendy Paleo diet - East Oregonian (subscription)
