Paleo Diet vs Australian Dietary Guidelines

Designed to lessen diet-related diseases, the Australian Dietary Guidelines are a collection of statements established by the National Health and Medical Research Council to encourage the benefits of healthy eating. These guidelines are:


Figure 3. Australian Dietary Guidelines (NHMRC, 2013)

 Figure 4. The New Primal Blueprint Food Pyramid (Sissons, 2011) and The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (Eat for Health, 2017)

 

The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating is a visual representation of the Australian Dietary Guidelines, divided into the recommended portion sizes for the five food groups. When compared to the Paleo Pyramid, the key differences include:

• No Grains, which source Vitamin D (Guideline 2)
• No Dairy, which source Calcium (Guideline 2)
• Excessive Fat, which are energy dense (Guideline 3)

Although the Paleo diet may comply with the Australian Dietary Guidelines in honour of whole foods being consumed while “discretionary” foods being evaded, the Paleo diet however, does not meet Guideline 2 as it encourages avoiding both grain and dairy foods. Additionally, the Paleo diet isn’t meeting Guideline 3 as it encourages the consumption of excessive fat. By not abiding by the Australian Dietary Guidelines, individuals who follow the Paleo diet are putting themselves at risk of Obesity and Osteoporosis (NHMRC, 2013; NHMRC, 2014-a)