Is the paleo diet really safe? It doesn't seem like eating hamburgers and bacon three times a day is the way to a healthy heart. -- Devon, 24, Huntsville, Alabama

The “paleo” diet means eating foods that our Paleolithic (i.e. “stone age”) ancestors are thought to have eaten. This means a diet of fish, game, grass-fed meats, vegetables, fruit, roots, and nuts, and excludes grains, beans, dairy products, refined salt, refined sugar, and processed oils. This is basically a low-carb, all “natural” diet. Although it is undoubtedly good to avoid high-salt, high-carb, high-sugar processed foods, it’s not clear that a strictly “paleo” diet is really necessary. Whole grains, for example, provide valuable calories, nutrients, and fiber.

A “paleo” diet is probably much more healthy for you than a typical American diet, but you also probably don’t need to be quite so strict. A simpler rule to follow comes from Michael Pollan: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” That just means: stay away from processed foods of all types, go easy on meat, and eat plenty of fruits and vegetables.

You can’t go wrong with that recipe!

Dr. Harry Fisch is a board certified urologist. He’s here to answer reader questions in an effort to get guys to “man up about health.”

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