You’ll find this article in the Spring edition of Lifelines from the Toronto Vegetarian Association.

Recently, I found myself browsing a local big box bookstore with some time to spend before moving onto the next endeavor of the day. In front of me was a display of about thirty “diet” books, all of which helped you with the same goal, losing weight.

The problem here is that they all offer temporary solutions in order to achieve your weight-loss goal. In time, without permanently changing habits we are bound to gain the weight back and reach for a new book. Perhaps that’s what some of these publishers want you to do.

In a recent podcast with Colleen Patrick-Goudreau – who, on a side note is returning to Toronto this September for the Vegetarian Food Festival! – broke down the ridiculousness of the newest fad, the Paleo Diet. According to Wikipedia it is “a nutritional plan based on the presumed ancient diet of wild plants and animals that various hominid species habitually consumed during the Paleolithic era”. It is a diet that has sparked many new books over the past while and gained many more dedicated followers.

Although the thought of eating the same foods as our ancestors may sound alluring, the Paleolithic era was about 2.5 million years long. I can’t even imagine eating something from just a few hundred years ago, let alone picking and choosing randomly from a period of a few million years and calling it a “diet”.

Isn’t the goal of a healthy diet to live more healthfully? Well in that case, I would expect to live until at least 100! Oh wait, during these few million years the life expectancy was a whopping 33 years.

But worst of all, the paleo diet rejects the sound science on nutrition by eliminating all uses of legumes. I’m sorry, but I am not letting you take away my chickpeas and lentils! It replaces these great protein sources with those of our animal friends – advocating strongly for the consumption of more animal protein. And you thought Atkins was gone for good…

Without belittling the hopefully good intentions of paleo authors and those in the world looking to improve their self-image and their overall health, I’d like to take a step back from these books and offer a better solution that can last a lifetime instead of the time it takes you to read a book.

At the Toronto Vegetarian Association, we have always strived to provide our members and the general public with facts and the very best information about nutrition that is available to us. We will always advocate for a plant-based diet and lifestyle. Since 1945 we’ve been working for you – with nutritionists, dietitians, doctors, and other well-being experts that are trustworthy. If you, like me, feel a bit queasy when you see these mounds of diet books and need a real solution to improving your life, give us a call, open your Vegetarian Directory, come into our Resource Centre and learn from the trusted source that will always be here for you with information to last you a lifetime in health and compassion.

It’s made by the same awesome (plant-based!) people that designed the Veg Food Festival materials for the past couple of years. Last year they were all hand made with clay and then photographed them:

The amount of time these two put into their creative work is astounding – and appreciated! Thank you Lisa and Sean for all your hard work.

Exploring Ghana on a Safari in Mole National Park.

A soy London Fog from Sonic in Downtown Toronto.

A trip to Montreal in the fall reaps many rewards – especially when you visit the market!

A delightful lunch at Hibiscus in Toronto.