• Start Here
  • About
  • Recommended
  • Books
  • Shop
  • My Account
  • Search
  • Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Autoimmunity
  • Nutrition
  • Gut Health
  • Wiki
  • Contact
  • Media Requests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate
  • Refund Policy
  • Menu
  • Skip to left header navigation
  • Skip to right header navigation
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to main content

The PaleoMom circular atom logo

The Paleo Mom is a scientist turned health educator and advocate.

  • Start Here
  • About
  • Recommended
  • Books
  • Shop
  • My Account
  • Search
  • Recipes
  • Lifestyle
  • Autoimmunity
  • Nutrition
  • Gut Health
  • Wiki
You are here: Home / Marketing / Book Review: The Paleo Manifesto by John Durant
the paleo manifesto

Book Review: The Paleo Manifesto by John Durant

January 13, 2014 //  by Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD

Facebook0Tweet0Pin0LinkedIn0

About Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD

Award-winning public speaker, New York Times bestselling author and world-renowned health expert, Dr. Sarah Ballantyne, PhD (aka The Paleo Mom) believes the key to reversing the current epidemics of chronic disease is scientific literacy. She creates educational resources to help people regain their health through diet and lifestyle choices informed by the most current evidenced-based scientific research.

the paleo manifestoThis review was written by my assistant Christina.


I opened The Paleo Manifesto not realizing that I had seen author John Durant present his “caveman” lifestyle on The Colbert Report a few years ago. He opens the interview with the statement that we, like zoo animals, are happiest and healthiest when we are in our natural habitat. That statement is the foundation of this book. Our modern concrete jungles, processed diets, and sedentary lifestyles are not ideal for a species that spent hundreds of thousands of years on the plains under the sun, but, like good zoo keepers, we can do a lot to make our modern lives more closely resemble the environment we are best adapted to.

The Autoimmune Protocol E-Book!

One of my FAVORITE books I used to start the transition to AIP!!! It’s so helpful! I printed mine out and spiral bound it. Thank you for this! -Rita Davidson

The Autoimmune Protocol e-book is your up-to-date guide to jump-start your healing with the AIP today.

  • 3oo+ pages of quick-access information on the AIP
  • 4 weeks of meal plans with shopping lists
  • over 80 family-friendly recipes, all 100% AIP!

Get instant digital access for $19.99

Buy Now

Although The Paleo Manifesto is riddled with suggestions on how to “be Paleo”, John focuses less on how and more on why. He explains a Paleolithic lifestyle through anecdotes about his experience as a modern-day “caveman”. He talks about hunting, barefoot running, swimming in extreme temperatures, eating dirt, fasting, the circadian rhythm, sun exposure, and sleep habits. He presents rational, evidence-based arguments for why he chose to live that way, but doesn’t dissect scientific studies for us. He simply tells us a story. Our story.

Following us on our journey from our primate ancestors to our modern selves, John traces the evolutionary and cultural developments that changed how we lived, ate, moved, and even procreated. He dispels common misconceptions about how our ancestors lived and what their health was like, but he doesn’t idealize them, either. He admits that the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions, which gave us grains, processed foods, and increasingly less-active lifestyles, came with a lot of advantages. (Here’s one: Cannibalism decreased, possibly because humans were no longer an ideal food source!) He observes that things get worse before they get better when you take an animal out of its natural habitat, and things simply haven’t gotten better for us yet. Most of us are still unhealthy and unhappy like those zoo animals that won’t procreate. Adopting a Paleo lifestyle is an attempt to revitalize us, and John’s anecdotes are excellent motivation to get out there and live a little.

The book does contain some potentially controversial material on religion (it’s one of those big cultural developments that forever changed the way we lived) and vegetarianism (how it fails to be “part of the solution”), but John raises the subjects tactfully. It’s clear that he respects anyone trying to live a healthier, more ethical life. He makes strong arguments for why it falls to the meat-eaters to be the advocates for animal welfare. Even back when I was a vegan, I don’t think I would have been able to argue with any of the points he raises. (I did, after all, wind up adopting Paleo.)

It’s an excellent book, and I’m not just saying that because I’m a history and health buff. The Paleo Manifesto is the book for anyone that wants to learn about our hunter-gatherer roots and why emulating the lifestyle of our ancestors will result in better health. It’s the book for anyone that isn’t convinced by anecdotal evidence but doesn’t want to dive head-first into medical journals. John is a fascinating individual with a great narrative voice, and even if you get nothing else out of it, you will get a great story.

Facebook0Tweet0Pin0LinkedIn0

Category: Marketing

Get the Definitive AIP Resource

 

The Paleo Approach is the New York Times bestselling epic guidebook that explains all of the detailed WHYs behind every facet of the Paleo Autoimmune Protocol.

Get Your Copy HERE!

You may also like

  • the paleo manifesto

  • the paleo manifesto

  • the paleo manifesto

  • autoimmune paleo cookbook
    Book Review: The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook by Mickey Trescott

    Are you following The Paleo Approach and are looking for…

  • Book Review: One-Pot Paleo by Jenny Castaneda

    This review was written by my assistant Christina. Feeling overwhelmed…

  • the paleo manifesto

  • the paleo manifesto

  • the paleo manifesto

  • the paleo manifesto

  • autoimmune paleo cookbook
    Book Review: The Autoimmune Paleo Cookbook by Mickey Trescott

    Are you following The Paleo Approach and are looking for…

  • Book Review: One-Pot Paleo by Jenny Castaneda

    This review was written by my assistant Christina. Feeling overwhelmed…

  • the paleo manifesto

Previous Post: « Are all lectins bad? (and what are lectins, anyway?)
Next Post: Call to Action! Save Dr. Terry Wahls TEDx-IowaCity Talk! »
  • Contact
  • Media Requests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Affiliate
  • Refund Policy

Lithium Apple logo

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Pinterest
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Itunes

Site Footer

Disclaimer: The majority of the links in ThepaleoMom.com posts and sidebar are affiliate program links.
This means that (most of the time) when you purchase a product linked from my site, I receive a commission.

Copyright © 2021 The Paleo Mom · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc.