Questions about the paleo diet theory

Some experts have argued that the idea the paleo diet is based on isn't the full story. Arguments for a more complex understanding of how our dietary, or nutritional, needs have changed include:

• Many things — not only farming — shaped how human nutritional needs changed. Diets in early humans were varied because of differences in geography, climate and the availability of food.
• Archaeological researchers have found tools for grinding grains at 30,000-year-old sites — well before the introduction of farming. Researchers also have studied microfossils of plants found in the dental remains of Paleolithic humans and Neanderthals. These studies have shown that their diets included wild grains.
• Genetic research has shown that important evolutionary changes continued after the Paleolithic era. These include changes in the expression of genes related to the breakdown, or digestion, of starches in grains and lactose in milk.