“You can calorie restrict on a high carb diet as well, and you won’t see these benefits (in fact, high carb diets actually tend to increase cholesterol and a few other markers).”

Actually this is not true. A 2012 meta-analysis found low fat diets are better at reducing total cholesterol and LDL. Low carb diets are more effective at increasing HDL, decreasing triglycerides. But neither diet was more effective at reducing weight, waist girth, blood pressure, glucose & insulin levels.

The authors concluded: ‘These findings suggest that low-carbohydrate diets are at least as effective as low-fat diets at reducing weight and improving metabolic risk factors.’
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23035144

“But I know of no one who follows the paleo diet who thinks it’s magic.”

You must not have been around the Paleo movement for long then or browse Facebook or paleo blogs to see that magical thinking is common. To be fair, it’s common in most dieters, but it is part of many paleo dieters’ claims. i.e. lost weight without even trying, you can eat what you want and you wont gain weight, etc. Many people are religiously zealous and in fact, consider the diet to be magic.

“Protein intake contributes to increased lean muscle mass development- which makes Paleo an excellent diet for athletes (which is why CrossFit heavily pushes it)”

Except most athletes are not low carb for obvious reasons.

“… it’s trying to get back to an evolutionary correct, historically accurate diet for my body to function as well as it can.”

This idea seems appealing, but it doesn’t make as much sense as we wish. Which part of the paleolithic period are you referring to? In what region? Wouldn’t you be hunting wild big game and cooking it with no spices and picking random fruits (which is seasonal) to be ‘accurate’ or eating insects as well? What specifics or research can you offer for ‘historically accurate’ accounts of paleo diets?

There are a wide variety of diet preferences that work for many different people – one lesson we get from human evolution is adaptation and variability – we are unique and can thrive on a variety of diets. To say one particular diet works for all people to get as healthy as possible is not accurate and indicative of magic thinking.

Also, if you avoid dairy & sugar, you’re not going to have much fun…just sayin.

Speaking of which, ‘my diet’ doesn’t ‘preach’ anything. Mostly because I don’t have ‘a diet’, but also because I don’t tell people what to eat.

I didn’t get into the ‘scientific evidence’ that dairy and legumes ‘aren’t terribly healthy’ because I don’t find the scientific evidence of such terribly compelling. It’s scant, and outlying, and frequently taken out of context. I’m loathe to give dietary advice in the first place but I certainly wouldn’t give it based on science I don’t find credible. My dietary recommendations consist of: eat enough calories to support your activity (no starving yourself), get plenty of protein, and eat mostly whole foods. Beyond that I’ve read enough actual, credible science to know that every person is unique and has unique needs, challenges and goals, and there is no one diet that is right for every person.

As for the nonsense about low fat diets, I have no idea where you are getting it. I don’t advocate that people restrict fat, and no medical professional I’ve ever worked with has advocated restricting fat. Why would I talk about low fat diets when they’re completely irrelevant to the subject at hand?

In another vein, I’d be curious about Amber’s internal health on the diet she is on now. Clearly, her external looks fabulous, but that’s not necessarily a reflection if internal health. Not saying this is the case for her- I’m just curious. The work up I have in mind, however, is rarely performed just because.

I didn’t see one mention of evolution of our bodies, or anything on dairy or legumes and the research and scientific reasons why they aren’t terribly healthy.

Nor did you point out that modern nutrition (and your diet) preach almost the exact opposite of the Paleo diet…much to people’s detriment.

So how exactly did I reword what you said?

There is no valid scientific reason why the Paleo diet “doesn’t work for everyone” or wouldn’t work for every human being – there are plenty of “I just couldn’t hack it” and “It was too hard to do” reasons for why it doesn’t work for everyone, but wasn’t that the point of your personal responsibility in nutrition post a little while back?