Can You Go Primal with Food Allergies or Restrictions?

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Over the past couple months, I’ve steadily been accumulating questions from readers with food allergies and food restrictions looking for assistance. They are all interested in giving the Primal Blueprint lifestyle an honest shot, but because they can’t eat certain foods, many of which enjoy an (real or imagined) exalted place in our community, they need help. Can it be done without eating red meat? Can it be done as a vegetarian? Can one eat Primal without eating land animals? Can a person succeed without tree nuts? Without coconut products? Are almonds essential? Can a vegan succeed on this eating plan? Are these nothing but minor speed bumps on the road to Primal, or something more serious? Let’s find out.

I’m allergic to tree nuts…and they are such a big part of the Primal Blueprint diet. Is it possible to still succeed on the plan in a healthy way without eating nuts?

Terri

Definitely. I actually wouldn’t say that tree nuts are “a big part” of the eating plan, but rather supplementary garnishes to be added as desired/tolerated. They aren’t essential. Many people who are just starting out with this stuff turn to nuts as their go-to snacks, because they’re low-carb, high-fat, and relatively convenient. This gives nuts the allure of essentiality. They are not. Nuts make a fine snack, sure, but they also tend to run pretty high in omega-6 fats. While there’s nothing wrong with some whole foods-based linoleic acid from time to time – eating a walnut is not the same as quaffing rancid seed oil, after all – making nuts a “big part” of your diet will likely result in a lopsided omega-3:omega-6 ratio. Over reliance on nuts is a common problem faced by many a Primal eater, and it’s one you’ll never have to worry about. Be happy!

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Although coconuts are popular with this crowd, they are not essential. Yes, they taste good and provide healthy medium chain saturated fats, but so do palm oil and dairy fat. Both can be worthy replacements. If your husband wants the medium chain triglycerides (MCT) for which coconut is popular, he could always try MCT oil, made up of pure medium chain triglycerides extracted and refined from coconut oil. I had a funny experience with MCT oil, and I prefer coconut oil, but it’s a perfectly reasonable, completely refined alternative stripped of all vestiges of its coconut past that should be tolerated by those allergic to coconuts (but be careful and introduce very small amounts; I’m talking a quarter teaspoon at a time, just to be safe). As for palm oil and dairy fat, go with grass-fed dairy fat and unrefined red palm oil, and you get extra vitamins and nutrients along with your medium chain triglycerides.

Just don’t think “no coconut” is a deal breaker.

I am allergic and/or intolerant to eggs and dairy and coconut (in addition to wheat, soy, yeast, etc.). Do you think it is possible for me to go Primal in that circumstance?

Laura

Yes. You’ll likely be forced to go “strict” Primal, what with no dairy and no coconut flour baked goods bound together with eggs, but I think that’s actually a blessing in disguise. Sticking to meat, vegetables, fruit, and nuts will keep you honest, and it’ll keep you away from any potentially problematic foods (even the ones that most Primal eaters readily and happily accept) that can add up rather quickly. Check out Robb Wolf’s autoimmune protocol, which restricts dairy, eggs, nightshades, wheat, soy, and all the regular neolithic foods. Since plenty of people thrive on that way of eating, and you’re just avoiding eggs, dairy, and coconut, there’s no reason you won’t succeed.

Since you’re not eating yogurt or kefir or some other fermented dairy, which is how many people work fermented foods in their diets, you should look into lacto-fermented vegetables, like sauerkraut, kimchi, or pickles.

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