What is a genuine Paleo diet?

Archeologist suggests Paleo extremists may have it wrong

The above video discusses what human actually ate during paleolithic, pre-agricultural times.  It explains that the 'Paleo' diet promoted today has very little basis in archeological reality and debunks a lot of the myths and 'rules' of Paleo eating.
Myth 1: Paleolithic people consumed large quantities of meat
More correctly, it depended on their access to plants and other food sources.  Those who lived in cold climates ate a lot of meat because they had very little access to plants in the winter.
Also, paleolithic people ate a different 'type' of meat.  That is they ate what we would call more 'organic meat', leaner meat and ate most of teh animal including the bone marrow.
This sits well with what I would define as eating a 'Paleo' diet, and for this reason why I shy away from the term, and choose to prescribe eating whole, natural, preferably organic or wild, foods.
Myth 2: Paleolithic people did not eat whole grains or legumes
Archeological evidence shows that paleo peoples had both the right tools and mouth food deposits to suggest that they ate whole grains and legumes.
I personally believe that most people can benefit from adding legumes and genuine `whole grain`foods to their diets.  `Wholegrain bread does not count because it is grains added to a sea of floury dough, and those that sit anywhere on the gluten-intolerance continuum will have better health by avoiding wheat based and other gluten containing products.
Myth 3: The foods often prescribed in The Paleo Diet is what paleolithic people ate
All food eaten today is a product of agriculture, the Netholithic transition.  All food eaten today has been domesticated over several years by selective breeding to be more edible. Examples include bananas, which in the wild are full of seeds, and lettuce, which is much more rubbery and bitter than those found in your salad,  Even extra virgin olive oil, which is very natural and requires little processing, would not have been consumed by paleolithic people because they lacked the presses to remove it, plus wild olives did not produce the large number of fruit that modern olives do.
A lot of vegetable are completely man made!  Brocolli, cauliflower, kale and brussell sprouts all came from the same wild plant species, but are different cultivas, that is the same plant was selectively bred to produce different vegetables.  Yes, they are human inventions!
What about animal products? Domesticated chickens lay eggs year round, but in the wild they are less plentiful, more difficult to find and are typically small.
How about those who swear by nuts are a `natural food`?  Almonds are seeds of a close relative to the apricot plant, but have been selectively bred to remove the cyanide from the seed so that we can eat them.

What is a genuine Paleolithic Diet?

There is no one Paleo diet.  Paleolithic people ate a variety of foods depending on what area of the world they lived in.
For example, in Wahaca, Mexico in September, they would have eaten what was abundantly available, which included lots of fruit, legumes, Agave (syrup high in fructose), and wild game, predominantly rabbits but also small birds, gopher, rabbit, deer and turtles.

What was common amongst Paleo diets?

Firstly, the diets were regional,  The amounts and types of certain foods eaten would vary upon availability in that person`s region.
Secondly, they were seasonal.  A Paleolithic person would not eat the same diet all year round because of the different seasons dictated what was freely available.
No European was eating a Californian fruit ever, but neither was a Californian eating the same fruit all year round.
Thirdly, food `packet`were generally small.  Wild food was not domesticated to produce large amounts of fruit and edible components so you had to collect from a large amount of sources to get a large amount of food.
Mobility, that is exercise, was key to finding food sources!
The plants eaten would have been tough, woody, fibrous and contain a lot more toxins and phytochemicals than those today.
Meat eaten would have been limited and very lean.

What can we learn from genuine Paleo eating?

1) There is no one correct diet. 
Eating a diverse, seasonal and varied diet is the key.
Unfortunately, most food these days available in your average supermarket is made up of only three species: corn, soy and wheat.
And even the produce we eat, ie. fruits and vegetable, are lacking in nutrients due to overfarming soils, cold storage and transportation.
That is why I recommend that all my clients take a good multivitamin and mineral, sourced from a wide variety of whole, organically farmed foods.
 2) We evolved to eat fresh foods. 
Therefore we should endeavour to eat locally grown foods that are fresh.  However some foods do contain natural preservatives like seeds and nuts.  That is why these foods have been traditionally important for agricultural populations.
Though a lot of food these days are preserved by a variety of methods (pickling, salt, sugar, smoking, and artificial preservatives) which all do the same thing, prevent bacteria growing in the food.
However, our gut contains bacteria which are good for us and play a huge role in improving our health.  What does eating these foods that are `preserved`do to our good bacteria?  It is not clear, but this is one reason is also recommend that most people could benefit from taking a good multi-strain probiotic.
4) We are meant to eat whole foods in their natural state.
That way you ensure that you get all the fiber, roughage and vitamins that your body needs. Even the parts that your body can not digest, that is the insoluable fiber, are very important.  Insoluable fiber regulates metabolism, blood sugar levels, digestion and absorption of nutrients.
As outlined above, a lot of food these days has had its indigestible components removed and it is highly processed, therefore it is very difficult to get enough of these components in your diet.
That is why many of my some many of my clients have had success with taking TNT, which contains 18 sources of soluable and insoluable fiber, and 12 vitamins and 11 minerals essential for healthy growth and good health.
A lot of high fiber foods are prebiotics, which means they encourage good bacteria to grow in the gut.
A prebiotic supplement can also work alongside a probiotic to support the needs of those who want to rebalance their friendly bacteria. Caprylic Acid Combination, which contains Elecampane
root, Black Walnut hulls and Red Raspberry leaves, is an example of a prebiotic.
By removing nutrients from their foods through processing, we have removed the processed which trigger the sensations of fullness and satiation.  For example, it would be impossible for a Paleolithic person to consume the same amount of sugar which is in a bottle of soda because they would need to consume 8.5 feet of sugar cane to do so, which would be impossible, certainly in the time it takes to consume that bottled drink.
All the evidence above, is why I recommend that my clients eat a varied diet, containing mainly whole foods in their natural state, ensuring they get enough fiber and encourage good bacteria in the gut.