Can someone kindly evaluate my Argument Task? (Paleo Diet)

[Rose Mary Johnson]

Argument Task Prompt:

Paleo diets, in which one eats how early hominids (human ancestors) did, are becoming increasingly popular. Proponents claim our bodies evolved to eat these types of food, especially bone broth, a soup made by cooking animal bones for several hours. They believe it has many health-promoting nutrients, such as cartilage, which can heal our joints, and chondroitin, which promotes nerve regeneration. Skeptics point out that ingested cartilage can’t replenish cartilage in your knees or elbows and ingested chondroitin doesn’t make our brains any healthier. Yet, there is strong anecdotal evidence that people who consume bone broth have fewer metabolic and inflammatory diseases than those who don’t. Therefore, ancient humans knew something about our physiology that we don’t, and that by emulating the way they ate, we can cure many chronic illnesses.

My Passage

Though this written piece looks well research and structured, it is prone to numerous logical fallacies. The author of the passage seems keen to present Paleo diets as having been developed through sacred wisdom of our forefathers and as a sure shot remedy for many diseases.

One of the many flaws of this essays is that is assumes that the physiology and internal anatomy of the humanoids is similar to humans today. However, this is a tall claim. Evolution over thousands of years can cause adaption to different perils and diseases, which brings about immense change in the structure and function of the human body. This implies that following a Paleo diet does not necessarily have the same effect on the human body today as compared to our ancient ancestors.

Another point of contention is that the author recommends Paleo diets by relying heavily on anecdotal evidence. There is a gaping absence of conclusive scientific theory. But that is ignored by the author, hastily proceeds to commend the ancient knowledge of our ancestors and conclude that it is a cure for many chronic illnesses

Finally, blindly emulating a seemingly healthy habit of human ancestors does not guarantee relief from a situation or illness. In fact, it could have several side effects. These side effects can even be invisible and can have irreversible and dire long term effects. The author of the passage has a rosy outlook to the outcomes of a Paleo diet and does not take any effort to consider and shortcomings and adverse effects of the same.

To conclude, as shown above the the passage clearly depends on many assumptions which does not give a strong ground to consider following Paleo diet. The author has a hazy and biased approach to the benefits of this diet and is quick to draw conclusions in favor of Paleo diets that are not backed by any scientific research or empirical data.