About PaleoPower: Ancestral Nutrition for Real Life in South Africa

PaleoPower is a South African ancestral nutrition resource founded in 2013 by Morgan Bell — built on a simple belief: that what you eat is the most powerful lever you have over your long-term health. This site exists to help you understand the paleo diet and real-food eating in plain, honest language, grounded in research and lived experience.

Over a decade and thousands of articles later, PaleoPower remains independently run, editorially honest, and deeply South African in its perspective. Whether you're brand new to ancestral eating or looking to refine what you already know, this is where to start.

Who We Are

PaleoPower is an independent South African health and nutrition website dedicated to ancestral eating, real-food principles, and practical guidance on the paleo, banting, and low-carb lifestyle. The site was established in December 2013 and has grown into one of the most widely read paleo diet resources on the African continent.

Morgan's Story: From Sick to Thriving

The story behind PaleoPower began not in a nutrition laboratory but in a doctor's waiting room — a frustrating cycle of tests, medications, and symptoms that never quite went away. Morgan Bell, the site's founder and chief contributor, spent years managing the effects of undiagnosed coeliac disease alongside persistent allergies, digestive problems, and low energy that made ordinary life feel like a constant uphill climb.

The turning point came through a combination of elimination dieting, research into ancestral nutrition, and discovering the evidence behind gluten intolerance and intestinal permeability. Removing wheat and processed foods — and replacing them with quality animal proteins, vegetables, healthy fats, and seasonal South African produce — produced results that years of conventional dietary advice had not.

That personal transformation is not presented here as a cure-all or anecdotal miracle. It is the reason Morgan has spent over a decade researching, writing, and refining the information on this site — so that others navigating similar questions have a reliable, South African starting point.

Morgan is not a registered medical professional or licensed nutritionist. This is stated clearly and consistently across the site. All content is research-informed and cites credible sources, but it is not a substitute for individualised medical advice. Readers with complex health conditions are always encouraged to consult a qualified healthcare practitioner.

What Is the Paleo Diet?

The core premise of the paleo diet is straightforward: human physiology evolved over hundreds of thousands of years on a diet of wild animals, fish, foraged plants, and seasonal fruits. The modern industrial food environment — characterised by highly processed, hyper-palatable foods engineered for overconsumption — arrived so recently in evolutionary terms that our metabolic systems have had little time to adapt.

This mismatch between evolutionary biology and the contemporary food supply is increasingly recognised in nutritional science as a contributing factor to the global rise in metabolic disease, including type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity. Research from institutions including Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health has consistently highlighted the role of ultra-processed food consumption in driving these outcomes.

What the Paleo Diet Is Not

Paleo is frequently mischaracterised as a purely carnivorous, high-protein, or weight-loss-only diet. It is none of these exclusively. A well-designed paleo approach is nutritionally diverse — rich in vegetables, varied proteins, and quality fats — and is as relevant to someone managing an autoimmune condition or digestive disorder as it is to someone pursuing body composition goals.

Paleo in South Africa: Banting, Braai & Beyond

South Africa has a uniquely fertile context for ancestral eating. Long before the global paleo movement gained traction, South Africans were already eating in ways that align closely with these principles — biltong, boerewors, braaied meats, fresh fish on the coast, wild game in rural areas, and a produce market culture that makes real food accessible in most urban centres.

The banting movement, popularised locally by Professor Tim Noakes and the Real Meal Revolution from 2013 onward, introduced millions of South Africans to low-carbohydrate, high-fat eating. The overlap between banting and paleo is substantial, though the two frameworks differ in notable ways.

Many South Africans follow a practical hybrid — paleo-leaning in food choices with banting-influenced carbohydrate restriction. PaleoPower covers both approaches and helps readers identify what works for their individual goals and physiology. For a detailed comparison, read our guide on what is banting and how it differs from paleo.

Our Mission & Editorial Standards

PaleoPower's mission is to make ancestral nutrition accessible, honest, and practically useful — specifically for South Africans navigating a food environment filled with conflicting advice, processed-food marketing, and dietary trends that rarely last.

What We Will Always Do

• Cite peer-reviewed research, named studies, and reputable institutions when making health claims
• Distinguish clearly between strong evidence, emerging research, and informed opinion
• Disclose any commercial relationships, affiliate links, or sponsored content in compliance with ASA (Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa) guidelines
• Update articles when new evidence supersedes older information
• Recommend professional medical consultation for any reader managing a diagnosed health condition

What We Will Never Do

• Make unverified cure or treatment claims for any disease or condition
• Use clickbait headlines or manipulative emotional framing to drive traffic
• Recommend products without genuine assessment of their merit
• Publish content that has not been reviewed against current nutritional science