By Paleo Life Coach Editorial Team · Last updated September 25, 2026
Every number on this site should trace back to someone who measured it. Below are the sources we rely on: the organizations and databases our guides cite most often, grouped by what we use them for, with one line on how each one shapes our articles. It’s a companion to our editorial standards, which explain how we research, review and update content.
At a glance: Our nutrition figures come from USDA FoodData Central. Food prices come from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and USDA. Diet evidence comes from peer-reviewed studies indexed in PubMed and from Harvard’s Nutrition Source. Food-safety guidance comes from the FDA and university extension services. We link each source at the point we use it.
Where do our nutrition numbers come from?
| Source | What we use it for |
|---|---|
| USDA FoodData Central | Calories, protein, carbohydrate, fat, fiber and minerals for every recipe, meal plan and food table; we compute totals from its SR Legacy dataset. |
| National Academies Dietary Reference Intakes (macronutrients) | Reference values such as the adequate fiber intake of 14 g per 1,000 calories. |
| National Academies DRIs for calcium and vitamin D | Calcium and vitamin D targets when we flag nutrient gaps on a dairy-free diet. |
| FDA Daily Values | How nutrients compare with the percentages printed on food labels. |
Where do our food prices come from?
| Source | What we use it for |
|---|---|
| U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics average price data | Monthly U.S. average prices for eggs, chicken, beef, pork and some produce in our cost articles; we always state the month. |
| USDA Food Plans: Cost of Food at Home | Official weekly food budgets (Thrifty, Low-Cost, Moderate, Liberal) that we compare paleo grocery costs against. |
| USDA Economic Research Service fruit and vegetable prices | Average retail prices and edible yields for produce that BLS doesn’t track. |
Which research and health authorities do we cite?
| Source | What we use it for |
|---|---|
| Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, The Nutrition Source | Balanced diet reviews of paleo, keto and Mediterranean eating, including their potential pitfalls. |
| PubMed (U.S. National Library of Medicine) | Randomized trials and meta-analyses, such as the 2015 paleo meta-analysis in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition; we cite the study, not a press summary. |
| National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute | The DASH eating plan when we compare it with paleo. |
| Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 | The current federal dietary guidance we measure paleo against. |
| MedlinePlus | Plain-language background on nutrients and health conditions. |
Where does our food-safety guidance come from?
| Source | What we use it for |
|---|---|
| FDA Safe Food Handling | Safe minimum cooking temperatures, thawing methods and the 2-hour rule in every recipe. |
| FDA Refrigerator & Freezer Storage Chart | How long leftovers and frozen meals keep. |
| Clemson Cooperative Extension, Home & Garden Information Center | Freezing prepared foods, including which foods freeze poorly. |
| National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of Georgia | Packaging and freezing methods for batch cooking. |
Which program rules and history sources do we use?
| Source | What we use it for |
|---|---|
| Whole30 official program rules | The current elimination and reintroduction rules when we compare Whole30 with paleo; we recheck them at each update. |
| Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Human Origins | Background on the Paleolithic era and early human diets for our history articles. |
How do we choose and check sources?
We prefer primary sources: the agency that collected the data, the journal that published the trial, or the organization that wrote the rules. Before citing a page, we open it and confirm the specific figure or statement is there. When a source updates, such as a new month of price data or revised program rules, we update the article and its “last updated” date.
We don’t cite anonymous surveys, affiliate reviews or claims we can’t trace to their origin. If you spot an error or an outdated number, please tell us through our contact page and we’ll check it against the original source.
To see these sources in use, start with what is the paleo diet, the paleo diet comparisons hub or our paleo meal plans.