Pete Evans's paleo diet spreads to MKR contestants

My Kitchen Rules (MKR) contestants have been inspired by judge Pete Evans to take on the paleo diet.

Series contestant Monique Fitzgerald, 32, has converted to the high protein diet made famous by the celebrity chef and swears by it so much she wants her four young children to follow it too.

The Mount Druitt police officer told The Daily Telegraph, “Being paleo has had a lot of health benefits for me. I’m full of energy and my kids have allergies so I’m in the process of rolling out paleo to all of us.”

Evans believes his paleo ways are “changing lives for the better,” he told the paper, however some may argue otherwise.

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Health experts slammed Evans’ paleo cookbook for kids, Bubba Yum Yum: The Paleo Way back in March 2015, claiming the diet “could lead to the death of a baby."

Professor Heather Yeatman, president of the Public Health Association of Australia told SBS, “The department is concerned about the inadequate nutritional values of some of the foods, in particular for infants.”

While adults are free to follow fad diets, paediatric dietician Ms Katz told SBS "they shouldn’t be prescribed to infants as they have different nutritional needs."

The ‘hunt and gather’ diet apparently gained popularity among contestants following fellow judge, Manu Feildel’s 7kg weight loss achieved when he adopted the paleo philosophy for 10 weeks.

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“I’ve stopped now,” Feildel told The Daily Telegraph, “but I’ve kept some of the philosophy of it and I’ve been going to the gym and I feel better and younger.”

The seventh series of Seven's My Kitchen Rules will premiere on February 1.

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