Our sedentary lifestyle in combination with the modern way of eating processed food rich with sugar and fat cause health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity in humans. That’s why founders of the Paleo diet (Paleolithic diet), known also as caveman diet, propose to cut off modern food and as the name of the diet suggests to return to the way man in Paleolithic period ate.
In the Paleolithic age (2,5 million years ago to 10,000 B.C.) early humans lived in caves and simple huts and ate what the nature offered, hunting birds and wild animals with basic stone and bone tools. In the purest form, the Paleo diet allows you to eat only what human in that age ate with regular exercise in way to stay healthy.
It’s almost impossible to know exactly what our ancestors ate in different parts of the world, but researchers believe their diet consisted of whole foods. This means there is no strict eating plan like in other diets, because early people probably ate what was available at the time and place where they lived. You can adapt the diet based on your own preferences and personal needs and what nature offers in the place you live.
The major point is to eat whole foods such as: fish, meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables, seeds, nuts, spices, herbs, healthy oils and fats.
Paleo diet foods to avoid:
– processed foods,
– sugar and high-fructose corn syrup: soft drinks, candy, ice cream, pastries, fruit juices and many more,
– grains: including pasta and bread, wheat, rye, spelt, barley…
– legumes: lentils, beans etc.
– most dairy products: especially low-fat, some versions of the paleo diet include some full-fat dairy like cheese and butter),
– vegetable oils: sunflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil / paleo allows to consume virgin olive oil and avocado oil,
– artificial sweeteners: saccharin, aspartame, cyclamates, acesulfame potassium, sucralose,
– margarine and trans fats found in processed foods.
It’s good to consume organic food if you have that opportunity or try to choose the least processed option.
Over the years, the Paleo community has evolved and there are few version of the diet that allow some modern food that are considered healthy by the science, such as quality grass-fed butter and gluten-free grains like rice. Many people now consider paleo as starting point or template to base their diet on, not exactly a strict plan of rules to follow.
There is no concrete scientific proof that this diet wards off diseases and there is no enough evidence whether this eating approach is totally healthy and without any risks because no one has researched it to any degree. Some of the researchers warn about potential calcium deficiency and other nutrients that might be missed by not consuming dairy products and certain grains.
Generally, the paleo diet is a good choice that have health benefits and can help in weight loss by cutting out processed food, processed meats and sugar-sweetened beverages and replace them with lot of fruit, vegetable and healthy fat in combination with physical activity. It’s good to consult a registered dietitian that can help you follow paleo diet or some of its not that strict versions and adjust them to your personal needs and be sure to take all the needed nutrients.