I've been hearing about the Paleo Diet for a while. I knew it was based around whole foods, but I didn't know much else about it. As it turns out, I've been eating a very similar diet for a while. I would like to take the opportunity to introduce the Paleo Diet, its benefits, and a few recommendations on how to enhance it.
Given the significant rise in the use of insecticides/herbicides and GMOs in farming, as well as the use of dangerous preservatives and artificial ingredients like sweeteners, food dyes, and food fillers, the Paleo Diet was introduced as a means to return us to a more natural diet.
On the Paleo Diet, processed foods are eliminated for two reasons. First, they are typically loaded with salt, sugar, white flour, and fat, which are known for their negative affects on good health. Second, the chemical content of these foods can be very dangerous, and certainly unnatural. Eating a whole foods diet by itself would change most people's health, but there are additional factors in the Paleo Diet, some that are not as simple to understand.
This diet also eliminates grains and beans/legumes. This may be surprising to some people. The reason is that both have what's called phytic acid, which keeps your body from digesting and utilizing all of the nutrients in the food. They, along with dairy, also contain dangerous lectins, which are often responsible for additional digestion issues. While convenient, the human digestive system is not designed for grains and legumes, and is not efficient in using nutrients from these sources.
Dairy is to be avoided, although not all Paleo followers adhere to this. I don't eat dairy, because it is not natural for a human being to drink the milk of another animal, particularly into adulthood. No animal species on earth drinks milk past infancy. If you are going to drink milk, I suggest raw milk or low-pasteurized and non-homogonized varieties, if you can find them.
I've listed the restrictions. Now, here is the actual diet. Protein comes from organic, grass-fed beef, organic poultry, wild-caught fish, and pasture-raised eggs. Carbohydrates come from organic fruit, vegetables, and tubers. The fat in your diet will come from the saturated animal fat plus moderate amounts of nuts, seeds, avocados, and oils. Many recommend reducing fruit intake if you are trying to lose weight. It can be high in sugar, but it is natural sugar and doesn't have the same impact on blood sugar or digestion. I recommend getting a healthy portion of your carbs from fruit.
Many believe the Paleo Diet is something similar to the Atkins' Diet, because Paleo is often referred to as The Caveman Diet. Paleo is not an all-meat or low-carb diet unless you apply the guidelines improperly. It is recommended that every meal has both protein and carbs from fruit and vegetables. I recommend a 40/40/20 breakdown of macronutrients, although some will recommend that fat intake can go above 20% to as much as a third of your caloric needs. If the additional calories are coming from nuts and seeds, it is probably not bad, but I would try the 20% limit first.
The Paleo Diet is clean and healthy. Many have experienced improvements in health, energy, and weight loss as a result of adopting the Paleo Diet. It is energizing and given the considerable amount of chemicals and dangerous food additives in our food supply, it is worth trying.
Given the significant rise in the use of insecticides/herbicides and GMOs in farming, as well as the use of dangerous preservatives and artificial ingredients like sweeteners, food dyes, and food fillers, the Paleo Diet was introduced as a means to return us to a more natural diet.
On the Paleo Diet, processed foods are eliminated for two reasons. First, they are typically loaded with salt, sugar, white flour, and fat, which are known for their negative affects on good health. Second, the chemical content of these foods can be very dangerous, and certainly unnatural. Eating a whole foods diet by itself would change most people's health, but there are additional factors in the Paleo Diet, some that are not as simple to understand.
This diet also eliminates grains and beans/legumes. This may be surprising to some people. The reason is that both have what's called phytic acid, which keeps your body from digesting and utilizing all of the nutrients in the food. They, along with dairy, also contain dangerous lectins, which are often responsible for additional digestion issues. While convenient, the human digestive system is not designed for grains and legumes, and is not efficient in using nutrients from these sources.
Dairy is to be avoided, although not all Paleo followers adhere to this. I don't eat dairy, because it is not natural for a human being to drink the milk of another animal, particularly into adulthood. No animal species on earth drinks milk past infancy. If you are going to drink milk, I suggest raw milk or low-pasteurized and non-homogonized varieties, if you can find them.
I've listed the restrictions. Now, here is the actual diet. Protein comes from organic, grass-fed beef, organic poultry, wild-caught fish, and pasture-raised eggs. Carbohydrates come from organic fruit, vegetables, and tubers. The fat in your diet will come from the saturated animal fat plus moderate amounts of nuts, seeds, avocados, and oils. Many recommend reducing fruit intake if you are trying to lose weight. It can be high in sugar, but it is natural sugar and doesn't have the same impact on blood sugar or digestion. I recommend getting a healthy portion of your carbs from fruit.
Many believe the Paleo Diet is something similar to the Atkins' Diet, because Paleo is often referred to as The Caveman Diet. Paleo is not an all-meat or low-carb diet unless you apply the guidelines improperly. It is recommended that every meal has both protein and carbs from fruit and vegetables. I recommend a 40/40/20 breakdown of macronutrients, although some will recommend that fat intake can go above 20% to as much as a third of your caloric needs. If the additional calories are coming from nuts and seeds, it is probably not bad, but I would try the 20% limit first.
The Paleo Diet is clean and healthy. Many have experienced improvements in health, energy, and weight loss as a result of adopting the Paleo Diet. It is energizing and given the considerable amount of chemicals and dangerous food additives in our food supply, it is worth trying.
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