An Easy And Detailed Guide On The Paleo Diet

An Easy And Detailed Guide On The Paleo Diet

The Paleo diet was created to resemble what human hunter gatherer ancestors ate thousands of years ago. Even though it is impossible to evaluate what exactly human ancestors ate in varied parts of the world, researchers think that their diet consists of whole food. 

By abiding by a whole food based diet and leading a physically active life, hunter gatherers presumably had much lower rates of various lifestyle diseases like diabetes, obesity, and also heart disease. 

In fact, various studies recommend that this particular diet can lead to prominent weight loss and major enhancements in health. This guide is a basic introduction to this diet, offering a simple meal plan and other important data.

The Aim Of The Paleo Diet

The focus of this diet is to go back to a way of consuming that is more similar to what early humans consumed. The reasoning behind the diet is that our body is genetically mismatched to the modern diet that developed with farming practices which is an idea known as the discordance hypothesis. 

Farming altered what people consumed and established grains, dairy, and legumes as an added staples in the human diet. This relatively rapid and late alteration in diet, as per the hypothesis, outpaced the ability of the body to adapt. This mismatch is thought to be a crucial contributing factor to the prevalence of obesity, heart disease, and diabetes currently.

A Paleo Diet Meal Plan

There is no one ideal way for everyone to eat and paleolithic humans thrived on a variety of diets, that depends on what was available at the time and where in this world they resided. Some consumed a low carb diet high in animal foods, while others followed a high carb diet with lots of plants. Think of this as a general guideline, not something embedded in stone. You can adapt all of this for your personal requirement and preference. 

Here is the basic paleo diet food list:

  • Eat: Meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, eggs, nuts, seeds, spices, healthy fats, herbs, and oils.
  • Avoid: Sugar, soft drinks, grains, processed foods, most dairy products, legumes, vegetable oils, margarine, artificial sweeteners, and trans fats.

Foods To Eat In Paleo Diet

Base your diet on unprocessed, whole food. The foods to eat include:

  • Meat: Lamb, beef, turkey, chicken, pork, and others. 
  • Fish And Seafood: Trout, salmon, shrimp, haddock, and many more. Choose wild caught if you can. 
  • Eggs: Select free range, Omega-3, or pastured enriched eggs. 
  • Vegetables: Kale, peppers, onions, broccoli, tomatoes, carrots, and many more. 
  • Fruits: Bananas, apples, pears, oranges, strawberries, avocados, blueberries, and many more. 
  • Tubers: Sweet potatoes, potatoes, turnips, yams, and many more. 
  • Nuts And Seeds: Macadamia nuts, almonds, sunflower seeds, hazelnut, pumpkin seeds, and many more. 
  • Healthy Fats And Oils: Avocado oil, extra virgin olive oil, and others. 
  • Salt And Spices: Garlic, sea salt, turmeric, rosemary, and many more. 

Try to select grass-fed, pasture raised, and organic if it is feasible for you. If not, just ensure to go for the least processed choice.

Foods To Avoid In Paleo Diet

If you are on a this diet, you should avoid these ingredients and foods. 

  • Grains: Involves pasta and bread, spelled, wheat, barley, rye, and many more. 
  • High fructose corn syrup and sugar: Fruit juices, soft drinks, candy, table sugar, ice cream, pastries, and many others. 
  • Legumes: Lentils, beans, and many more. 
  • Dairy: Avoid most dairy products, especially low fat items. 
  • Some Vegetable Oils: Sunflower oil, soybean oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil, rapeseed oil, and many others. 
  • Trans Fats: Found in margarine and several other processed foods. Usually termed as “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” oils.

Modified Paleo Diet

Over the last few years, the paleo sector has developed quite a bit. There are now various versions of this diet. Many of them enable some modern foods that as per science are healthy. These involve quality grass fed butter and also some gluten free grains such as rice. Many people presently think of paleo as a template to base your diet on, not importantly a strict set of paleo diet rules that you must abide by. 

Sensible Indulgence

The beverages and foods stated below are ideally fine in small quantities:

  • Wine: Quality red wine is rich in antioxidants and beneficial nutrients. 
  • Dark Chocolate: Select one that has 70% or greater cocoa content. Quality dark chocolate is very nutritious and very healthy. 

Outcomes Of Paleo Diet

A range of randomized clinical trials has made comparisons of the paleo diet to other eating mechanisms like the Diabetes Diet or the Mediterranean Diet. Overall, these trials recommend that this diet may offer some advantages when compared with diets that consist of fruits, lean meats, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and low fat dairy. These advantages may include:

  • More weight loss
  • Improved glucose tolerance
  • Better blood pressure control
  • Lower triglycerides
  • Better appetite management

However, longer trials with huge groups of people randomly assigned to varied diets are required to evaluate the long term, overall benefits and possible risks associated with this diet. 

Conclusion

The paleo diet benefits is more than its disadvantages. Which of these advantages matters the most depends on your personal preferences and the response of your own body to the diet. We are not for or against Paleo but speak with your physician prior to you making a big alteration to your diet.

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Prasoon Soni

A health enthusiast and dietician, Prasoon Soni writes his blogs with utmost precision and all the information that you need to live a healthy life.

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