Paleo Diet includes food that our ancestors of the pre-historic era used to eat. It is also called the ‘Stone Age Diet’, meaning you have to eat what stone age humans did. It was invented in the 1970s by gastroenterologist Walter Voegtlin.
It includes some plant based food and some animal based food. This is basically a high fiber and high protein diet.
In this diet, you can only eat food which hunter-gatherers used to eat. In pre-historic era, there were no farmers; so we have to avoid grains, legumes and dairy products. Processed foods are totally avoided.
In this type of diet, portions are not given so you can eat only when you feel hungry. You have to control yourself from overeating. The only drink allowed in this diet is water. You can drink water whenever you feel thirsty. Honey is the only sugar that you can consume, refined sugar is not allowed.
Foods That We Can Eat In Paleo Diet
Lean meat, eggs, fish, foods rich in Omega 3 fatty acids like salmon, seafood, fresh fruits, nuts like almonds, walnuts, plant-based oils such as olive oil, soybean oil etc.
Foods That We Can’t Eat In Paleo Diet
Grains such as wheat, oats, rice, starchy vegetables like potatoes, legumes, beans, dairy products like milk, cheese, butter, curd, artificial sweeteners, salt, refined sugar etc.
Let’s look into the pros and cons of the Paleo Diet.
Healthy Diet
Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables may reduce blood pressure.
Weight Loss
Improved Glucose Tolerance
Better Appetite Management
Increased consumption of fruits and vegetables helps to maintain vitamin A, C, E balance.
Paleo diet reduces salt intake which means low sodium intake.
It will help in reducing blood pressure and reduces risk of heart diseases.
The food you eat is without any preservatives or procedure on it.
High protein and fats diet gives feeling of fullness.
CONS:
Typical paleo diet excludes milk and milk products so it may lead to vitamin D and calcium deficiency.
Vitamin D and calcium deficiency affects bone health.
Saturated fats and proteins would be consumed above recommended levels.
Overconsumption of saturated fats and proteins may lead to increased risk of kidney and heart diseases and also certain cancers.
This diet can be expensive if you are buying fish and meat regularly.
For vegetarians, it can be a bit difficult to follow as it excludes beans, grains and dairy products.
For athletes, it could be difficult to do just with fruits and vegetables as they need carbohydrates in a considerable amount per day.
Salt and dairy restriction may also lead to Iodine Deficiency.
Summary
This diet is expensive because of food products like meat and fish. It is also time consuming because it takes time to prepare unprocessed food. You can try to achieve some health benefits by doing exercise and eating a balanced healthy diet with a lot of fruits and vegetables
