I've been eating a healthy, clean diet for quite some time, consisting of organic, whole foods while avoiding pesticide- and GMO-laden foods as well as most processed foods with chemical additives. I kept hearing about the Paleo Diet, but I didn't know much about it. The funny thing is that it turns out I was eating the Paleo Diet without even knowing it. The purpose of this article is to explain the diet, why it makes sense, and apply some tweaks to avoid minor pitfalls.
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.
The Paleo Diet avoids all grains and legumes. They both contain phytic acid, which binds to nutrients in food and prevents absorption, meaning you are not getting the nutrients that are labeled on the food package. In addition, potentially toxic lectins are highest in grains, legumes, and dairy, which can cause digestive and autoimmune problems. Our bodies are not designed to digest these types of food.
I recommend that Paleo followers avoid dairy, but not all followers do. I avoid dairy because drinking the milk of another animal is not natural nor is doing so in adulthood. Raw milk, if available, or low-pasteurized milk are the best options, should you choose to incorporate dairy into your diet.
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.
The Paleo Diet is sometimes criticized as an all-meat or low-carb diet like Atkins, but it is not. It specifies certain carbs to avoid, but fruit or veggies are recommended at every meal. Most people don't like to count calories, but I find that a great balance exists when 40% of calories come from both protein and carbs (it's going to be a healthy proportion of fruit bc veggies are so low in calories), and the remaining 20% from fat, which will consist of the fats from the protein you eat and any nuts, seeds, oils, or avocados that you eat.
I recommend trying the Paleo Diet or at least learning more about it with the hopes you will eventually consider trying it. The diet is clean, nutritious, and will give you an energy boost while helping you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.
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.
The Paleo Diet avoids all grains and legumes. They both contain phytic acid, which binds to nutrients in food and prevents absorption, meaning you are not getting the nutrients that are labeled on the food package. In addition, potentially toxic lectins are highest in grains, legumes, and dairy, which can cause digestive and autoimmune problems. Our bodies are not designed to digest these types of food.
I recommend that Paleo followers avoid dairy, but not all followers do. I avoid dairy because drinking the milk of another animal is not natural nor is doing so in adulthood. Raw milk, if available, or low-pasteurized milk are the best options, should you choose to incorporate dairy into your diet.
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.
The Paleo Diet is sometimes criticized as an all-meat or low-carb diet like Atkins, but it is not. It specifies certain carbs to avoid, but fruit or veggies are recommended at every meal. Most people don't like to count calories, but I find that a great balance exists when 40% of calories come from both protein and carbs (it's going to be a healthy proportion of fruit bc veggies are so low in calories), and the remaining 20% from fat, which will consist of the fats from the protein you eat and any nuts, seeds, oils, or avocados that you eat.
I recommend trying the Paleo Diet or at least learning more about it with the hopes you will eventually consider trying it. The diet is clean, nutritious, and will give you an energy boost while helping you lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.
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