The paleo diet is a high-protein, low-carbohydrate diet derived from the diet of early humans.
The paleolithic era is when the early humans used to live in caves about 2.58 million years ago. This dietary plan is indicated by the foods those people used based on hunting. This stone-age diet limits the food sources produced through farming, such as dairy products, legumes, and grains.
The studies have shown that the paleo diet can help lose weight or maintain a healthy one.
The paleo diet was created in the 1970s. Walter Voegtlin was the first person to suggest the paleo diet. Still, the paleo was not very popular until 2002, when a scientist named Lauren Cordin published a book introducing the paleo diet. Since then, The popularity of the paleo diet has increased in the world.
The paleo diet was formed because our early ancestors had fewer chronic diseases, including obesity, diabetes, and other cardiovascular diseases, and that this was due to their diet.
Although some studies suggest that the paleo diet may help weight loss and some diseases, it is difficult to follow because it is strict.
The paleo diet encourages you to include whole and organic foods such as fruits, vegetables, meat, fish, and poultry in your diet plan. On the other hand, you should cut out processed foods, whole grains, legumes, and artificial sweeteners.
According to the fans of this diet, following the paleo diet is associated with increasing the body's overall health and reducing the incidence of chronic diseases.
However, critics of this diet say that the paleo diet is minimal and can limit the intake of many nutrients needed for the body.
However, there are different types of paleo diets, each with various permitted and prohibited foods; for example, the modified paleo diet allows you to consume some dairy products, gluten-free cereals, and legumes.
The paleo diet encourages you to eat whole and healthy foods and prevents you from eating processed foods. Processed foods are high in calories that they can cause obesity and overweight. Therefore, the paleo diet can help you lose weight.
Besides, the paleo diet is high in protein, which reduces the secretion of ghrelin or the hunger hormone, so you will feel less hungry and eat less.
Recent studies on the paleo diet have shown that this diet can cause weight loss in individuals. For example, in a two-year randomized trial of obese postmenopausal women who followed the paleo diet, it was found that women who followed the paleo diet individuals lost 6.5 kg of weight and a large amount of fat burning in the abdomen and flanks after about six months.
In the first weeks of following the Pale diet, you can notice the rapid weight loss of about 11 to 22 kg. This weight loss can be inspiring, but it is mostly the water weight and loss of bloating. Being Stuck to the diet can be helpful to lose more weight.
All the foods that the hunter-gatherer people used to eat, such as:
♦ Fruits like apples, oranges, pears, bananas, avocados, strawberries, berries, etc.
♦ Vegetables such as broccoli, kale, carrots, onions, tomatoes, turnips, yams, potatoes, sweet potatoes, etc.
♦ Lean meats and low-fat cuts of beef, pork, poultry, bison, quail, venison, turkey, goose
♦ Honey
♦ Eggs
♦ Fish such as salmon, shrimp, trout, haddock, shellfish, and all the wild-caught seafood
♦ Nuts and seeds such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pumpkin seeds, macadamia nuts, cashews
♦ Plant-based oils such as olive oil and extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil
♦ Some paleo diet styles include full-fat dairy products such as butter and cheese.
There are some foods you shouldn't eat on the paleo diet, include:
♦ Grains
♦ Kinds of pasta
♦ Wheat
♦ Barley
♦ Quinoa
♦ Legumes
♦ Beans
♦ Peanuts
♦ Tofu
♦ Lentils
♦ Artificial sweeteners
♦ Dairy products
♦ Salt
♦ Sugar and table sugars
♦ High fructose corn syrups
♦ Soft drinks
♦ Candies
♦ Pastries
♦ Margarine
♦ Trans fats
♦ Processed foods
♦ Vegetables oil such as corn oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil
Potatoes are starch sources and a portion of high carbohydrate food.
The paleo diet is an off-limit diet for carbohydrates. Therefore, a potato that is a high carb tuber cannot be used as high portions.
♦ Better Losing weight
♦ Better blood pressure
♦ Better glucose tolerance
Some studies suggest that the paleo diet may improve blood sugar levels and increase insulin sensitivity in people with type 2 diabetes.
Insulin is a hormone that regulates your blood sugar. Increased insulin sensitivity makes it easier for your body cells to pick up sugar molecules from your blood and carry them into the cells, so your blood sugar will be better controlled.
A 12-week study of 34 people found that their blood sugar was better controlled after this period on a paleo diet, and their insulin sensitivity increased by about 45%.
Another similar study found that following the paleo diet resulted in better control of hemoglobin A1c levels, a factor in long-term blood glucose monitoring, indicating better long-term glycemic control.
♦ Better appetite control
♦ Better and improved blood lipid profile, Lower triglycerides
Cardiovascular disease is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.
Some authoritative studies have concluded that using the paleo diet can reduce the risk of developing these diseases by reducing cardiovascular disease risk factors.
A 4-month study of people with high LDL found that following the paleo diet increased HDL levels and decreased triglycerides and HDL (bad fats).
Another study found that after two weeks, blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglycerides decreased in people who used the paleo diet.
Due to the limitation of grains and legumes, the major source of fiber and vitamin-based plants are considering as a malnutrition issue.
For example, legumes are one of the foods restricted in the paleo diet, while this group is rich in fiber, protein, and useful minerals such as iron, zinc, etc.
Whole grains restricted in the paleo diet are also associated with a reduced risk of type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and some cancers.
The dairies are valuable sources of protein and calcium, and those are considerable, too.
The paleo diet can be beneficial in the short term to follow. Still, there is some consideration about the long-term following the paleo diet because the evidence of its practical issues is rare.
What makes the paleo diet even more challenging is that your food should be completely separate from other family members' food because you do not know what ingredients are used in the cooked food for other family members or how it is cooked and prepared. It can be a problem even when you want to have meals out.
Another problem is that paleo diet is expensive; the paleo diet is very expensive compared to other diets because you constantly have to prepare fresh and organic food for consumption.
There are some side effects that your body gets into following the paleo diet to be adapted. Such as:
♦ Cravings
♦ Bad breath
♦ Lack of energy and fatigue in the initial phase
♦ Low carb flu
♦ Low blood sugar
The modified paleo diet is a way much better to follow rather than the restricted paleo diet.
You can ease the strict paleo diet by adding some cheese or beans to the diet. Nutrient-rich foods such as kefir and yogurt can be added to the diet to make up for the absence of dairy products and solve the resulted problems.
You can use a small portion of rice, gluten-free grains and legumes, and grass-fed butter in the modified paleo diet.
You can request a paleo diet here.