The paleo diet is a nutrition model inspired by the diet of our ancestors from the Paleolithic period. Community adapted its nutrition to the climatic conditions and resources that existed in its area. It seems to be very natural diet, but is it good for everybody? Why paleo diet is so popular among young and elderly people?
Research shows that the health status of hunter-gatherers was much better than that of modern humans. It was possible by low incidence of cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cancer. Communities from paleolithic period ate fresh, mainly unprocessed food sources. So now we need to explain how does it look like diet during the Paleolithic period. People ate wild animal meat, fish, fruit, root, tuber, leafy vegetables, eggs and a lot of another things. Obviously, people ate insects and larvae too. Modern people eat everything except for insects and larvae. In contrast to our ancestors we eat special prepared food – not raw.
What is paleo diet in modern world? Nutrition is based on both lean and even more fat, organic meat, seafood, non-starchy vegetables and of course fruit. Legumes, cereal products, dairy products and highly processed products are excluded. The paleo diet consists mainly of vegetables, fruits, eggs, nuts, fish, mushrooms and meat, and excludes cereals, sugar and oils.
Do you think that paleo diet is very stricte and time-consuming? Nothing more wrong. To make it easier to maintain this diet, you can prepare some sweet snacks. According to rules of diet you can eat nuts, apples and even dark chocolate. Unfortunately, this is a shortage diet, not containing basic products to which we are accustomed and without which it is difficult to do without. Certainly it is not a diet for vegetarians and vegans, because a lot of fish and meat in it. There are a lot of prohibited products i.e. refined oils (corn, sunflower), peanuts, salt,
dairy products: yogurt, kefir, milk, cheese, vegetables that contain a lot of starch (e.g. potatoes), processed articles, cereal products (cereals, rice, bread, pasta), products that contain refined sugar, pulses.
The natural consequences are consuming less salt. That is very good thing which has a positive effect on health. Salt is ingredients a lot of meal and it contains in everything. Most people when they hear the word “diet” mean limiting the amount of food or calories they consume. They are wrong, because diet is nothing but a diet. The supply of calories and macronutrients is important. This diet does not limit the quantity of food, but only qualitatively.
Why paleo diet is good?
The paleo diet is more than normal diet. In short, it consisted of consuming what the then-living managed to hunt, catch, break from the tree, etc. At that time, a nomadic lifestyle was maintained, so there was no shortage of cereals, pods and dairy products. According to some scientists studying the subject, this is the diet to which we are genetically predisposed. The paleo diet is not only a diet, but a lifestyle. In addition to eating recommendations, outdoor activity is also important. After all, a man who was looking for food often traveled long distances during hunting. That is why walking, running, hiking, walking in the mountains and swimming are especially recommended, which is what all our ancestors probably did. It is hard to say 100% what they did but you can only guess.
Paleo diet has got a lot of possitive results. An undoubted plus is the elimination of refined sugars and highly processed foods from the daily menu, and thus – reduction of salt intake or NKT / TRANS. Therefore, it ensures the prevention of civilization diseases. Another aspect is the low glycemic index of foods allowed in the paleo diet. All products are low processed, and thus – provide many nutrients, thanks to which we do not consume so-called. “Empty calories.” People with a problem with heavy digestible products could try this diet. Regulating lipid and insulin metabolism is also a definite plus. For people who love High Fat diets it will definitely be a good choice.
