The Paleo diet (or Paleolithic diet) is a diet where you eat foods that people ate during the Paleolithic era. Because of this, it is often called the “caveman diet” or the “stone age diet”. The foods that were consumed during the Paleolithic era are things like fish, vegetables, fruit, nuts, and organic meats. Foods that aren’t allowed on this diet are things like dairy products, grains, salt, and other heavily processed foods. To put it simply, it is simply natural food that can be found in the environment, and not something that you buy in a package in a store.
Here is a list of foods that are allowed on the diet:
- Fish
- Meat
- Vegetables
- Fruit
- Nuts
- Eggs
Food that are not allowed on the Paleo diet include:
- Dairy
- Grains
- Salt
- Sugar
- Beans
The diet was first popularized by Walter Veoglin, a gastroenterologist. Since then there have been several books and scientific studies done on the Paleo diet.
For a more detailed analysis about this diet and the ratios of each food groups you should be eating on this diet, you should read this study (PDF). The papers is written by Professor Lorean Cordain and is extremely informative and helpful. According to the paper the diet also has numerous health benefits including the reduced risk of different chronic diseases.The results of this analysis demonstrate that it is entirely possible to consume a nutritionally balanced diet from commonly available contemporary foods that emulate the food types available to Paleolithic hunter gatherers. Despite the elimination of two major food groups (dairy and cereals), the trace nutrient density of the diet remains exceptionally high. Moreover, the diet maintains numerous nutritional characteristics that have been demonstrated to reduce the risk of a variety of chronic diseases.
Not everybody is a huge fan of the Paleo diet though. According to the National Health Service of the UK, it may just be a fad diet. Other critics have said that there isn’t enough evidence to support some of the claims the diet makes. Dispite this though, the Paleo diet continues to be one of the most popular and widely adobpted diets out there today.
Here are a few really good Youtube videos about the Paleo diet:
Biochemistry of the Paleo Diet – Dr. Doug McGuff:
The Paleo Diet video:
For more detailed information, check out the following links:
