Eat Like A Caveman

About Paleo

The Paleo Diet, also known as the Paleolithic Diet or Hunter-Gatherer Diet, is centered around the idea of consuming foods that were eaten by our early ancestors during the Paleolithic era, which occurred between 10,000 and 2.5 million years ago. The theory behind the effectiveness of this diet is that rapid changes to our food consumption - with the advent of dairy farming around 5,000 years ago, and agriculture around 10,000 years ago - outpaced the body's ability to adapt genetically. Some researchers and supporters of this diet believe that this supposed outpacing of our genetics accounts for the high rates of heart disease, diabetes, and obesity observed in modern, particularly western, diets.

Considering Paleo

Consulting a doctor or dietician is a crucial first step before beginning any diet. While many laud the paleo diet and credit it with weight loss, lower blood pressure, and appetite management, others have raised concerns about eliminating foods such as dairy and grains that can provide protein, calcium, fiber, and other nutrients. This avoidance of dairy and whole grains is what sets the paleo diet apart from other healthy diets such as the Mediterranean diet, so research into various dietary options to determine which is the most appropriate is always highly encouraged.

Paleo Whole Foods

Adhering to the paleo diet means focusing on foods that could have been accessed via hunting and gathering by early humans, and excluding products that are the result of more modern agricultural practices. Simply put, the paleo diet is centered around the following foods:

• Lean meat, particularly grass-fed or wild game
• Fish, especially those high in fatty acids such as salmon, mackerel, and tuna
• Fruits and vegetables
• Nuts and seeds

Foods to be excluded from a paleo diet are those that have become popular via the rise of agricultural and current industrialized food production. These foods to be avoided include:

• Grains, such as wheat, barley, and rye
• Dairy products
• Legumes
• Refined sugar
• Other processed foods

Paleo Certifications

For those seeking products that strictly adhere to the paleo diet, the Paleo Foundation offers a certification that guarantees the absence of certain ingredients that do not align with this way of eating. To meet the criteria for paleo certification, products must undergo auditing to ensure that they do not contain grains, dairy, legumes, or artificial colors, sweeteners, flavor-enhancers, or preservatives.

What Makes the Paleo Diet Attractive?

While the paleo diet focuses on traditional or ancestral nutrition, many people follow the paleo diet for its potential to achieve modern health benefits.

Many of the benefits paleo followers claim result from the foods they're avoiding rather than the food they are eating.

According to the paleo diet, avoiding foods such as grains, refined sugar, and industrial seed oils can reduce inflammation in the body. The paleo diet also claims that avoiding legumes can improve digestion and gut health thanks to the omission of the phytic acid and lectins found in these plants.

Some people follow a more restricted version of the paleo diet known as the autoimmune protocol. Suggesting that certain foods, such as nightshades and nuts, can trigger flares for those with autoimmune conditions, worsening symptoms. The paleo autoimmune protocol goes as far as to assert that chronic diseases could be managed more-easily by avoiding these foods altogether.

The paleo diet does claim to support health through the increase of certain paleo-approved whole foods, especially fruit and vegetables. These supposed benefits include increased energy and mental focus, stable blood sugar, and effortless weight management.

Paleo and Food Quality

There's more to following a paleo diet than favoring certain foods over others. This diet prioritizes nutrient density through high-quality ancestral foods that are often lacking in today's diets.

Some of these foods include:

• Organic produce such as fruit and vegetables
• Grass-fed and free-range meat
• Pastured eggs
• Fermented foods such as sauerkraut and coconut kefir
• Bone broth
• Organ meats such as liver and kidneys

The paleo diet suggests that these foods contain a higher nutrient content thanks to their agricultural practices. For example, grass-fed cows eat a natural diet rather than grain which, according to the paleo diet, leads to a healthier animal and better quality meat.

Some of these foods contain nutrients that may be uncommon in modern diets. For instance, bone broth is a rich source of gelatin, and fermented foods contain naturally-occurring probiotics.

What to Watch For While Following Paleo

Despite its ancestral roots, the term "paleo" has become a marketing buzzword used to sell packaged food products that contain distinctly non-paleo ingredients—as always, reading the ingredients label is essential.

Some of these foods contain decidedly non-paleo ingredients, such as brown rice syrup or pea protein. Some include ingredients that fall into a grey zone, such as the pseudo-grains buckwheat and quinoa. Or, wild rice, seed, and not a grain at all! Regardless, the paleo diet suggests that they still contain the same "anti-nutrients" and should be avoided.

There's a hot debate surrounding processed foods made from paleo ingredients.

If the Paleo diet's core is based on ancestral nutrition, could processed or packaged foods such as cookies, granola, or protein powders ever be considered truly paleo?

We haven't come across a definitive answer on this one.

Ultimately, it's up to the individual to decide if baked goods, processed foods, or anything out of a package fits into their idea of "Paleo ."