Paleo Diet

The Paleo Diet has become another major “fad diet” in our society today, and unfortunately, it is often misconstrued as the next weight loss diet. This diet is actually not targeted at weight loss at all, although it can be a side effect of the other changes involved. The Paleo Diet is based on the idea that human beings evolved as hunter-gatherer societies for several million years on Earth. Let's explore the paleo diet rules and what it's designed to do.

Understanding The Paleo Diet

The paleo diet consisted primarily of lean meats from hunted game, and fresh fruits and vegetables gathered in the wild. The Agricultural Revolution began around 10,000 years ago (~333 reproductive generations), which is a very small amount of time in evolutionary terms and potentially not long enough for significant changes in our DNA to have occurred. In some cultures (like the Inuit), this shift to an agricultural diet only occurred in the last 6 generations or so. This means that our genes are still programmed to require and to process the foods that we ate in Paleolithic times. Thus, the prevalence of heart disease, obesity, and other modern health concerns could possibly be attributed to our deviation from this original diet and our genetic inability to compensate for the change.

Paleo Diet Rules

There are a few simple rules that can allow you to quickly convert your diet to a Paleo Diet. Here is what you can aim to eat:

1. All lean meats, fish, and seafood
2. All fruits and non-starchy vegetables
3. No cereals or grains
4. No legumes
5. No dairy products
6. No processed foods

It is easy to see how this diet can quickly improve health and, in most people, even cause dramatic weight loss. Even if all of the founding tenets are wrong, it is easy to see how these changes can improve health and reduce the risk of many metabolic diseases.

Standard American Diet vs Paleo

How different are our diets today from those of our Paleolithic ancestors? A simple answer is: very. The current standard diet in North America (“standard American diet” = S.A.D.) is based on grains, dairy, refined sugars, fatty (grain-fed) meat, and salty processed foods. The ancient Paleolithic diet contained no dairy, no added salt, no refined sugar (except honey when they could find it, and fight it away from the bees), and very few grains. Most of their carbohydrates came from non-starchy wild fruits and vegetables. The Paleo Diet is also naturally high in fibre, lower-carb (although not actually low-carb), and rich in fruits and vegetables. It focuses on real food instead of artificial and processed foods.

Nutritional Information

What Are The Benefits of The Paleo Diet?

Many experts believe that moving away from traditional diets contributes to modern health problems. This is particularly true for the obesity epidemic in North America. Other concerning health problems include the leading cause of death today: 

• Cardiovascular disease (Arteriosclerosis)
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• High Cholesterol

The paleo diet may reduce the risk of metabolic syndrome. It may also support healthy, natural weight loss.

Meat Protein Differences

While the Paleo diet focuses a lot on meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, it goes beyond just eating more meat. The type of meat matters! Grain-fed, feedlot meat is completely different than wild game in its chemical composition. The muscles of the animal become marbled with fat and have much higher amounts of saturated fat and omega-6 fatty acids. In fact, this type of meat is often up to 75% fat, whereas game meats and grass-fed beef contain about 20% fat, much of which is actually omega-3 and other unsaturated fatty acids, making them a far healthier choice.

Paleo Diet & Weight Loss

When compared to the typical SAD diet, the Paleo Diet can produce significant weight loss results, although that is not usually the reason for adopting this dietary regimen. Unlike many fad diets, the paleo diet promotes long-term lifestyle chages. You can adapt it to suit your needs and preferences. It does not restrict portion sizes, calories or fat, but instead shifts the focus of the diet from unhealthy and “unnatural” foods to those more in line with what our ancestors would have eaten. The idea is not necessarily to lose weight, but to gain health.

Cutting Dairy

It is not natural for human beings to consume milk and dairy products. That sentence may strike you as odd at first, but really think about it: catching and milking a new mother cow in the wild will give you the visual of how odd it would be in Paleolithic times. Nature designed cow's milk to help calves grow quickly. Cow's milk provides a concentrated source of calories and fat. Many people consume it regularly. Modern dairy production often relies on intensive farming practices. Producers may use antibiotics, hormones, and processing agents during dairy production. Removing dairy from the diet can help allow the body to return to a more natural balance.

Food Sensitivities

Interestingly, the Paleo Diet seems to inadvertently avoid some of the most common food sensitivities in the general population. These are: dairy, wheat/gluten, soy, and corn. The physical effects of food sensitivities include fatigue, rashes, mood disturbance, dark circles under the eyes, and poor digestion. In this way alone, the Paleo Diet may be a beneficial change for many people.

References

If you are interested in trying out the Paleo Diet, there are a number of great resources out there! This article was based on the following:
1. Cordain, L. (2011). The Paleo Diet: Revised Edition. New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
2. Gedgaudas, N.T. (2011). Primal Body, Primal Mind. Toronto: Healing Arts Press.