Diet Ups&Downs series: Paleo diet (caveman diet)
Paleo diet “the caveman diet” is one of the healthiest diets out there but many people consider it unrealistic and hard to follow, is it really that hard?
Overview
Simply, the paleo diet is eating foods that only existed in the old ages before discovering Agriculture and other methods of processing foods like baking and converting oils, that’s why they call it the caveman diet.
People who follow this diet should avoid most of the modern foods and only eat what were present during the times of our ancestors when they were hunters and gatherers.
Here’s some examples of what you should eat and what you should avoid when you are following a paleo diet:
Caveman foods
1-Lean, high protein sources: beef, pork, eggs, poultry, bison, quail, venison, chicken, turkey and fish (grass-fed and organic sources preferred).
2-Fruits: all types of fruits like strawberries, cantaloupe, mango, and figs.
3-Non-starchy vegetables: such as asparagus, onions, peppers, and pumpkin.
4-Nuts and seeds: including almonds, cashews, walnuts, and pumpkin seeds.
5-Natural healthy oils: Olive oil, flaxseed oil, and walnut oil.
Modern foods
1-All dairy products: milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter.
2-Cereal grains: wheat, rye, rice and barley.
3-Legumes: beans, peanuts and peas.
4-Starchy vegetables: potatoes (and some even say sweet potatoes).
5-Sweets: all forms of candy as well as honey and sugar.
6-Artificial sweeteners: Sugary soft drinks and fruit juices.
7-Processed meats: such as bacon, deli meats, and hot dogs
8-Highly processed foods: bread and pasta.
Long story short, the Caveman diet centers on eating meat, fish, fruits and vegetables and avoid eating processed foods.
They also don’t drink or eat any dairy products, cereals and legumes as they assume that these things were not part of man’s diet during the Stone Ages.
The mantra of the diet is that “if it did not exist in the Stone Ages, don’t eat it”.
The foods that are part of this diet are therefore mainly simple foods in their most basic forms that’s why scientists believe that the paleo diet can treat most of the modern diseases as diabetes, obesity, arthritis and cardiovascular diseases, But still the researches which prove it are limited.
UPS
Although some people complain that the Caveman diet is unrealistic, it provides a lot of advantages. These are;
1-losing weight without counting calories
As I mentioned above in the caveman foods, you avoid the sweet, starchy, processed foods and replace it with high protein, low carb ones, Therefore your carb intake will be lower than what you usually eat.
Less carbs equals less energy for your body, so your body compensates for this low supply of energy by using the stored fats as a source of energy due to the absence of the main source of energy (The carbs).
The result of this process is losing weight and the amazing thing about it is that, you don’t have to spend time on tracking your calories each day, isn’t that cool?
2-perfect for building lean muscle mass
You might already know that eating enough protein is critical in terms of building muscle.Hence, the paleo diet has a huge advantage over the other diets in this matter, as it’s based on eating food that contain high amounts of protein and low in carbs.
So, if you are someone who workouts to lose weight and build muscle mass, the caveman diet is an excellent diet for you.
3- friendly with lactose and gluten intolerance
People that have issues with Gluten and Lactose find that the Caveman Diet is a perfect fit for them, because this diet forbids the intake of dairy products and grains as well as legumes, so you will not be eating any foods that contain high amounts of lactose or gluten.
So with the paleo diet, people who are Gluten and lactose intolerance will be able to avoid the foods that trigger inflammation in them.
4-healthy skin, nails and hair
Since you are eating a lot of fruits and vegetables in Paleo diet, you are already getting a lot of vitamins and minerals in addition to the great amounts of fiber from these fruits and vegetables.
With the exposure to these healthy nutritions, vitamins and minerals, they result in healthy skin, nails and hair.
Also, The antioxidants present in fruits result in a youthful appearance that will make you look younger and healthier.
5-Great for joint health
The Caveman diet exposes an individual to all sorts of healthy fats and oils. These healthy fats and oils come from plants such as avocado and meats such as oily fish. This ingestion of healthy fats and oils lubricates the joints, and reduces inflammation thereby eliminating joint pain.
Therefore, the paleo diet may be recommended for those of you who have joint arthritis or pain.
6-balances blood sugar levels
The caveman diet has a huge impact on the blood sugar levels as it factors out unhealthy processed foods which contain high amount of simple sugars that increase the blood glucose levels and also cause an aggressive release of insulin hormone (insulin spike) to deal with this elevated blood sugar.
So, Cutting out sugars, bad fats, and dangerous additives in the paleo diet lead to balanced blood sugar levels.
Balanced blood sugar levels will help improve your overall appearance, especially when it comes to maintaining clear skin. The balance in blood sugar also helps in the maintenance of stable energy levels. Hence, people on the Paleo diet are full of energy and active throughout the day.
7-Easy to maintain the diet
Counting/tracking calories for many people is the main reason for quitting their diet, but in the paleo diet this problem is solved because you don’t have to do any of that.
All you have to do is replace the modern unhealthy foods by the stone age healthy foods and you will lose weight without wasting time on tracking, counting your calories and proportioning your meals every day.
Also, regardless of the elimination of sugar, bad fats, and processed foods, the remaining food items are still interesting. You can make tasty meals with meat and vegetables, and if you need a sugary treat, you can always eat a fruit. Hence, some people find it easy to stick to this diet as compared to others.
Related: Diet Ups & Downs Series: DASH Diet (hypertension diet)
DOWNS
1-stall weight loss
When you start your paleo diet, you might lose a lot of weight at the beginning and this due to switching from the highly processed foods (high carbs) to the clean and lean ones (low carbs).
But as you go on and on with the diet, your weight loss progression might slow down or even stop as your body accommodate to the new types of food that you are currently eating.
This problem can be solved by eating less amounts of the same types of food and you keep on decreasing it until you reach your goal weight.
2-Expensive
Anyone who follows a typical paleo diet, eats a lot of meats: beef, turkey, chicken, fish.. Etc.
And let’s be realistic, most of these foods are expensive, especially the grass feed ones, so some of you who have a low fitness budget will not be able to afford eating as much of these foods which may affect the desired outcome of this diet.
3-not for vegans
This is another problem with eating a lot of meats beside the price point.
As a Vegan, you don’t eat any animal meats or products which goes against the whole concept of paleo diet unless you want to eat only fruits and non-starchy vegetable which is low in protein content besides this way of eating (only fruits and vegetables) may lead to serious medical issues.
Who should try the paleo diet?
In my opinion, If you are someone who can afford eating a lot of meats and looking for a healthy diet to lose weight without counting calories, you should give the paleo diet a try and see how it goes.
