The Paleo diet is one of the most popular diets to come out recently, with many celebrities and athletes crediting it with their health, but eating Paleo is more than just a fad diet, it's a long term change that affects everything you eat.
What is it?
The name comes from the Paleolithic period, an era where if they couldn’t catch it or grow it, they didn’t eat it.
The idea is that our bodies have adapted to eat this food over thousands of years, and it’s only recently that we’ve started eating food that has been processed. By eating only natural, unprocessed food, it’s thought that we can let our body have more of what it’s used to, and not make it work so hard. It’s like a math test. If it’s easy stuff you’ve seen thousands of times before, you’ll probably breeze through it. If you’re first reaction when you see it is to say “What the hell is that?”, then you’ll probably struggle.
An example of a paleo meal plan could be:
Breakfast: Free range scrambled eggs with parsley, seasonal fruit, tea.
Snack: Sliced lean beef, carrot sticks.
Lunch: Caeser Salad with Chicken (olive oil and lemon dressing) tea.
Snack: Raw walnuts or almonds, apple slices
Dinner: Grilled chicken breast, steamed broccoli and carrots, with asparagus, bowl of fresh blueberries, raisins, and almonds.
How does it work?
In general, if it’s freshly picked or slaughtered, it’s allowed in the paleo diet. If it needs to be handled or altered much, it’s not.
Meat, Fish, Seeds, Nuts and greens are all allowed, but pasta, bread and rice are not. Fruits are also off limits, because the people who made up the paleo diet reckon that cavemen didn’t eat fruit very often. At least until we figured out that we could turn grapes into wine anyway.
Why would I want it?
A paleo diet is great for people who want a simple diet plan that doesn’t involve lots of exotic ingredients or complex cooking methods. No need for
fat burners with this diet. If you can turn on a stove, boil water and shop at an organic store, you will have no trouble making paleo meals.
Who is it best for?
Paleo diets are great for people who want to keep their body running as efficiently as possible. Many professional athletes follow a paleo diet, though a lot of them add fruit into it for the extra kilojoules.
What are the side effects?
Because the diet is high in protein but low in carbohydrates, you may feel surges of energy, followed by feeling a little tired. You also need to make sure you’re getting enough fibre, or else you’ll get “backed up”, which can really harm you.
Is it good for women too?
The paleo diet can help women a lot, especially if they’re sensitive to certain processed foods or gluten.
Conclusion:
The paleo diet is built on a lot of common sense principles, but as always you should listen to your body and make sure you’re getting all the nutrients you need. If something doesn’t feel right, see your Doctor or dietician to find out what you’re missing out on!
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