So what is the Paleo Diet? Well it is a modern nutritional plan based on the presumed diet of the man
that lived in the Paleolithic era, a period that ended 10,000 years ago when
agriculture started to develop. And that’s why it is also known as the “caveman
diet”. It is considered one of the healthiest diets available today and it can
help you lose weight, become stronger, leaner, it can give you more energy and
make you live longer. With the modern diet that is full of refined foods, sugar
and trans fats (the main causes of obesity, cancer, diabetes and other
diseases), the Paleo Diet is definitely not another fad diet and it is here to
stay!
Before we take a look at
what to eat on a paleo diet, let’s see what you should NOT eat. There is no
rocket science to this...simply think of what the caveman would have eaten tens
of thousands of years ago. He definitely didn’t had any kind of processed
foods, fast food, sweets, sugar, processed oils and other similar “junk foods”.
Moving even further, he also didn’t had dairy products, legumes, starches and
most important – grains. And when saying grains we mean all the derivate
products as well. So the paleo diet meal plans definitely don’t include any
type of bread (not even whole grain), pasta, pizza, pastry or anything that has
wheat flour in it. I know that this will be a bad news for many people, but the
caveman didn’t had alcohol either. So if you want to be 100% committed to this
diet, alcohol should not be included on
a paleo food list.
But
What Should I Eat?
You might think that your
diet will be very boring and limited, but this is definitely not the case!
There are plenty of foods that you are allowed to eat and plenty of paleo recipes
that you can try. You can check out and choose from Athletic Muscle 121 Paleo Diet Recipes, which will cover your appetizers, breakfast, dinner, soup, desserts, snacks, etc. Your main focus will be on lean protein, and here you are
allowed to eat any type of meat, fish and eggs. Again, if you want to be 100% committed
you should only consume wild game meat but this is definitely not accessible to
anyone. So the paleo diet is flexible and can be adjusted according to each
person’s possibilities. While the caveman didn’t raised chicken and cows, you
are allowed to consume this types of meat. You can also consume eggs but it’s
definitely recommended to have organic eggs and to find chicken that were not
fed with chemicals.
So you will get your
protein (and quite a lot of it) from different types of meats, but where would
you get your carbs from if all the grains are forbidden? Well it’s simple: you
will get them from fresh fruits and vegetables (except for legumes and
starches). This will bring a lot of benefits to your body thanks to their high
content of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytonutrients. If possible,
try to get organic fruits and veggies.
And least but not last,
you will get your healthy fats from different types of nuts, seeds, olive oil,
fish oil and grass-fed meat.
Weight
Loss and Steady Blood Sugar Levels
The Paleo Diet has a lot
of health benefits and the first one would be related to weight loss. Since you
will remove the base of the modern “food pyramid” which consists of bread,
cereals, rice and pasta and you will replace them with quality sources of
protein such as meat, fish and eggs you will lose weight much easier (if that
is your goal). First of all you will stabilize your blood sugar levels which
can have rollercoaster-like levels thanks to the modern-day diet. This will
lead to less food cravings, more energy and a more reduced risk of developing
diabetes. Studies have also shown that high protein diets are great for weight
loss on overweight and obese people and they also prevent type 2 diabetes,
atherosclerosis and other heart diseases.
More
Nutrients and Less Calories
The foods you will consume
are micronutrient dense but also low-energy dense, meaning that you can eat
more, get more nutrients and still lose weight. In case you don’t want to lose
weight and simply want to maintain it, it will be much easier to do it compared
to consuming high caloric-dense foods like fast food and different types of
grain-based products.
Reduced
Risk of Heart Disease
You will also reduce the
risk of heart disease and lower your bad cholesterol thanks to the consumption
of healthy fats and omega-3 from nuts, seeds and fish.
More
Fibers
By consuming quality
fruits and vegetables every day you will also increase the content of fibers in
your diet, much more than the average person. This will keep blood sugar levels
even steadier, will prevent insulin insensitivity and will solve digestive problems
such as constipation.
Other
Benefits
By reducing the
consumption of sodium found in deli meat and other types of processed foods,
you will also improve the sodium-potassium ratio in your body which can reduce
the risk of hypertension and stroke. Your body will also be less acidic and
this can prevent osteoporosis, renal stones or renal insufficiency caused by
calcium excretion. [source] Some
people had also cured autoimmune diseases with the paleo diet, including
Multiple Sclerosis. [source]
Can
You Gain Muscle On A Paleo Diet?
While this diet may work
really well for an average person that simply wants to look better, it may not
be optimal for bodybuilders. Yes they will receive all the health benefits of
the paleo diet, but they won’t be able to maximize muscle growth because of the
lack of complex carbohydrates found in grain-based products.
What bodybuilders CAN do
is go paleo 80% of the time and have a moderate consumption of quality sources
of grains to get those extra carbs. For maximum muscle growth they can also add
high quality protein powders such as the BioTrust Low Carb (the only 100% all-natural, hormone free
protein powder with no artificial colors and sweetners).
While there are many
studies that suggest the benefits of the paleo diet there are also critiques and
people who disagree with it. After all it is a matter of personal choice. So if
you feel like the paleo diet is right for you and want to try it for the first
time or if you are looking for more paleo recipes we definitely recommend this book. It is a great collection of more than 370 healthy and delicious recipes and you can click here for more info.
Article by Craig Wilson
Article by Craig Wilson