Paleo: A New Effective Diet On the Horizon – Is It Right For You?

Over the last decades, we’ve been attacked with new dieting regimens with brand-new terms. Although many of them have been around since the beginning of time, some have only gained popularity in the past few years. Paleo is one of the most recent diets capturing the attention of weight management gurus. 

Paleo is short for Paleolithic diet and has been around since the ’70s. The central concept of this diet is to eat like our ancestors used to. Dieticians and nutritionists believe that our new eating methods are responsible for increasing diseases in our generations. They also professed that Paleo, like many other new diets, can help make modern humans much more potent and healthier. 

Let’s learn about the renowned Paleo diet and determine whether it’s right for you.

The Origins of the Paleo Diet And What It Is

Although the Paleo diet is believed to be the lifestyle of pre-historic man, it was the typical diet widely eaten in the ’70s. The Paleolithic diet became even more popular after the publishing of Loren Cordain’s 2002 book, titled The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Foods You Were Designed to Eat.

It has also been known as the “Caveman Diet,” “Stone Age Diet,” and “Primal Diet.” The Paleo diet mainly depends on lean meat, fruits, fish, and vegetables. It encourages eating food that the primitive man got by hunting and gathering while cutting back on farming-produced foods, including dairy products, legumes, and grains.

Moreover, scientists have argued that the foods consumed in modern life have a negative effect on one’s health, claiming that the human body isn’t made for digesting foods like legumes and grains. They also profess that our genes aren’t adjusted to what other diets suggest, especially ones recommending oats, milk, peanuts, and white potatoes.

A typical paleo diet consists of heavy-meat recipes, lots of fish, fresh fruits and vegetables, nuts, natural oils like olive or walnut, and seeds. It’s also important to note that the meat allowed on this diet should come from grass-fed animals only. 

Difference Between Paleo and Keto

Paleo and keto have been the most popular lifestyles in the past decade. They’re both encouraged widely by many dieticians and nutrition experts, given their tremendous health benefits. Although both diets restrict the consumption of legumes and whole grains, they’re pretty different from one another. 

Keto is a diet based on limiting carb intake and consuming high levels of fats and proteins. It also restricts the consumption of several vegetables, especially ones with high carb intake. This diet works by depleting the body of glucose levels and inducing the secretion of ketones, which let the body run on burning fats as its primary source. 

Paleo is quite distinct, although it highly depends on lean meats; however, it encourages cutting back on dairy products. In other words, Keto enforces stringent ratios of macronutrients, while paleo focuses more on consuming whole foods and restricting processed foods.

Health Benefits Vs. Dangers of the Paleo Diet

Every diet has its fair share of advantages and disadvantages, and Paleo is no different. It has tremendous health benefits that you can reap by following this diet. However, several groups of people aren’t advised to try the paleo diet. These groups include kidney patients, diabetics, and those at risk for cardiovascular diseases.

Let’s quickly ride through the benefits and drawbacks of the renowned Paleolithic diet. 

Benefits of the Paleo Diet

• It regulates blood pressure, given the restriction of all sorts of fast and junk food, which can help increase the risk of hypertension. Over time, the Paleo diet can help detoxify your body from toxins accumulated in your body as well.

• It helps drop weight significantly since it limits whole food groups, leaving you with much fewer options. Eventually, you’ll find yourself eating much less and shedding some extra fats to eat a much cleaner diet and avoid processed foods altogether.

• The paleo diet can help in banishing several diseases, especially cardiovascular disease. That’s because the foods allowed on this diet are anti-inflammatory and laden with antioxidants. Both factors reduce the risks of heart disease, cancer, and kidney problems.

• It regulates levels of blood glucose as it limits carbs intake, including refined sugar. Thus, you barely have your blood glucose spikes, which can benefit people with diabetes. Besides, restricting carbs intake can make you feel more energetic and reduce midday slumps.

• You automatically eat more fruits and vegetables, and many people struggle to meet their required servings on a daily basis. Increasing your protein intake is also encouraged, which is quite beneficial for muscle building.

The Drawbacks of Paleo

• A very high intake of fats can be significant for fat loss and overall health. However, saturated fats are also encouraged without a specific amount limit. Fat can be detrimental to health in many cases, significantly since it can negatively impact your kidney functions, increase your cholesterol levels, and affect your heart health.

• Restriction of carbs is a great way to deplete your body of extra glucose and control levels of blood sugar, especially for people with diabetes. However, carbs are the primary energy source, and limiting them significantly can lead to fatigue, especially if your body keeps producing a high amount of ketones. 

• Lots of red meat also has its downsides, which can lead to a significant spike in your cholesterol levels, especially the LDL, commonly known as the bad cholesterol. 

• Cutting out all dairy products and grains can lead to deficiencies in several nutrients that are found in these food groups. Such nutrients include fibre, B vitamins, calcium, iron, magnesium, and selenium. Low fibre intake is also one of the most significant factors that cause constipation and enhance the formation of harmful gut bacteria. 

• The paleo diet banishes whole food groups, an act that can harm your relationship with food by labelling them as “good” and “bad.” Food segmentation deprives you of enjoying your meals and can make you avoid healthy foods. 

In conclusion, every diet that has ever appeared on the horizon works for some people but may not for others. Paleo is no exception. Thus, if you think this way of eating suits your lifestyle and personal preferences, consult a nutritionist before delving into this experience on your own. 

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