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Does the Paleo diet, based on the diet practiced by our Paleolithic ancestors, apply to the modern world? Can we plan our meals in the minds of people who lived thousands of years ago? Finally, is such a diet good for us?
What is the paleo diet?
The Paleo Diet, also known as the “caveman diet,” is a modern attempt to recreate the diet of Paleolithic people. It was pioneered in the 1970s by gastroenterologist Walter Voegtlin and popularized by Dr. S. Boyd Eaton, professor of anthropology at Emory University. He believed that the human body was designed for the Paleo diet. In his book, The Paleolithic Prescription, he argued that the modern diet was not good for us, so we should return to the hunter-gatherer diet (which we were genetically programmed to eat) [1] . Are modern diseases the result of today’s eating habits? This is the opinion of Eaton and the Paleo diet’s advocates.
The main goal of the "caveman diet" is to return to a diet reminiscent of the diet of the first people. Assuming that the human body is genetically unsuited to the modern diet, which appeared with agricultural practices, it is necessary to completely reject products that are a consequence of the transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and eliminate processed products from the diet. There is no denying that agriculture changed the way we eat - it introduced, among others, grains, dairy products and legumes. According to experts, this rapid change in diet outpaced the body's ability to adapt. That is why we struggle with obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
What to eat and what to avoid on the paleo diet?
Products similar to the nutritional model of our ancestors:
- Fruits and vegetables
- Nuts and seeds
- Meat: poultry (turkey, chicken, goose, duck), lean beef, offal, hare, rabbit, lamb, game
- Seafood
- Fish: salmon, tuna, trout, halibut, cod, flounder, sole, herring, sardine
- Eggs
- Healthy vegetable fats: coconut oil, linseed oil, avocado oil, nut and seed oils, olive oil)
Products to avoid:
- Highly processed food
- Cereals: wheat, spelt, rye, rice, groats
- Refined sugars
- Legumes (beans, lentils, peas, chickpeas)
- Dairy
- Vegetables containing starch
Sample Paleo Diet Menu
If you want to test whether the Paleo diet is for you, try these meal suggestions:
BREAKFAST (option 1)
Eggs fried in coconut oil
BREAKFAST (option 2)
Pancakes with banana and 2 eggs fried in coconut oil
BREAKFAST (option 3)
Spinach smoothie with half a banana and ginger
BREAKFAST (option 4)
Egg baked in avocado
BREAKFAST (option 5)
Fruit salad (apple, banana, plum, strawberries)
DINNER (option 1)
Salad with tomato, cucumber, chicken and olive oil
DINNER (option 2)
Oyster mushrooms with garlic, sprinkled with parsley, fried in olive oil
DINNER (option 3)
Fried shrimps with garlic in olive oil
DINNER (option 4)
Roasted chicken with asparagus
DINNER (option 5)
Cod baked in tomatoes
DINNER (option 1)
Baked vegetable fries (carrots, zucchini, parsley)
DINNER (option 2)
Tuna carpaccio
DINNER (option 3)
Hard-boiled eggs + vegetables
DINNER (option 4)
Avocado, tomato, cucumber and romaine salad with chili and linseed oil
DINNER (option 5)
Baked salmon with spinach and cherry tomatoes
Pros and cons of the paleo diet
The Paleo diet has many positive aspects and can be a fantastic solution for many people - it is based on unprocessed products and is free of unnecessary preservatives and salt (which can prevent many diseases of civilization). Among the benefits of the "caveman diet", researchers list: weight loss, regulation of lipid and insulin metabolism, improvement of glucose tolerance, and improvement of risk factors for cardiovascular diseases [2] . On the other hand, there are also critical voices regarding the Paleo diet, such as: unnecessary elimination of dairy products (which can contribute to calcium and protein deficiencies) and products rich in fiber (groats, whole grain bread), which improve intestinal function and prevent constipation. It should also be borne in mind that this is an expensive diet, often requiring independent preparation of meals. There are also questions regarding the Paleo diet hypothesis. Scientists argue that differences in the diet of our Paleolithic ancestors could have been due to a number of factors, including geography, climate and food availability – so can we be sure that our modern menus are the same as those of thousands of years ago?
Source:
[1] https://www.livescience.com/53368-paleo-diet.html
[2] https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/5-studies-on-the-paleo-diet#the-studies
