Amazing Health Benefits of Going Paleo

While we should all try to eat a healthy diet, it can be difficult to know where to start. Should you consume more grains? Should you give up dairy? How about the sugar? What about the fat?

That’s why diets like the paleo diet, which is based on what our ancestors, who were hunters and gatherers, ate, have gained popularity. Some diets may help us to decide what to eat to live a healthy life.

So, let’s explore the health benefits of this kind of unique and interesting diet before hopping on…

What is the paleo diet?

The paleo diet is based on foods that humans ate between 2.5 million and 10,000 years ago, during the Palaeolithic era.

The paleo diet is sometimes referred to as the Stone Age diet, the caveman diet, or the hunter-gatherer diet.

Foods to eat on the paleo diet

On the paleo diet, you may eat a range of whole, unprocessed foods. This includes the following:

• Meat: Beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pork, and others
• Fish and seafood: salmon, trout, haddock, shrimp, shellfish, etc (choose wild-caught if you can)
• Eggs: may be free-range, pastured, or omega-3 enriched
• Vegetables: broccoli, kale, peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes, etc.
• Fruits: apples, bananas, oranges, pears, avocados, strawberries, blueberries, and more.
• Tubers: potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, turnips, etc.
• Nuts and seeds: almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds
• Healthy fats and oils: extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil, and others
• Salt and spices: sea salt, garlic, turmeric, rosemary
• Seeds: like flax seeds, and chia seeds

Foods to avoid on the paleo diet

Some foods are not allowed on the paleo diet, including:

• Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup: soft drinks, fruit juices, table sugar, candy, pastries, ice cream, and many others
• Grains: bread, pasta, wheat, cereal, spelt, rye, barley, etc
• Legumes: beans, lentils, and many more
• Dairy: most dairy, especially low-fat dairy (some versions of paleo do include full-fat dairy like butter and cheese)
• Some vegetable oils: soybean oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil, and others
• Artificial sweeteners: aspartame, sucralose, cyclamates, saccharin, acesulfame potassium (use natural sweeteners instead)
• Highly processed foods: sugary drinks, syrups, jams, chocolate, candies, potato chips, pretzels, sauces, dressings, ice cream, frozen desserts, bakery products like muffins and cakes and fast foods like french fries and burgers

What to drink on the paleo diet

When it comes to hydration, water should always be your first choice.

The following drinks aren’t strictly paleo, but they are commonly considered to be suitable healthy diet drinks:

• Tea: Tea, particularly green tea, is extremely healthy and high in antioxidants and other useful components
• Coffee: Coffee is also high in antioxidants. According to studies, it offers many health benefits

Simple paleo snacks

If you are hungry or looking for healthy diet options in between meals, there are lots of easy and readily available paleo snacks:

• Toasted almonds
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Fresh fruits and vegetables, including baby carrots, celery sticks, and sliced apples
• Meat jerky
• Dairy-free chia pudding

The paleo diet is based on the idea that it focuses on foods that our bodies are designed to eat — and that our systems haven’t adapted to eating foods that came up from modern farming. Grain and dairy products are thought to be linked to heart disease, obesity, and diabetes.

Benefits of the paleo diet

1. Weight Management

Eating unprocessed food is key to the paleo diet. This often suggests a paleo diet is low in carbs since it avoids things that need processing, such as grains.

Along with avoiding processed meals and avoiding high-carb foods that adversely affect blood sugar levels, the paleo diet can help reduce body fat and, as a result, weight reduction.

2. Increased Insulin Sensitivity

Because most paleo diets are low in carbs, the pancreas is frequently under less pressure to create insulin.

According to research, the paleo diet can reduce insulin secretion and hence improve insulin effectiveness. This improves insulin resistance along with overall health benefits which is the cause behind type 2 diabetes, and may allow some patients to need less medication.

3. Improved Heart Health

Several studies have found that the paleo diet can improve heart health. This is particularly helpful for diabetics because heart disease is one of the most common diabetes-related problems.

When compared to a regular diet, a paleo diet may considerably cut total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides, and raise HDL.

4. More Energy

Eating foods low on the Glycemic Index (GI) as part of a paleo diet means you’ll avoid the energy loss or feeling of tiredness that usually follows high GI and sugary foods.

5. Reduce Inflammation

Excess inflammation in the body can raise the risk of health problems such as type 2 diabetes, but consuming low-carb, low-GI meals, especially omega-3 fatty acids, protects against excess inflammation.

A sample paleo menu for 1 week

This example menu includes a variety of paleo-friendly foods.

By all means, customise this menu to your liking to gain maximum health benefits.

Monday

• Breakfast: veggies and eggs fried in olive oil and one piece of fruit
• Lunch: chicken salad with olive oil, a feastful of nuts
• Dinner: burgers (no bun) fried in butter, vegetables, salsa

Tuesday

• Breakfast: bacon, eggs, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: leftover burgers from the night before
• Dinner: baked salmon with vegetables

Wednesday

• Breakfast: leftover salmon and vegetables from the night before
• Lunch: sandwich in a lettuce leaf, with meat and fresh vegetables
• Dinner: ground beef stir-fry with vegetables, berries

Thursday

• Breakfast: eggs, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: leftover stir-fry from the night before, a handful of nuts
• Dinner: fried pork, vegetables

Friday

• Breakfast: eggs and vegetables fried in olive oil, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: chicken salad with olive oil, a handful of nuts
• Dinner: steak, vegetables, sweet potatoes

Saturday

• Breakfast: bacon, eggs, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: leftover steak and vegetables from the night before
• Dinner: baked tilapia, vegetables, avocado

Sunday

• Breakfast: leftover salmon and vegetables from the night before
• Lunch: sandwich in a lettuce leaf, with meat and fresh vegetables
• Dinner: grilled chicken wings, vegetables, salsa

Things to Consider

The paleo diet can help you achieve your short-term wellness goals, but in the long run, you should seek a diet that focuses on well-balanced meals, such as the Mediterranean diet.

Also, if you have a long-term kidney condition or are on a protein-restricted diet, the paleo diet may not be right for you.

If you’re worried about your weight, want to improve your gut health, are trying to control your blood sugars, or can’t tolerate dairy, this might be an excellent healthy diet option for you.

Takeaway

The paleo diet is based on what hunter-gatherers are thought to have eaten. While there is no one method to follow the paleo diet, the main concept is to eliminate processed meals in favour of nutritious, whole foods.

Meat, fish, eggs, seeds, nuts, fruits, and vegetables, as well as healthy fats and oils, are all Paleo-friendly foods. Avoid sugar, carbohydrates, and processed meals to enjoy health benefits from it.

You may also base your diet on paleo meals while adding certain current healthy products, such as grass-fed butter and gluten-free cereals.

Check out the sample menu and shopping list above to get started on the paleo diet, and stock your kitchen and pantry with these nutritious, paleo-friendly and healthy diet goods.