Paleo Diet- Emulating how our pre-historic ancestors eat is what health experts call a Paleo diet. Its concept runs on the idea that people must eat whole and unprocessed foods to achieve optimum health.
It goes back to the notion where our ancestors eat real, unprocessed foods that made them healthy and skip chronic health problems and diseases including heart ailments, blood pressure, cancer and obesity.
Several researches claim that eating the old way without counting the calories is the best way to lose weight.
What it really means to follow a Paleo Diet?
Going back to old prehistoric times, people eat varied diets where there are no strict foods to avoid or foods to eat. It all depends on what is available for them to consume. It can be a high carbohydrate diet which depends on plant sources or it can also be a low-carb diet coming from animal sources.
A Paleo diet is similar to those practices. In short, the diet is consists of:
Foods to eat: eggs, vegetables, meat, fish, seeds, herbs, spices, fruits, nuts, healthy fats and oils.
There are long list of foods to avoid:
Sugar and high fructose corn syrup: Soft drinks, fruit juices, candy, pastries, table sugar, and ice cream
Legumes: Lentils and beans
Dairy: Avoid most dairy, especially low-fat
Grains: Breads and pastas, rye, wheat, spelt and barley
Highly Processed Foods: Everything labeled "low-fat" or "diet" or has many odd ingredients. Anything that comes from a pack from the supermarket and groceries
Trans Fats: Margarine and processed foods and those labeled as "hydrogenated" or "partially hydrogenated" oils
Vegetable Oils: Soybean oil, cottonseed oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, corn oil, and safflower oil
Although Paleo diet has earned a lot of followers, there are also some people who think that this type of diet is not at all a good one. When you follow the diet, you restrict yourself from eating some foods which have high nutritional value.
By not eating grains in the Paleo diet, you avoid a lot of nutrients- Calcium, magnesium, vitamin D, phosphorous, fiber, antioxidants, and B vitamins. It also forbids legumes which are good sources of fiber and protein. These prohibited foods are what makes people strong and prevent diseases such as heart disease, blood pressure and osteoporosis.
