What is the Caveman Diet - The Truth About Paleo Diet

Posted by Healthfitline On Thursday, October 25, 2012
For those of you who may be hearing about "Paleo Diet" for the first time or maybe, you may have heard about it but you are just wondering "what is Paleo Diet?". Paleo Diet also known as "Caveman Diet" describes the diet style of our ancestors back in the days. With the assertion that, modern civilization has contributed to the rising number of lifestyle related diseases like; diabetes, heart diseases, cancer, among others.

To minimize the ill effects caused by the modern diet, we should instead adapt the Caveman Diet by eating and avoiding the following foods;

Food List for Paleo Diet
What you should eat;
  • Seafoods
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Healthy fats
  • Lean meat (preferably from free range animals)
  • Fruit and vegetables
What to Avoid;
  • Starches
  • Legumes
  • Alcohol
  • Processed food
  • Refined sugar
  • Daily products and grains.
It is true that, over the past years, research has shown by eliminating unhealthy foods in our diet and replacing them with more healthier food can help in decreasing the risks of acquiring lifestyle related diseases like diabetes. Foods like fruits and vegetables have been proven to be rich in antioxidants, vitamins and phytonutrients which play an important role in decreasing the risk of acquiring such diseases.

Paleo diet seems to be following the same path with exceptional that, it eliminates several foods like legume, diary and grains from the diet. The theory behind the elimination of these food groups is that, the Paleolithic diet contains both micro and macronutrients that is adequate for the normal functioning of the body.
 
This may be true in some extent but on the other hand, avoiding legumes (grain) or dairy products may eventually lead to other health problems especially among individuals with deficiencies. Grains are known to be rich in fiber which plays an important part in digestion.
 
Legumes acts as an alternative source of protein hence providing the body with essential nutrients and lower calories. Daily products, whole grain are rich in essential minerals like calcium which prevent the developing of osteoporosis and heart diseases.

So what is the healthy benefits of adapting the Paleo diet. Paleo diet is attributed to;
  • Increase in efficiency during a work out.
  • Maintenance of a stable blood sugar.
  • Burning of extra fat
  • Decrease in allergic reactions.
  • Improved blood lipids
  • Weight Loss
  • Reduced pain from inflammation.
  • Having a balanced energy throughout the day.
  • Clear skin and strong teeth
  • Improvement in sleeping pattern
While the benefit of Paleo Diet can easily be tracked by looking back at lives of our ancestors, who hardly died from life style related illness and remained lean. Paleo diet seems a perfect choice for individuals who enjoy having refined carbohydrates, processed and sugary foods. Fats and refined sugars are known to lead to overweight or obesity since extra carbohydrates are converted and stored as fats. Obesity is a major risk factor of diabetes, cancer and heart diseases.

Paleo Diet For individuals who have already developed a healthy eating habit or those with deficiencies, Paleo diet may not be a good choice for you.

One controversial part is where the Paleo diet recommends switching to saturated fats from grass fed or wild animals rather than fat from the grain feed animals. Even though it is true that grass fed animals contain little saturated fat in comparison to grain feed animals, the little fat will eventually add up together leading to high cholesterol.

Lastly, the benefits of switching to Paleo diet may be of much significant especially among obese or individuals with unhealthy eating habits but the overall result will be determined by how much an individuals consumes. Each individual nutritional needs, taste is different, hence the importance of personalizing the Paleo diet.

You are more likely to stick to a diet regimen only if you enjoy what you are eating. Paleo diet help in maintaining a healthy body weight and decreases the chances of developing heart diseases and other illness. On the hand, it true that you can still achieve the same results by choosing the right food, eating the right portions without having to eliminate other food groups.
 

1 comments:

Healthfitline said...

Thank you. I look forward to writing more information and thanks for visiting my blog.

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