The paleo diet is a dietary plan consisting of food items that were available during the paleolithic era, which dates from 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago. The ideology behind it states that humans and their digestive systems adapted to gaining all the necessary nutrients from the food available back then. With the advent of farming we moved on to more processed food items which do not sync with our biology and are thus harmful to us.

What you can eat and what you can’t

You can eat meat as meat is found organically in nature. Fish, eggs and vegetables of all shapes and sizes are allowed as part of the paleo diet. Fresh fruit, nuts and naturally found oils can be consumed at any time during this diet. The list of foods you can’t eat is most grains such as oats, wheat, barley, and even rice. This means no cereal, bread, pasta, bagels or even granola bars. You have to stay away from legumes such as chickpeas, beans, lentils and so on. You must also avoid dairy, any artificial sweeteners and any highly processed foods.

Advantages of the paleo diet

The paleo diet knowingly keeps you away from artificially created additives, preservatives and chemicals that are harmful to you. The plants and fruits which are a part of the diet give you anti-inflammatory benefits as a part of your diet. Eating more meat and having no limits to the amount of food you can consume allows you to gain a lot more iron from your diet and also gives you an improved feeling of satiety and fullness between meals. Weight-loss is a byproduct of the limited and healthy food choices that you make on this diet.

Disadvantages of the paleo diet

Avoiding processed foods might sound good in theory, but the majority of foods available on the market are processed, which makes unprocessed food sources a task to hunt down. Switching to natural and organic foods can prove to be a much bigger burden on your wallet than your stomach as they are more expensive. Grains and dairy have actually proven to be good for your health and provide much needed energy and essential nutrients. Starving your body of essential nutrients can be detrimental in the long run. The exclusion of beans also makes the diet difficult to follow for vegetarians as it severely limits their options. While not completely eliminating carbs, the Paleo diet limits carbs by having merely fruits and vegetables be the sole source of carbs. This can be unfavourable to athletes who require carbs to perform.

Switching to the paleo diet makes you a lot more mindful of the foods you are consuming. Switching to healthy snacks makes it plain as to which foods irritate your gut, take time to digest and bring down energy levels. Even when indulging you end up picking the healthy option and ordering the baked potato chips from DIP Foods instead of regular potato chips. It is unreasonable to expect someone to follow the paleo diet to the T for the rest of their life. To stay sane and truly healthy it is important to know and understand the principles behind the paleo diet, why it works for you, what you can gain from it and thus make it work for you.