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The Paleo Diet, Is it Right for You?
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One of the hottest diet trends around right now has to be the Paleo diet. With dozens of celebrity followers and even some high-end restaurants are taking note and putting Paleo food on the menu. Some might go so far as to say that Paleo is going “mainstream.”
Some people don’t like the name “Paleo diet” and often call it the “real food” diet. There are numerous followers of Paleo who were once vegetarian but found that being vegan sometimes gave people problems with weight (extreme gain or loss of weight), anemia, and other problems.
The one thing you will find that many Paleo followers agree on is how the removal of gluten from their diets has made them feel. While many people think of our modern society to be at the absolute pinnacle in regards to human development, our modern ways of manufacturing food has not made us the “super” humans that we should be. We eat everything modern “processed” foods have to offer us but we aren’t any healthier and we certainly don’t live long, disease free lives.
In fact, the opposite is true. Human beings today suffer from more chronic and seriously debilitating disease than we ever have in history. This leaves little doubt that our food choices can play a huge role in the development of either a life filled with health, or one plagued by chronic disease.
During what is called the Paleolithic period of humanity, which occurred thousands of years ago, we, as human beings, lived on a diet that mostly consisted of vegetables, fruits, nuts, roots, and some meat, all of which varied greatly depending on the season and availability.
The Paleo diet is based on scientific research that looked at the types and amounts of food that our hunter-gatherer ancestors lived on. The foundation of the Paleo diet includes lean meats such as bison and ostrich, organ meats, seafood, fresh fruits and non-starchy vegetables. Quite a shocking change from your typical American diet.
There have been some people that have called this “the caveman diet” because, when following the Paleo diet, you eat more in tune with the things your ancestors ate and, by doing so, you can avoid many of the diseases that are associated with our modern diet.
The typical Paleo diet might be a problem for some people.
While the typical Paleo diet can be a healthful change for many people, especially when you compare it to the typical American diet of sugar, fast foods, and processed foods, but it has some weaknesses that might be good to note.
One of the problems is portion control. Many people find that they miss some of their favorite foods and so they tend to eat more than they should of other items that are allowed. Although it’s hard to imagine eating vast quantities of spinach, many people have no problem eating vast amounts of fatty meats that can put their cholesterol levels through the roof. If you already have a cholesterol problem, this diet will only make matters worse. Read more how to reduce cholesterol.
Another issue for many is what some have called the Pleasure Principle. It removes some food items that we adore, things that can make us social creatures when we share certain foods such as ice cream in the summer, cakes for celebrations, alcohol for just about any social interaction. For some people, this will be their downfall as its hard to cut everyone a piece of your T-bone steak for your birthday.
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