People in Houston, TX, have asked whether the paleo diet is as beneficial as some claim. It includes food that our ancestors might have consumed thousands of years ago. That immediately eliminates highly processed foods and foods and focuses on whole foods, which is a healthy step in the right direction. The Paleo diet, named after the Paleolithic era, includes food man ate when he first started to use tools. In that period, man was a hunter-gatherer. The premise is that eating what your ancestors ate provides food your body could easily digest. It eliminates many food items used today, like bread.
Man had not yet developed agriculture.
In the Paleolithic period, man was nomadic. The small groups of people followed the food and didn’t grow it. Agriculture was non-existent. They didn’t grow grain or legumes or keep animals, so their diet didn’t include dairy. The diet contained many fruits and vegetables that were readily available, making it far healthier than many American diets. Every day the hunter-gatherers would walk miles to find food, so the lifestyle was far more active than it is today.
Eliminating legumes, grain, and dairy has some benefits and drawbacks.
Preagricultural man had no legumes on the menu. The category of legumes includes beans, chickpeas, peanuts, lentils, clover, and soybeans. We consume the seeds of the plants. Proponents of the paleo diet say that’s healthier to avoid legumes because they contain high amounts of phytic acid. Phytic acid interferes with calcium, zinc, and iron absorption. The diet does contain nuts and other seeds, which are also higher in phytic acid.
Unless you travel with the sun or live in an area with constant produce, you aren’t eating like a caveman.
If you’re foraging in the park for dandelion greens, you’ll eat more like your ancestors did. Unfortunately, if you can find dandelions, you’ll probably consume pesticides or herbicides, too. The meat you consume is commercially grown and not freshly killed. It may be pastured, organic meat, but it probably lived hundreds of miles from your home and came to you in a refrigerator car. Eating an authentic paleo diet is impossible unless you live in an isolated area and depend on the land for food.
- The paleo diet is healthy, but it’s because of the fresh fruits and vegetables and the lack of processed food and food with added sugar. Man lives longer today than in Paleolithic times due to the availability of healthy foods year-round.
- The paleo diet contains more omega-3 and less sugar. There are fewer simple carbs and no fried food or junk food. Animal organs and bone broth are included in the diet adding more nutrients.
- A healthy, well-balanced diet mirrors the Paleolithic diet in many ways. It includes all the fresh produce and excludes highly processed food with added sugar. A healthy diet also contains grains and legumes that provide additional benefits.
- If you choose a paleo diet, make sure you use meat, eggs, and bones from pastured animals. They’re higher in nutrients because the animal ate a better diet that is closer to their natural feed.
For more information, contact us today at Rising Fitness Gym