It’s easy to feel lost in the hustle and bustle of trends in nutrition. Clean eating isn’t just cutting out fast foods, there’s a whole range of eating guides out there, devised by different people for different benefits. So what is the Paleo diet? Here is a simple explanation of this way of eating.
“Paleo,” short for Paleolithic, includes very simple eating, like our ancestors, who were known to suffer from fewer chronic diseases than modern populations. In short, the Paleo concept is based on assumptions of what humans of past generations would have eaten, as well as nutritional and dietary histories of many parts of the world.
Going Paleo calls for eating traditional foods, which offer significant nutritional value. Think organ meats, broths, fermented vegetables and fermented cod liver oil. People on this diet opt to eat whole foods that provide optimal, nutrient-dense food, while avoiding processed, refined, nutrient-poor factory foods. This means no grains, legumes (beans), refined sugar and pasteurized dairy products.
Many people on this diet claim to have regained health and wellness. They think of it as a way of eliminating foods that don’t promote health in the body. Remember, as with any diet or lifestyle change, results will never happen overnight. If you’re considering adopting this diet, be prepared for a transition, and ensure you are fulfilling all your body’s nutritional requirements.
Will you dare to go against the grain?