Nutrition Intuition: The Real Truth about the Paleo Diet

The paleo diet has its fair share of fans and detractors. The diet itself has gained massive popularity over the years and thousands of people swear by it. They often claim to feel much better and healthier as a result of adopting this diet. Thousands of people have also lost weight by adopting the paleo diet, which is also known as the ‘caveman’ diet.

The diet basically focuses on eating single ingredient foods such as fish, grass fed meat, goat, poultry, rabbit and a lot of other meats. You are also encouraged to consume a variety of vegetables from broccolis, carrots, cabbages, etc. Contrary to popular diets, the paleo diet also encourages the consumption of healthy fats such as coconut oil, olive oil, macadamia oil, grass fed butter, etc. The emphasis is on wholesome, nutritious foods that our early ancestors ate during the paleolithic era. 

Grains, refined and processed foods, sugar and other modern foods that the typical American consumes is anathema to the avid paleo dieter. They are not allowed to consume these foods at all as part of the paleo diet.

The trend in obesity has skyrocketed and it has reached epidemic proportions. Thousands and thousands of Americans are obese and the food industry is to blame. Paleo dieters have dumped the Standard American Diet, which is known as SAD amongst paleo fans, for a healthier alternative.

The results prove that the paleo diet works. Thousands of testimonials show that people have lost weight using this method. They report feeling much better ever since they stopped eating grains and process foods such as white bread or products which are marketed as ‘healthy’ by billion dollar food manufacturers. Going natural has made a world of difference to the paleo dieters.

Now, of course there are people who say that the paleo diet is not healthy because you will not get all the nutrients your body needs. This is not true. The only time that your body lacks nutrients is if you do not consume a varied diet. By eating a variety of foods, your body will have all the nutrients it needs.

Another point that detractors may throw up is that consuming too much meat and eggs will raise your cholesterol level. However, studies have shown that dietary cholesterol has minimal impact on your blood cholesterol level. The real culprit is modern day foods that inflame the body and cause cholesterol to be formed to heal the inflamed cells.

On another tangent, there are folks who say that the paleo diet is uncivilized. This is purely an image issue. The fact that the diet is modeled after a caveman’s diet and is actually called that, conjures up images of feral men tearing into raw meat in some caves. This is just a psychological issue. Most paleo dieters just eat more meat and they cook it well, spice it up and in many cases, their food tastes just as good as or even better than a greasy steak you may find at a local diner.

The crux of the matter is that the paleo diet is extremely beneficial to one’s health. The saying, ‘Don’t knock it till you try it’ applies here. It will do you good to give it a try and you just might find yourself a fan of this remarkable diet.