Benefits of the Paleo Diet
Surely over the past few years, you’ve heard about the paleo diet? If you still don’t know what the characteristics of this type of diet are, this article will tell you all you need to know. Discover the details and benefits of this diet which proposes to return to our origins and to eat in the same manner as the Paleolithic era did.
Naturally, the paleo diet also has its detractors. Of course, we don’t neglect these opinions and take them into consideration so that you can draw your own conclusions.
What is the paleo diet?
The paleo diet is a diet where you eat in the same way as people in the Paleolithic era ate. You need to keep in mind that, during that time, the only way to feed oneself was taking the food that nature offered, through hunting and fishing.
This is why in this type of diet sugar and any foods that contain carbohydrates are forbidden. Therefore, this includes foods such as bread, bakery products, juices, and similar.
This style of eating has a fair amount of followers but also a large number of critics that claim it’s dangerous for our health. Next, we’ll analyze the paleo diet to know if truly provides all the benefits that its followers believe it does.
More than a way of eating
The paleo diet is much more than a way of eating. Behind this type of eating, is a life philosophy that’s also important to learn about. Going deep into the minds of these people is the only way to fully understand this diet.
As we previously mentioned, in the paleo diet we only consume ingredients that were available before agriculture was refined, approximately ten thousand years ago.
Our usual amounts of protein intake must be included with any protein supplements. We need to be cautious to avoid excessive intake.
Followers state that most of the foods created after the Paleolithic era are the main cause of major health issues that affect the current human being. Some of these diseases are obesity, coronary illnesses, and diabetes.
Therefore, the only solution to stay healthy and avoid all of these -sadly all to common-diseases is to return to our origins. Nothing more and nothing less than the Paleolithic era. This is the only moment in time in which the human being ate according to its genetics.
Benefits of the paleo diet
When you follow this diet, your body will experience certain changes that could benefit your athletic performance. The most important benefit of all is the natural regulation of insulin.
As we have said, this diet forbids sugar. You’ll only consume the sugar that’s contained in food naturally. This restriction prevents problems such as diabetes.
Lower probabilities of being overweight or obesity is another of the great benefits of the paleo diet. While restricting fats, carbohydrates, and sugar, you eliminate the main risks involved with carrying more weight than you should.
Besides, you need to keep in mind that you cannot consume precooked food, junk food, or industrial bakery products. This also contributes in a positive way to the healthy care of our weight.
Likewise, another of its virtues is that it’s a quenching eating style. As you may have seen, the basis of this diet is meat, fish and mixed nuts. Consuming these foods will make you quench your hunger during the day and prevent you from snacking between meals.
Be careful with inconveniences
While this diet becoming more and more popular, many people have alerted us to how harmful this lifestyle may be. Among the dangers of the paleo diet we can mention the following:
- High-calorie diet: nowadays we don’t perform the same physical efforts that the Paleolithic people made. Therefore, we don’t always have the need to consume food that’s so caloric.
- High protein diet: too many proteins are consumed and other equally necessary nutrients are neglected such as carbohydrates.
Definitely, alongside almost all diet methods, the paleo diet has its limitations. In any case, if you should decide to follow it, consult a nutritionist before you begin. This way you can set up a plan that respects these principles as much as possible while fulfilling your body’s requirements.
All cited sources were thoroughly reviewed by our team to ensure their quality, reliability, currency, and validity. The bibliography of this article was considered reliable and of academic or scientific accuracy.
- Alcocer Ansorena, María; Ponce Troncoso, Ana. La Dieta Paleolítica en el Deporte. Estudio de
detalle de intervención de la dieta paleolítica en deportistas con diabetes 2. Biblioteca
Lascasas, 2017; V13. Disponible en <http://www.indexf.com/lascasas/documentos/e11308.php