By Patricia Danflous
Don’t follow fad diets. They do not work. If you have learned anything from your own dieting history, you already know what you need to do for losing or maintaining weight.
But what about following a Paleo lifestyle? Makes sense, doesn’t it? Based on the concept of eating like our caveman ancestors, the Paleo Diet is a dietary trend, emphasizing a high-protein, high-fiber eating pattern. Paleo followers eat a significant amount of fresh lean meat, fish, a little fruit and some vegetables. Eggs, (most) nuts, seeds and healthy oils are also allowed. Processed foods are not on the permitted list, nor are grains, dairy, peanuts, beans, sugar, salt and potatoes.
“The Paleo Diet is based on four central ideas,” says MediFit Corporate Services Nutritionist and Fitness specialist Kirk Vidrine.
Paleo proponents, report that eating grains can lead to inflammation and related health problems. “Controlled trials consistently show that eating grains, whether whole or refined, does not affect inflammation at all,” he says. “Research shows that whole grains may decrease inflammation and its is the processing of refined grains, not the grains, that may increase inflammation.”
Restricting legumes such as beans and peanuts from your diet is the Paleo way. However, Vidrine states, legumes have been found at Paleolithic sites all over the world and in some cases were determined to be the dominant type of plant food available. “A recent review revealed that our Paleolithic ancestors not only ate legumes, but they were also an important part of their diets,” he adds.
For healthy dieting follow an eating plan that includes:
• lots of veggies
• some fruit
• nuts and seeds
• increased Omega-3’s and healthy fats
• lots of water
• low levels of highly processed foods
• moderate to low levels of lean proteins
• moderate to high level of whole grains and starchy vegetables
• low-level of enriched grains
• moderate dairy
The Paleo Diet has some substantial successes.
• Paleo-style eating emphasizes whole foods, lean proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and other healthy fats, which is a massive improvement over the average Western diet.
• Paleo-style eating has been extremely effective for improving several chronic diseases such as Celiac disease
