Paleo diet is just the latest in a long line of diet books and eating systems, promising to make us thin and healthy. However the paleolithic diet just might have some solid science behind it, and thus may be just what you need to turn the corner on your weight problems!
Let’s start with the main premise, that early humans before the advent of farming primarily ate meat (game animals) and whatever roots, berries, fruits, ect., they could gather from their immediate environment.
These early humans were called “hunter gatherers,” for this reason, and they evolved and adapted to this pattern of eating for hundreds of thousands of years. Some experts believe that modern humans are still designed for this type of diet, because we have only been eating processed foods for about 100 years or so. This means out bodies have not had anywhere near enough time in the evolutionary scale to adapt to this kind of eating.
If this is true, and there is strong evidence that it is, then the paleo diet might work for you, and be the answer to getting healthier and dropping those unwanted pounds. What about those 5 reasons you ask…? Ok, I’m getting to that.
Just understand that THE main premise behind paleo diets, is that we need to get back to what our bodies were designed for in order to be healthy. That’s seems logical.
Notice I said the diet “could” work for you, because honestly, there is NO diet system that seems to be optimal for everyone. But we know from research studies that about 75% of people have some degree of carbohydrate intolerance, so that would mean that the diet should work well for those 75%.
The other 25% are actually adapted to higher carbs in their diet, probably because their blood type and metabolic type evolved after farming began some 10,000 years ago.
I am not pushing the paleolothic diet for everyone, but if you are a blood type “O” or “B”, it will probably work for you.
5 Reasons Why the Paleo Diet Could Work For You
Reason number #1
(You have type “O” or type “B” blood and need animal proteins in your diet.)
These blood types evolved first before type “A” and “AB” when humans were still hunter gatherers, and not eating any carbohydrates in the form of cereal grains. In fact we see the most problems with grains in the diet among these blood type. They are just not adapted to be able to handle lots of carbs (let alone processed carbs that are in the modern diet)
This is a simple concept, and is really at the heart of the paleo diet. It makes perfect logical sense and is borne out by scientific observation.
Reason number #2
The paleo diet is devoid of cereal grains and thus your body produces much less insulin when you eat this way)
Diabetes and insulin resistance is a disease of modern dietary habits. As a population our diets contain far too much processed carbohydrate, mostly in the form of wheat. The 75% of the population that has some degree of carb intolerance can’t achieve optimal health eating this way. Insulin ages us faster and causes inflammation that can lead to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Reason number #3
(B-vitamins are critically important for good health and proper function of the heart, brain, and nervous system.)
The most abundant source of these b-vitamins are from animals meats eaten in the paleolithic diet. Carbohydrate dominated diets (the modern processed food diet) do not supply the necessary b-vitamins for good health, as well the lack of these vitamins affects metabolism adversely and makes it harder to burn fat and lose weight!
Reason number #4
Protein and fat as contained in the paleo diet, has a satiating effect on your appetite.)
This means that the food you eat on this diet do not make you feel hungry later on because they help keep blood sugar stable. Hormonal hunger occurs when you eat processed carbs which rapidly raise your blood sugar, causing your body to release insulin, which in turn brings your blood sugar level back down, and the cycle of hunger begins all over again.
Reason number #5
(Protein makes your body expend calories to break it down.)
It is estimate that your body expends 30% of the caloric value of the protein foods you eat just to break the food down. In other words your body burns calories digesting protein foods! This does not happen with carbohydrate foods because they break down so much more easily.
What is Paleo Food?
Some examples of paleo food are:
- Various meats, beef, veal, venison, pork
- Various fowl, chicken, turkey, duck, ect.
- Fish and shell fish of all kinds
- Raw vegetables and greens, fruits, and berries
To Sum Up
So let’s add this all up! Here is what the paleo diet does when you follow it:
- Paleo diets get you eating properly for your blood type and metabolism
- Your body produces less insulin, which means less inflammation
- Provides critically important b-vitamins your body needs to be healthy
- Keeps your appetite in check due to the satiating effect of protein and fat
- Causes you to burn more calories digesting your food
Paleo Recipes
No diet plan would be complete without recipes that people can follow and adapt to their daily meal planning. There are many books on the market that will provide lots of satisfying recipes that will satisfy your taste buds as well as help you lose weight and improve your health.
Will the Paleo Diet Work for Me?
Without knowing your individual nutritional typing there is no way to tell. My experience is that those 25% who need a higher carbohydrate type diet, and don’t do as well with animal proteins, generally are aware of this.
They may have trouble digesting meat, because their digestive systems lacks the acids and enzymes to break down animal proteins and fats. As I said, these people will probably already know they need to eat closer to a vegetarian type of diet, because again, they can’t handle (digest) animal proteins, and tend to feel uncomfortable when they eat those foods.
You can certainly track down a functional medicine doctor or naturopath that will be more likely familiar with nutritional typing and get a profile of your metabolic type done. This will indicate which type of eating pattern you should follow.
The majority of people (being type “O” or “B”, will of course do better with a diet like the paleo diet, or something quite similar.
So check out the paleolithic diet, and you will find that it it IS for you, you find it a lot easier to lose weight and maintain good health, because you will be eating the way nature intended for your body type!
