What Makes the Paleo Diet Popular?

 

What Makes The Paleo Diet Popular?

The Paleo Diet is the most talked about healthy living diet plan in recent times. What is it? How did it become the most Google searched diet plan of 2013? It is amazing to see that there are more than 5000 e-Books about Paleo diet recipes and lifestyle on Amazon.

The world has seen many diet types: there are vegetarians, vegans, lactose free diets, meat free diets. What makes Paleo stand out? The quest is on!

Thousands of years ago, our ancestors lived on food that they hunted, fished, or gathered from their surroundings. They did not plan their meals nor did they eat three or four times a day. They ate what were readily available and within their reach.

Agriculture or cultivating food happened about 10,000 years ago. It is rather a quite recent phenomenon. Hunting for food was the only job our ancestors needed to do. They ate raw, salt less, uncooked food mainly meat, fish, fruits and vegetables from plants. Moreover, no food grains. Mind that cultivation never happened then.

The food habits of our ancestors, the cave dwellers, are what many people worldwide choose to follow now in the form of a new diet fad, 'The Paleo Diet'. A very common saying to outline the diet is 'If it doesn't fly, swim, walk or isn't green, then don't eat it."

Why go Paleo?

The Paleo diet followers have decided to go the Paleolithic way to lead a long and healthier life. It is also known as the Caveman's diet, Hunter-Gatherer diet, Stone Age diet or the Primal Blueprint Diet.

The whole point of going the Paleo way is not to exactly follow our ancestors, and this is what makes it so popular. Modern man has come a long way, and several tweaks have been made to make the diet more adaptable and acceptable.

The advocates of this diet strongly believe that it is modern lifestyle and eating habits that cause obesity, heart diseases diabetes, infertility, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and even depression.

Losing weight is a factor that attracts people to Paleo diets.

Paleo followers eat wholesome, nutrient rich food. They avoid mostly everything to do with packed and processed food, grains, salt, and dairy. The main idea is to eat food that is seasonal and fresh.

Yes! This means that all the toxic food that affects or harms your digestive and immune system are avoided. Therefore, out goes all the processed and carbohydrate rich food, and in go animal proteins and plants. Paleo advocates believe that we can sustain on this, along with few supplements if need arises.

Going Paleo means you are naturally going to avoid foods that trigger allergens. Many people are sensitive to gluten, dairy, soy, corn, refined sugar etc. In a Paleo diet, you steer clear of food containing all these, thereby suppressing your allergens.

The great thing about this diet is it allows you to stop fussing over your calories. You can stop counting your calories. You don't have to take meals four times a day, and have to eat food only when you are hungry. Food is treated simply as a fuel to get going.

Paleo Diet

A good Paleo diet is one that would contain more of:

· proteins

· good fat

· fiber

· micronutrients

· vitamins and minerals

Less of:

· Sodium

· Carbohydrates

There are a number of Must haves and Have not's when it comes to following a Paleo Diet. The Paleo diet fully supports meat, fish and eggs along with plant produce as the source of nutrients. Lean meat is in, and so are skin, bones, liver, and almost all parts of the animal. Vegetarians or Vegans please excuse.

Did I mention salt less? Yes, the diet is sodium free. You will have to go salt free or with minimum salt possible.

The Must Haves include:

· Grass fed or pasture raised meat

· Eggs

· Fish/ sea food

· Fresh fruits and vegetables

· Nuts/seeds

· Oil (olive, flaxseed, avocado, coconut)

· Fermented food like sauerkraut

· Herbal tea like ginger, chamomile, nettle, peppermint can be had in moderation

· Coconut water

You must Avoid:

· Dairy like milk, butter, cheese, yogurt

· Legumes

· Cereal grains

· Rice

· Salt

· Added sugar

· Potatoes

· Processed food and Packaged food

· Vegetable oils like corn, sunflower, Crisco, peanut oil, margarine

· Juices, soda, coffee, tea

· Alcohol

You can have in Moderation:

· Chocolate

· Raw honey

· Dried fruit

· Unrefined sea salt

The diet does not include any beverages other than our plain pure water, as pure drinking water was the only choice our ancestors had. It is better to have wholesome fruits, or maybe you can have freshly squeezed fruit juices minus the added sugar.

You can include anything and everything with coconuts: Coconut water, oil, butter, vinegar, amino, sugar and even nectar.

Paleo Lifestyle

Along with food, you will have to make several lifestyle changes as well.

· Try to get a good amount of exposure to sunlight or if that option is not available take adequate vitamin D.

· You would need to be active, with frequent natural exercises like walking, running, swimming, lifting, picking, carrying, jumping or even crawling.

· Have closer contacts with children and family.

· Live in contact with nature. Engage yourself in activities like gardening or hiking in the woods.

· Care must be taken to keep external stressors at bay. Learn to live simply. Relax your mind and body.

· You need to go to bed when it is dark, and sleep for at least eight hours a day.

To conclude, it has not yet been proved that Paleo works. Of course, there might be several benefits from following this diet, but studies are yet to come up with concrete results. There have been some studies done that came up with positive results, but the sample size were too small to have it accepted.

Critics argue that the Paleo diet is not for everyone. The type of food that has to be consumed is expensive. The labels organic, grass-fed, meat, fish, eggs, nuts, vegetables are all associated with greater cost, and that you will not get all the right nutrients just by following Paleo diet.

Nevertheless, Paleo is just getting more and more popular, and no amount of criticism is pulling it down. Celebrities and chefs around the blog are endorsing it, and the numbers of followers are growing day by day.

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What Is the Paleo Diet All About?

So just what is the Paleo Diet and what exactly is it all about?

Thanks to the obscene levels of obesity and rife levels of heart disease and diabetes, there has never been a greater focus on overall society to become fit, slimmer and more healthy. Dieting and nutritional lifestyle choices have become endless and it would be fair to say that dieting in one way or another is now a way of life for the majority of people. And there are so, so many diets and programs available to us these days. They cover every topic known to man on the right foods to eat and avoid and in what combination but really, upon searching deeper, we will find that the answers we seek go back to our caveman ancestors.

With this endless choice and all the varying options and rules involved in each particular diet, it pays to really understand what each diet entails before you choose one and get started. It must be right for you and give you everything you need or are looking for without causing any additional problems or side effects.

Upon investigation you will see that many popular diets restrict carbohydrates or focus on fruit and vegetables. Other diets focus on only eating a certain food group or even raw foods only. Several also restrict or discourage large amounts of protein and meats. The Paleo Diet is quite unique however because the whole idea comes from simulating the natural aspects of the type of diet enjoyed by the very first humans - the caveman! What Is The Paleo Diet?

What is the Paleo Diet and where does it come from?

Known commonly as The Stone Age, Paleo comes from the Paleolithic period of history and the Paleo diet eating plan is often known as the "Hunter Gatherer Diet." It takes its name from the fact that all the food contained in this diet were either able to be hunted or gathered. Meats and Seafood come under the hunted category meanwhile nuts, vegetables and fruits for example are categorized under gathered.

Basically, this diet stems from the fact that early humans who had no access to or knowledge of animal husbandry and agriculture, had a diet that you either hunted or gathered for yourself. The Paleo Diet applies this slant and line of thinking to modern-day foods reducing and eliminating processed and man-made foods. This does not mean you are expected to hunt and gather for yourself! Just only that the nutrition choices we make are as natural and unaltered as possible.

The base foundation of the Paleo eating plan is that humans are genetically suited to eat the foods that our ancestors consumed. Therefore, before the introduction of agriculture, nutrition and food was so much different than that of today so in short, the Paleo diet imitates the foods that every single human on earth consumed and had available at that particular time.

Not only is the Paleo eating plan full of quality, natural, high nutritional value foods such as fruits and vegetables along with seafood and lean meats but it is perhaps known better for the foods, drinks and ingredients that are not consumed by those on the Paleo Diet. As the agriculture revolution provided us with foods our early ancestors never had such as dairy products, salt, sugar and even grains, they are not allowed to be consumed. Not only do some of these ingredients and food stuffs cause digestive problems but these products have been shown through endless research that they can lead to an increase in weight and a higher chance of developing health problems such as diabetes.

Because of its high protein content the Paleo nutritional lifestyle has a large and steadily growing athlete following. Thanks to the basic foods in the Paleo diet such as chicken, fish, lean meats, nuts, fruits and vegetables it is an athlete's dream providing energy, muscle development and fiber along with the reduction of all weight gaining and physique robbing junk food and unhelpful ingredients.

Most vegetables are great for the Paleo lifestyle however root vegetables will give you the biggest bang for your buck health wise. One of the most basic reasons why the Paleo diet lifestyle is healthy for you is simply because you practically reduce all additives and artificial preservatives, many of which have been proven to be harmful to your health.

So that's the basic premise which hopefully answers your question, What is the Paleo diet eating plan all about yet you may still be questioning why you would make the significant switch to the Paleo Diet.

There are many health benefits associated with this diet and not the least of them is potential relief for allergy sufferers thanks to the fact that the Paleo is naturally allergen free. Two of the biggest causes of common allergies, gluten and casein, are commonly found in manufactured foods. Because the overwhelming majority of foods available on the Paleo diet do not contain either gluten or casein, allergy sufferers can rejoice!

But don't forget about the weight loss potential for those on the Paleo. Apart from the protein aspect which is great for weight loss alone, the Paleo diet is naturally low in carbohydrates and has a low caloric count. It is also naturally high in fiber which is a crucial factor when it comes to over eating and weight loss. The low carbohydrates combined with the high amounts of natural fiber while on this diet ensures that the risk of coronary heart disease, diabetes and other weight related illnesses and ailments is decreased.

Last but not least, this diet has none of the other big risks when it comes to heart disease and cancer like additives, sugar, salt, saturated fats and of course the big one getting a heap of exposure in recent years, hydrogenated oils or trans fats as they are commonly known.

At first glance, the Paleo Diet lifestyle can seem like a hard choice to make with limited food options however if you look closer and explore a little deeper, those fears will be addressed and upon making some small worthy sacrifices you will be bettering your chance of actually living a healthier and happier, disease free life! And just remember that as close as you can get to this lifestyle choice, the benefits will start to appear.

Like as in exercise, 5 sit-ups is better than zero and going for a 20 minute walk is better than sitting on the couch! Same thing goes for the Paleo! Although following the diet 100% is ideal, your body will still start to thank you for every single step you take in living the ideals of the Paleo Diet!

In any case, there are plenty of recipes, cook books and resources available at http://www.thepaleodieteatingplan.com that can help you learn more about the Paleo Diet Eating Plan, what is meant by Paleolithic Nutrition and assist you to more easily make this beneficial lifestyle change.

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