There has been a lot of interest in the health and fitness world about the so-called Paleo diet, which promises to help devotees lose weight, regain optimum health and vitality, manage auto-immune conditions and achieve peak athletic performance.
Websites such as Mark’s Daily Apple have gone from being niche fitness blogs to hugely influential knowledge sources with thousands of followers – and the hype still grows!
The diet itself
So what is the Paleo diet exactly? Well, essentially it is a diet based on the paleolithic model of eating, which aims to mimic the foods that our ancestors enjoyed, and which we have evolved to eat and digest most optimally. The cornerstone foods of the Paleo diet are meat, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and healthy oils such as coconut and butter.
The diet is naturally higher in protein than the average Western ‘healthy’ diet, which promotes excess carbohydrate consumption, but advocates of the Paleo way of eating believe that this approach has simply made the human race fatter, sicker and generally reduced quality of life, thanks primarily to the insulin response that carbs engender in our endocrine systems.
A closer look at the role of insulin
Insulin is a vital hormone that ‘locks’ and ‘unlocks’ our body’s cells, allowing carbohydrate to be used by the body for fuel, and transferring excess carbohydrates into fat, which can later be released from cells when energy is needed. However, a high carbohydrate diet means that our bodies are constantly priming themselves to store fat, and there is a danger of becoming insulin dependent. At this point, diabetes can occur, as well as a host of other illnesses that are tagged under the term ‘metabolic disorders’.
The role of protein vs carbohydrates
Image attributed to Carlos Porto / FreeDigitalPhotos.net
The Paleo diet limits carbohydrates by cutting out grains, a biologically modern addition to our diets, having been introduced around 10,000 years ago. Instead, it encourages the consumption of natural, local, organic food that is as unprocessed and as close to its natural state as possible. For many people this will include meat, fish, vegetables or protein whey and egg powders. Others will use the convenience of some ready made foods, snack bars and supplements, which can be very useful for a busy lifestyle. You can find these at: http://www.proteinfoodsdirect.com
Benefits of Paleo
One of the great benefits of the Paleo diet is that it naturally leads to dietary satiety – the feeling of being full and satisfied. High fat intakes are used by the body for fuel, where excess carbohydrates are not present. The large amounts of vegetables, nutrient rich meat, eggs and other protein sources and naturally sweet fruits provide a vast amount of vitamins, minerals, proteins and other trace elements. Followers of the diet often say that, not only do they lose weight and inches easily, but their health greatly improves in the process.
Paleo is about eating real, natural and good food based around protein rich sources and naturally nutritious foodstuffs. It provides the body with the nutrients that it needs to survive and thrive, and is favoured by some of the world’s most heavy trainers, including CrossFitters, weightlifters and sporting athletes. For these reasons, it looks very likely to stay!