A lot of people have realized the importance of eating right. As such, there are countless diet plans available in the market today. One highly popular diet is the Paleo diet. The Paleo diet is an acronym for Paleolithic diet. This way of eating is based on the theory that evolution has been occurring in humans for thousands of years while it has only been a few thousand years since the modern diet came into being. It has been scientifically verified that the human genome in the early days of the modern diet is the same as that today. The basis of this diet is consuming foods that are natural and unaltered in any way.
The Paleolithic diet is also known as the primal, Stone Age or caveman diet. Today, it consists of processed foods, vegetable oils, sugars and grains. In many places, these foods form the entire diet. This unhealthy lifestyle is the major cause for various ailments such as metabolic syndrome, heart disease, obesity and diabetes. The Paleo diet aims to reduce the occurrence of such diseases by eating foods similar to those consumed by our ancestors. There are a few remote populations who haven't adopted the modern diet. They still consume raw foods and hence aren't affected by any modern day diseases. This has prompted a lot of people to adopt Paleo diet foods into their daily routine.
Seeds, nuts, fruits, vegetables, eggs, fish and meat are some common Paleo diet foods. Junk foods such as cakes, candies, sugars and pastries are not included in this diet as they are a major cause of metabolic syndrome. Processed foods, dairy products, grains and vegetable oils are also excluded from this diet. Even though meat is a major part of the Paleo diet, foods such as bacon, pepperoni, pork sausages, chicken wings and deli products should be avoided as they have a higher fat content. Grain and wheat products including oats, rice and barley should be avoided completely. Fruits and vegetables are an important part of this diet and they make for a healthy snack in between meals. In keeping with the foods consumed by cavemen, all agricultural products including gluten free ones are not included in this diet.
One of the main advantages of this diet is that the process of digestion will stabilize eventually. This increases the metabolism leading to weight loss. Since the Paleo diet has high protein content, a lot of athletes follow this diet. The basic foods such as fish, chicken, nuts and lean meat provide fiber and energy to the athletes leading to muscle development and weight reduction. Casein and gluten are the biggest causes of allergies and they are found in many processed foods.
However, they are not part of the Paleo diet foods and hence this diet can be used by any without having to worry about suffering from allergic reactions. The risk of getting weight related illnesses such as diabetes and heart diseases are considerably lowered since the Paleo diet has a high fiber and low carbohydrate content. A lot of people have been greatly benefited by this wonderful diet plan.
