Each year, more and more Americans fall into the overweight and obesity categories and there are several things to blame. Sedentary jobs and lifestyles, convenient unhealthy foods, poor personal behavior, and even genetics, have all contributed to the increase in unhealthy weight gain.
If you’re reading this, you are probably on a mission to start eating healthy, change up your lifestyle and get back to feeling good or you may be considering paleo for a medical reason. Regardless of your motivation, the paleo diet has become extremely popular in the last ten years but has been around since the 1970s. Read on to find out what exactly the diet entails and what the health benefits of the paleo diet are.
You’ve maybe heard a few different names for the paleo diet including stone age, caveman or ancient diet but they all refer to the same diet that was first brought to light by Walter Voegtlin in the 1970s. Dr. Voegtlin was a gastroenterologist who began looking at the way our ancient ancestors from the Paleolithic era (2.5 million to 10,000 years ago) ate and tried to apply it to modern day lifestyles. His kickstart to paleo thinking really gained traction when Dr. S. Boyd Eaton wrote a book, in 1988, called “The Paleolithic Prescription.”
The Idea Behind Paleo Diet
The premise behind the paleo diet is that the human body has not adapted yet to a modern diet because our genetic makeup was established in pre-agricultural times. In other words, our bodies are genetically tuned to eat the way our ancestors did and modern agriculture and foods now have developed so quickly that the way we digest and process foods hasn’t caught up yet.
The paleo diet focuses on the way that our ancestors ate in order to give our bodies the types of foods that they are evolved for.
The diet guidelines are very simple, which makes it an easy diet to follow. Just like with any diet, there are foods you can eat and ones you can’t.
Allowed Foods
- Fruits
- Vegetables
- Nuts and seeds
- Lean meats
- Fish
- Oils from nuts and fruits (i.e. olive and walnut)
Foods to Avoid
- Grains
- Legumes (beans, lentils, peanuts)
- Dairy products
- Refined sugars
- Starches (potatoes)
- Any highly processed foods
The benefits of the paleo diet are wide-ranging and most people start to see results rather quickly. Certain health conditions require a paleo-like diet due to the benefits of eating a clean, no grain or dairy diet. Aside from weight loss, the associated benefits from this historic-based diet include the following:
- Removing additives, preservatives, and chemicals from the foods you eat
- Anti-inflammatory benefits from fruits, vegetables, nuts, and oils
- More lean protein and iron content
- Better appetite control from higher intake of protein and fats
- May help lower triglycerides, blood pressure
- Can improve glucose tolerance
- Helps control energy spikes throughout the day
- Can help with mental “fog” during the day
Like with any diet, the paleo diet pros and cons can vary from person to person, but you may still be wondering is paleo healthy? Yes, it is if you are following it responsibly. It’s important to follow a diet that you can manage and supplements your personal health needs. Too much of a good thing can become bad (like eating a giant container of nuts for a meal). The easiest way to follow your paleo diet plan is to let us remove the headache of thinking of what to eat.
At DeliverLean, we deliver expertly crafted paleo meals right to your door. All you need to do is select the following options:
- How many days per week
- How many meals per day
- Mix and match meals, add extra items
With over 150 different options to choose from, you’ll never get bored of eating the same thing over and over again. Eating healthy and sticking to your diet has never been easier than with DeliverLean.
Check us out today and start getting the foods you love right to your door!
