What is Paleo Diet: What to eat and what not to eat?

The paleo diet as the name suggests is a dietary plan which includes eating foods that are similar to what people might be eating during the Palaeolithic era, which was around 2.5 million years ago.The diet limits the foods that became common when farming emerged about 10,000 years ago.

Food to eat on a Paleo diet

Meat: Lamb, chicken, beef, pork

Fish and seafood: Trout, salmon, shrimp, haddock, shellfish

Eggs: You can choose free-range or omega-3 enriched eggs

Vegetables: Broccoli, kale, onions, carrots, pepper and tomatoes

Fruits: Apples, oranges, bananas, pears, avocado, strawberries, blueberries

Tubers: Potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, turnips

Nuts and seeds: Almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and more

Healthy fats and oils: Extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil and others

Salt and spices: Sea salt, garlic, rosemary and turmeric etc.

Foods not to eat on a Paleo diet

Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup: Soft drinks, fruit juices, table sugar, candy, ice creams and pastries

Grains: Bread, pasta wheat, spelt, rye, barley

Legumes: Beans, lentils and other legumes

Dairy: Most dairy including low-fat. But some versions of paleo include full-fat dairy like butter and cheese.

Some vegetable oils: Soybean oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil and others.

Trans fat: It is found in margarine and various processed foods. These are called hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated.

Artificial sweeteners: Sucralose, cyclamates, saccharin, acesulfame potassium and aspartame. One can use natural sweeteners.

High processed foods: Most of the foods labelled as low-fat and diet food have many additives. Includes artificial meal replacements.

Benefits of Paleo diets

Various clinical trials have compared the paleo diet to other eating diet plans such as the Mediterranean diet and diabetes diet. The trials overall have suggested that the paleo diet may provide some more benefits when compared to vegetables, fruits, lean meats, whole grains, legumes and low-fat dairy products. The benefits of the diet include more weight loss, improved glucose tolerance, better blood pressure control, lower triglycerides and better appetite management.