What is The Paleo Diet?
You know how older people tend to preach endlessly about how things were much better back in the days? Whether it’s the question of music, education or even nutrition; they are convinced it was all better before. And that phenomenon seems to be universal as older generations always think the past is the best. Well, in fact, there may not be all that wrong. There may be something there... some innate link leading all the way to our 10,000 years old ancestors in Paleolithic era.
A number of nutritional experts today claim that during Paleolithic era, we adapted to certain types of food available at the time and that such principles can still be used. The proponents of such ideas coined the term Paleolithic Diet (commonly abbreviated as Paleo Diet), which they believe is the best for our health.
Paleo Diet is a rather new concept that gained popularity in recent years although the idea originated back in 1975, in a book “The Stone Age Diet” written by Walter Voegtlin. However, today when we mention Paleo Diet, the first person to come to mind is its greatest advocate, an American scientist and a researcher, and a very prominent public figure, Loren Cordain. Mr. Cordian has written more than a hundred articles on the subject, with many of them published in leading scientific magazines. Cordain is widely recognized for his work and is now a professor at Colorado State University in the Department of Health and Exercise Science.
Now, all of this may seem irrelevant to an average reader looking for a quick and healthy way to lose weight. However, it is always a good idea to look up the creators of a specific diet, read up on his previous work, education, even lifestyle, because, if they don’t follow their own guidelines why should you? You can never be too careful when it comes to your health.
So, what does Paleo Diet actually consist of? As we’ve mentioned, it is based on the idea that at one point during evolution our eating habits changed according to the types of food that were available. Agriculture was, together with hunting, the basis of all nutrition. Paleo Diet proponents suggest that our bodies still crave for the same basic types of food and that we should adapt our diet to our genetic nutritional disposition. Basically, they encourage eating meat from animals that are grass-fed, eating fish for its Omega 3 fatty acids, fresh fruit and vegetables, eggs, seeds, and healthy oils like olive oil and avocado. The Paleo Diet suggests we should avoid basically all processed, overly salty food, as well as dairy products. Paleo Diet can be a useful tool for understanding how your body works in order to find the combination that best suits you and your organism. We are all unique living beings and there is no one universal formula for anything. Before starting a new diet, ask your friends on BodyStream, find a nutrisionist and do your research. You just have to see if it works for you.