By Tom, on October 19th, 2012
With my introduction of NuSI a couple of weeks ago, I want to introduce some diets that fit within the hypothesis they follow. That hypothesis is that sugar is the cause of heart disease, diabetes, obesity and almost all other “diseases of civilization.” A very popular diet that follows this hypothesis is the Paleolithic Diet, which had other names including the caveman diet or simply the Paleo Diet.
The Paleo Diet is based on one big idea: We aren’t eating what we evolved to eat. We are still the hunter-gatherers that we evolved into around 10,000 years ago and that means cultivated foods aren’t easily digestible and don’t nourish our bodies the way we need them to. Here are the basic tenants of the Paleo Diet:
- Eat Protein and Healthy Fats: Lots of meat, fish, and eggs, lots of saturated fats. Lots of omega-3 fatty acids. This is the largest and most important part of the Paleo Diet.
- Eat Vegetables: But they aren’t the most important part of your diet. Just try to include a serving in every meal.
- Limit Chemicals: Eat organic vegetables, grass-fed beef, pastured eggs. Industrially created foods are not in line with the Paleo diet.
- Avoid Grains and Legumes: These have evolved to stay intact all the way through the digestive system. They wreck havoc on your digestive system on the way through. Wheat is the worst of the worst and rice is the lesser of the evil grains. The Paleo diet is one of the only diets out there that would rather you eat refined grains than whole due to the anti-nutrients in the husk of the grain. Beans are better soaked and even better fermented but should still be limited.
- Limit Dairy: Once again fermented is better, especially if you have digestive issues. Yogurt and kefir and old cheese. If you are trying to gain weight, it is recommended by the Paleo Diet that you consume dairy, as long as you aren’t allergic or lactose intolerant.
- Avoid Sugar and salt: As these foods were rarely used in paleolithic times they are to be avoided. Salt should be used sparingly and sugar should be avoided altogether
Feel like I left something out? Correct me in the comments section below.
