What is the paleo diet and how does it work? Get a beginner’s guide with a meal plan. Discover the foods to eat and avoid on the paleo diet. Understand the health benefits and variations of this ancient eating approach.

The Paleo Diet: A Beginner’s Guide

The paleo diet, also known as the caveman diet or stone-age diet, is based on the principle of eating whole, unprocessed foods that are similar to what our hunter-gatherer ancestors consumed thousands of years ago. The core idea behind the paleo diet is to focus on consuming a variety of nutrient-dense, minimally processed foods that our bodies are genetically adapted to thrive on.

Understanding the Paleo Diet

Paleolithic humans lived in diverse regions and had access to a wide range of food sources, from meats and seafood to vegetables, fruits, nuts, and seeds. As a result, their diets varied significantly depending on the local availability and geography. Some followed a low-carb, high-animal-protein diet, while others consumed a high-carb, plant-based diet. Despite these differences, the common thread was the reliance on whole, natural foods rather than processed or refined options.

The Paleo Diet Meal Plan

The paleo diet encourages the consumption of a variety of whole, unprocessed foods, including:

• Meat, fish, and seafood
• Eggs
• Vegetables
• Fruits
• Nuts and seeds
• Healthy fats like olive oil, avocado oil, and nut oils
• Herbs and spices

In contrast, the paleo diet discourages the consumption of processed foods, grains, legumes, dairy, and certain vegetable oils. This includes foods such as:

• Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (found in sodas, juices, candies, and processed snacks)
• Breads, pastas, and other grains
• Beans, lentils, and other legumes
• Most dairy products (some versions of paleo do include full-fat dairy like butter and cheese)
• Highly processed oils like soybean, corn, and cottonseed oil
• Artificial sweeteners
• Highly processed foods with many additives

Health Benefits of the Paleo Diet

Numerous studies have suggested that the paleo diet may offer a range of health benefits, including:

1. Weight loss: The paleo diet has been shown to promote weight loss without the need for calorie counting, as it emphasizes nutrient-dense, filling foods.
2. Improved blood sugar control: By eliminating processed carbohydrates and sugars, the paleo diet may help regulate blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.
3. Reduced risk of heart disease: The paleo diet’s emphasis on healthy fats, lean proteins, and antioxidant-rich fruits and vegetables may help lower cholesterol, blood pressure, and inflammation, all of which are risk factors for heart disease.
4. Better gut health: The paleo diet’s focus on whole, fiber-rich foods may support a healthy gut microbiome and improve digestive function.

Variations of the Paleo Diet

Over time, the paleo diet has evolved, and there are now several different versions or interpretations of this way of eating. Some of these modified paleo diets include:

• Autoimmune Paleo (AIP): This version excludes certain foods that may trigger or worsen autoimmune conditions, such as nightshade vegetables, nuts, and seeds.
• Paleo-Vegan: This approach combines the principles of the paleo diet with a plant-based, vegan lifestyle, focusing on whole, unprocessed plant foods.
• Paleo-Keto: This variation integrates the paleo diet with a low-carb, high-fat ketogenic approach, emphasizing high-fat animal products and low-carb vegetables.

These modified versions allow for a more personalized approach to the paleo diet, catering to individual health needs and preferences.

Is the Paleo Diet Right for You?

The paleo diet may not be suitable for everyone, and it’s important to consider your individual needs and preferences. Before starting the paleo diet, it’s always a good idea to consult with a healthcare professional, especially if you have any underlying medical conditions or are taking medications. They can provide guidance on how to adapt the paleo diet to your specific needs and ensure you’re meeting your nutritional requirements.

Conclusion

The paleo diet offers a natural, whole-food-based approach to eating that is inspired by the diets of our Paleolithic ancestors. By focusing on nutrient-dense, minimally processed foods, the paleo diet may provide a range of health benefits, including weight loss, improved blood sugar control, and reduced risk of heart disease. While the paleo diet has evolved over time, the core principles remain the same: prioritize whole, unprocessed foods and avoid processed, sugar-laden, and artificial ingredients. As with any dietary change, it’s important to consult with a healthcare professional to ensure the paleo diet is the right fit for your individual needs and goals.

The Paleo Diet — A Beginner’s Guide + Meal Plan

The paleo diet includes whole, unprocessed foods, such as vegetables, nuts, seeds, and meat. It may benefit your overall health and reduce your risk for some health conditions, including obesity.

The paleo diet is designed to resemble what human hunter-gatherer ancestors ate thousands of years ago.

Although it’s impossible to know exactly what human ancestors ate in different parts of the world, researchers believe their diets consisted of whole foods.

By following a diet of whole foods and leading physically active lives, hunter-gatherers presumably had much lower rates of lifestyle diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

In fact, several studies suggest that this diet can lead to significant weight loss (without calorie counting) and major improvements in health.

Anthropologists also speculate that the paleo diet influenced anatomic and physiologic changes in humans, including an increase in brain size and reduction in gastrointestinal tract size (1).

This article is a basic introduction to the paleo diet, providing a simple meal plan and other essential information.

A paleo diet meal plan

Paleolithic humans thrived on a variety of diets, depending on what was available at the time and where in the world they lived.

Some ate a low-carb diet high in animal foods, while others followed a high carb diet with lots of plants (1). Some even ate insects, but fortunately, this delicacy is not included in today’s modern interpretation of the paleo diet.

The paleo diet includes meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, healthy fats, and oils (2).

Foods to avoid include processed foods, sugar, soft drinks, artificial sweeteners, and trans fats. Foods to limit include grains, most dairy products, and legumes (2).

However, it’s important to consider the above as general guidelines, not something written in stone. You can adapt all of this to your own personal needs and preferences.

Summary

Paleolithic humans’ diets varied depending on availability and location. The basic concept of the paleo diet is to eat whole foods and avoid processed foods.

Foods to avoid on the paleo diet

The paleo diet discourages consumption of certain foods, including:

• Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup: soft drinks, fruit juices, table sugar, candy, pastries, ice cream, and many others
• Grains: breads, pastas, wheat, cereal, spelt, rye, barley, etc.
• Legumes: beans, lentils, and many more
• Dairy: most dairy, especially low fat dairy (some versions of paleo do include full-fat dairy like butter and cheese)
• Some vegetable oils: soybean oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil, and others
• Artificial sweeteners: aspartame, sucralose, cyclamates, saccharin, acesulfame potassium (use natural sweeteners instead)
• Highly processed foods: everything labeled “diet” or “low fat” or that has many additives, including artificial meal replacements

A simple guideline for the paleo diet is, if it looks like it was made in a factory, don’t eat it.

If you want to avoid these ingredients, you must read ingredients lists and nutrition labels, even on foods that are labeled as “health foods.”

Summary

Foods to avoid on the paleo diet include processed foods and ingredients, like sugar, bread, certain vegetable oils, trans fats, and artificial sweeteners.

Foods to eat on the paleo diet

There’s a variety of whole, unprocessed foods you can eat on the paleo diet. This includes:

• Meat: Beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pork, and others
• Fish and seafood: salmon, trout, haddock, shrimp, shellfish, etc (choose wild-caught if you can)
• Eggs: may be free-range, pastured, or omega-3 enriched
• Vegetables: broccoli, kale, peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes, etc.
• Fruits: apples, bananas, oranges, pears, avocados, strawberries, blueberries, and more.
• Tubers: potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, turnips, etc.
• 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, turmeric, rosemary, etc.

Many people prefer to choose grass-fed meats, pastured eggs, and organic produce while following a paleo diet. However, this is not required.

Summary

Eat whole, unprocessed foods like meat, seafood, eggs, veggies, fruits, potatoes, nuts, healthy fats, and spices while on the paleo diet. If possible, choose grass-fed and organic products.

Modified paleo diets

Over the past few years, the paleo community has evolved quite a bit.

There are now several different versions of the paleo diet. Some of them allow a few more modern foods, such as grass-fed butter and gluten-free grains like rice.

Today, many people think of paleo as a template to base your diet on, not necessarily a strict set of rules that you must follow.

Summary

You can also use the paleo diet as a starting point, adding in a few other healthy foods like grass-fed butter and gluten-free grains.

Sensible indulgences

While following a paleo diet, the below foods and beverages below are perfectly fine in small amounts:

• Wine: Quality red wine is not only part of the paleo diet, but it is high in antioxidants, polyphenols and beneficial nutrients (3, 4).
• Dark chocolate: Dark chocolate is very high in antioxidants and important minerals, like magnesium and iron (3, 5, 6). Choose a product that has 70% or higher cocoa content.

Summary

When following the paleo diet, you can indulge in small amounts of red wine and dark chocolate from time to time.

What to drink on the paleo diet

When it comes to hydration, water should be your go-to beverage.

The following drinks aren’t exactly paleo, but are typically accepted as beverages you can consume as part of the diet (3):

• Tea. Tea, especially green tea, is very healthy and loaded with antioxidants and various beneficial compounds (7).
• Coffee. Coffee is actually very high in antioxidants as well. Studies show that it has many health benefits (8).

Summary

Make water your drink of choice when following the paleo diet. Many people also drink tea and coffee.

While there are many benefits to the paleo diet, there are also some drawbacks.

For example, the paleo diet eliminates several food groups that are highly nutritious, including legumes, dairy, and gluten-containing grains.

Legumes are rich in fiber, protein, and a variety of micronutrients including iron, zinc, and copper (9), while dairy products have essential nutrients like calcium, which is important for bone health (10).

Eliminating these food groups altogether can put individuals following a paleo diet at risk of developing nutrient deficiencies.

In addition, legumes are one of the primary sources of protein in the vegan and vegetarian diet, which may make the paleo diet unrealistic for vegans and vegetarians (11).

The paleo diet includes foods that are high in fiber, like vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Since foods high in fiber can have a laxative effect, a person transitioning from a low fiber diet to a paleo diet could experience gastric distress, such as bloating, as a result (12, 13).

It’s important to recognize that there’s no one “right” way to eat for everyone, so while the paleo diet may work for people you know, it may not be best for you.

Talk to your doctor and/or nutritionist before starting a paleo diet.

Summary

The paleo diet eliminates several food groups that are highly nutritious, and may cause diarrhea or fatigue. Ask your doctor if the paleo diet is right for you.

This sample menu contains a balanced amount of paleo-friendly foods.

By all means, adjust this menu based on your own preferences.

Monday

• Breakfast: eggs and vegetables fried in olive oil, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: chicken salad with olive oil, a handful of nuts
• Dinner: burgers (no bun) fried in butter, vegetables, salsa

Tuesday

• Breakfast: bacon, eggs, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: leftover burgers from the night before
• Dinner: baked salmon with vegetables

Wednesday

• Breakfast: leftover salmon and vegetables from the night before
• Lunch: sandwich in a lettuce leaf, with meat and fresh vegetables
• Dinner: ground beef stir-fry with vegetables, berries

Thursday

• Breakfast: eggs, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: leftover stir-fry from the night before, a handful of nuts
• Dinner: fried pork, vegetables

Friday

• Breakfast: eggs and vegetables fried in olive oil, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: chicken salad with olive oil, a handful of nuts
• Dinner: steak, vegetables, sweet potatoes

Saturday

• Breakfast: bacon, eggs, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: leftover steak and vegetables from the night before
• Dinner: baked tilapia, vegetables, avocado

Sunday

• Breakfast: leftover salmon and vegetables from the night before
• Lunch: sandwich in a lettuce leaf, with meat and fresh vegetables
• Dinner: grilled chicken wings, vegetables, salsa

Summary

You can make a variety of delicious meals using paleo-friendly foods. Above is a sample menu of what 1 week on the paleo diet might look like.

Simple paleo snacks

If you get hungry between meals, there are plenty of paleo snacks that are simple, and easily portable:

• Toasted almonds
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Fresh fruits and vegetables, including baby carrots, celery sticks, and sliced apples
• Meat jerky
• Dairy-free chia pudding

Summary

Paleo snacks are easy to prepare and take with you on the go. A few ideas include fruit, nuts, hard-boiled eggs, or baby carrots.

Simple paleo shopping list

There is an incredible variety of foods you can eat on the paleo diet.

This simple shopping list should give you an idea of how to get started:

• Meat: beef, lamb, pork, etc.
• Poultry: chicken, turkey, etc.
• Fish: salmon, trout, mackerel, etc.
• Eggs
• Fresh vegetables: greens, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, onions, etc.
• Frozen vegetables: broccoli, spinach, various vegetable mixes, etc.
• Fruits: apples, bananas, pears, oranges, avocado
• Berries: strawberries, blueberries, etc.
• Nuts: almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts
• Almond butter
• Olive oil
• Olives
• Sweet potatoes
• Condiments: sea salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic, parsley, etc.

Summary

To get started on the paleo diet, use the shopping list above to stock your pantry and fridge with delicious, paleo-friendly foods

How to make restaurant meals paleo

It is fairly easy to make most restaurant meals paleo-friendly.

Here are some simple guidelines:

1. Order a meat- or fish-based main dish.
2. Get extra vegetables instead of bread or rice.
3. Ask for your food to be cooked in olive oil or avocado oil.

Summary

Eating out while following the paleo diet doesn’t have to be hard. Simply select a meat or fish dish on the menu and swap in some extra veggies.

The bottom line

The paleo diet is modeled after what hunter-gatherers are believed to have followed. While there is no one way to follow the paleo diet, the basic idea is to avoid processed foods and focus instead on healthy, whole foods.

Paleo-friendly foods include meat, fish, eggs, seeds, nuts, fruits, and veggies, along with healthy fats and oils. Avoid processed foods, grains, and sugar.

You can also base your diet on paleo foods, adding in a few modern healthy foods like grass-fed butter and gluten-free grains.

To get started on the paleo diet, check out the sample menu and shopping list above and stock your kitchen and pantry with these healthy, paleo-friendly foods.

The Paleo Diet — A Beginner’s Guide + Meal Plan

The paleo diet includes whole, unprocessed foods, such as vegetables, nuts, seeds, and meat. It may benefit your overall health and reduce your risk for some health conditions, including obesity.

The paleo diet is designed to resemble what human hunter-gatherer ancestors ate thousands of years ago.

Although it’s impossible to know exactly what human ancestors ate in different parts of the world, researchers believe their diets consisted of whole foods.

By following a diet of whole foods and leading physically active lives, hunter-gatherers presumably had much lower rates of lifestyle diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

In fact, several studies suggest that this diet can lead to significant weight loss (without calorie counting) and major improvements in health.

Anthropologists also speculate that the paleo diet influenced anatomic and physiologic changes in humans, including an increase in brain size and reduction in gastrointestinal tract size (1).

This article is a basic introduction to the paleo diet, providing a simple meal plan and other essential information.

A paleo diet meal plan

Paleolithic humans thrived on a variety of diets, depending on what was available at the time and where in the world they lived.

Some ate a low-carb diet high in animal foods, while others followed a high carb diet with lots of plants (1). Some even ate insects, but fortunately, this delicacy is not included in today’s modern interpretation of the paleo diet.

The paleo diet includes meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, healthy fats, and oils (2).

Foods to avoid include processed foods, sugar, soft drinks, artificial sweeteners, and trans fats. Foods to limit include grains, most dairy products, and legumes (2).

However, it’s important to consider the above as general guidelines, not something written in stone. You can adapt all of this to your own personal needs and preferences.

Summary

Paleolithic humans’ diets varied depending on availability and location. The basic concept of the paleo diet is to eat whole foods and avoid processed foods.

Foods to avoid on the paleo diet

The paleo diet discourages consumption of certain foods, including:

• Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup: soft drinks, fruit juices, table sugar, candy, pastries, ice cream, and many others
• Grains: breads, pastas, wheat, cereal, spelt, rye, barley, etc.
• Legumes: beans, lentils, and many more
• Dairy: most dairy, especially low fat dairy (some versions of paleo do include full-fat dairy like butter and cheese)
• Some vegetable oils: soybean oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil, and others
• Artificial sweeteners: aspartame, sucralose, cyclamates, saccharin, acesulfame potassium (use natural sweeteners instead)
• Highly processed foods: everything labeled “diet” or “low fat” or that has many additives, including artificial meal replacements

A simple guideline for the paleo diet is, if it looks like it was made in a factory, don’t eat it.

If you want to avoid these ingredients, you must read ingredients lists and nutrition labels, even on foods that are labeled as “health foods.”

Summary

Foods to avoid on the paleo diet include processed foods and ingredients, like sugar, bread, certain vegetable oils, trans fats, and artificial sweeteners.

Foods to eat on the paleo diet

There’s a variety of whole, unprocessed foods you can eat on the paleo diet. This includes:

• Meat: Beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pork, and others
• Fish and seafood: salmon, trout, haddock, shrimp, shellfish, etc (choose wild-caught if you can)
• Eggs: may be free-range, pastured, or omega-3 enriched
• Vegetables: broccoli, kale, peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes, etc.
• Fruits: apples, bananas, oranges, pears, avocados, strawberries, blueberries, and more.
• Tubers: potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, turnips, etc.
• 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, turmeric, rosemary, etc.

Many people prefer to choose grass-fed meats, pastured eggs, and organic produce while following a paleo diet. However, this is not required.

Summary

Eat whole, unprocessed foods like meat, seafood, eggs, veggies, fruits, potatoes, nuts, healthy fats, and spices while on the paleo diet. If possible, choose grass-fed and organic products.

Modified paleo diets

Over the past few years, the paleo community has evolved quite a bit.

There are now several different versions of the paleo diet. Some of them allow a few more modern foods, such as grass-fed butter and gluten-free grains like rice.

Today, many people think of paleo as a template to base your diet on, not necessarily a strict set of rules that you must follow.

Summary

You can also use the paleo diet as a starting point, adding in a few other healthy foods like grass-fed butter and gluten-free grains.

Sensible indulgences

While following a paleo diet, the below foods and beverages below are perfectly fine in small amounts:

• Wine: Quality red wine is not only part of the paleo diet, but it is high in antioxidants, polyphenols and beneficial nutrients (3, 4).
• Dark chocolate: Dark chocolate is very high in antioxidants and important minerals, like magnesium and iron (3, 5, 6). Choose a product that has 70% or higher cocoa content.

Summary

When following the paleo diet, you can indulge in small amounts of red wine and dark chocolate from time to time.

What to drink on the paleo diet

When it comes to hydration, water should be your go-to beverage.

The following drinks aren’t exactly paleo, but are typically accepted as beverages you can consume as part of the diet (3):

• Tea. Tea, especially green tea, is very healthy and loaded with antioxidants and various beneficial compounds (7).
• Coffee. Coffee is actually very high in antioxidants as well. Studies show that it has many health benefits (8).

Summary

Make water your drink of choice when following the paleo diet. Many people also drink tea and coffee.

While there are many benefits to the paleo diet, there are also some drawbacks.

For example, the paleo diet eliminates several food groups that are highly nutritious, including legumes, dairy, and gluten-containing grains.

Legumes are rich in fiber, protein, and a variety of micronutrients including iron, zinc, and copper (9), while dairy products have essential nutrients like calcium, which is important for bone health (10).

Eliminating these food groups altogether can put individuals following a paleo diet at risk of developing nutrient deficiencies.

In addition, legumes are one of the primary sources of protein in the vegan and vegetarian diet, which may make the paleo diet unrealistic for vegans and vegetarians (11).

The paleo diet includes foods that are high in fiber, like vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Since foods high in fiber can have a laxative effect, a person transitioning from a low fiber diet to a paleo diet could experience gastric distress, such as bloating, as a result (12, 13).

It’s important to recognize that there’s no one “right” way to eat for everyone, so while the paleo diet may work for people you know, it may not be best for you.

Talk to your doctor and/or nutritionist before starting a paleo diet.

Summary

The paleo diet eliminates several food groups that are highly nutritious, and may cause diarrhea or fatigue. Ask your doctor if the paleo diet is right for you.

This sample menu contains a balanced amount of paleo-friendly foods.

By all means, adjust this menu based on your own preferences.

Monday

• Breakfast: eggs and vegetables fried in olive oil, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: chicken salad with olive oil, a handful of nuts
• Dinner: burgers (no bun) fried in butter, vegetables, salsa

Tuesday

• Breakfast: bacon, eggs, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: leftover burgers from the night before
• Dinner: baked salmon with vegetables

Wednesday

• Breakfast: leftover salmon and vegetables from the night before
• Lunch: sandwich in a lettuce leaf, with meat and fresh vegetables
• Dinner: ground beef stir-fry with vegetables, berries

Thursday

• Breakfast: eggs, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: leftover stir-fry from the night before, a handful of nuts
• Dinner: fried pork, vegetables

Friday

• Breakfast: eggs and vegetables fried in olive oil, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: chicken salad with olive oil, a handful of nuts
• Dinner: steak, vegetables, sweet potatoes

Saturday

• Breakfast: bacon, eggs, one piece of fruit
• Lunch: leftover steak and vegetables from the night before
• Dinner: baked tilapia, vegetables, avocado

Sunday

• Breakfast: leftover salmon and vegetables from the night before
• Lunch: sandwich in a lettuce leaf, with meat and fresh vegetables
• Dinner: grilled chicken wings, vegetables, salsa

Summary

You can make a variety of delicious meals using paleo-friendly foods. Above is a sample menu of what 1 week on the paleo diet might look like.

Simple paleo snacks

If you get hungry between meals, there are plenty of paleo snacks that are simple, and easily portable:

• Toasted almonds
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Fresh fruits and vegetables, including baby carrots, celery sticks, and sliced apples
• Meat jerky
• Dairy-free chia pudding

Summary

Paleo snacks are easy to prepare and take with you on the go. A few ideas include fruit, nuts, hard-boiled eggs, or baby carrots.

Simple paleo shopping list

There is an incredible variety of foods you can eat on the paleo diet.

This simple shopping list should give you an idea of how to get started:

• Meat: beef, lamb, pork, etc.
• Poultry: chicken, turkey, etc.
• Fish: salmon, trout, mackerel, etc.
• Eggs
• Fresh vegetables: greens, lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, carrots, onions, etc.
• Frozen vegetables: broccoli, spinach, various vegetable mixes, etc.
• Fruits: apples, bananas, pears, oranges, avocado
• Berries: strawberries, blueberries, etc.
• Nuts: almonds, walnuts, macadamia nuts, hazelnuts
• Almond butter
• Olive oil
• Olives
• Sweet potatoes
• Condiments: sea salt, pepper, turmeric, garlic, parsley, etc.

Summary

To get started on the paleo diet, use the shopping list above to stock your pantry and fridge with delicious, paleo-friendly foods

How to make restaurant meals paleo

It is fairly easy to make most restaurant meals paleo-friendly.

Here are some simple guidelines:

1. Order a meat- or fish-based main dish.
2. Get extra vegetables instead of bread or rice.
3. Ask for your food to be cooked in olive oil or avocado oil.

Summary

Eating out while following the paleo diet doesn’t have to be hard. Simply select a meat or fish dish on the menu and swap in some extra veggies.

The bottom line

The paleo diet is modeled after what hunter-gatherers are believed to have followed. While there is no one way to follow the paleo diet, the basic idea is to avoid processed foods and focus instead on healthy, whole foods.

Paleo-friendly foods include meat, fish, eggs, seeds, nuts, fruits, and veggies, along with healthy fats and oils. Avoid processed foods, grains, and sugar.

You can also base your diet on paleo foods, adding in a few modern healthy foods like grass-fed butter and gluten-free grains.

To get started on the paleo diet, check out the sample menu and shopping list above and stock your kitchen and pantry with these healthy, paleo-friendly foods.

Paleo (Neanderthal) diet – diet, foods, ketogenic effect

Paleo or Neanderthal diet – a special style of eating that involves eating food typical of ancient people. In the Paleolithic era, people were engaged in gathering and hunting, respectively, the diet had a lot of meat, fish, nuts, eggs, raw seeds, mushrooms, a little less berries, fruits, vegetables and greens.

How the idea of ​​the paleo diet came about

Back in the 70s, a group of genetic scientists claimed that the development of the human body, including the gastrointestinal tract and metabolic mechanisms, stopped in the Stone Age. In other words, the body managed to adapt only to the eating style of the Neanderthals. But agricultural crops (wheat, rye, barley and even buckwheat), which began to be grown only in 9000 BC, dairy products, potatoes, corn, and of course, the processed foods of our time, have a negative impact on our health and weight.

In the 1980s, gastroenterologists W. Wegtlin and Boyd Eaton drew attention to the paleo diet. But the diet gained its greatest popularity with the release of the book “The Paleo Diet” by Doren Cordain in 2002. He, by the way, owns the trademark “paleo diet”.

In the US and European countries, many Hollywood stars adhere to the Neanderthal diet. Google itself in 2013 recognized the paleo diet as the most popular method of dealing with excess weight.

Neanderthal basic principles of nutrition

The stone man’s diet has many restrictions in the form of a long list of forbidden foods. Meals are offered 3 times a day, since it takes 5-6 hours to digest proteins. Keeping a messy daily routine is also not going to work. It is necessary to sleep for 8-9 hours, going to bed before 10 pm (in some sources even at sunset), physical activity should be every day, a sufficient amount of clean, non-carbonated water is a prerequisite. Everything here, in general, is logical: the ancient people did not have artificial light sources, so they went to bed after dark, and also moved a lot, trying to get food and hide from danger.

If you carefully read the first paragraph of this article, you may have noticed that the list of allowed foods is very similar to the menu of a protein diet. And this is true. The paleo diet is similar to the Dukan and Atkins diets. A lot of protein and less carbohydrates – it is believed that this is how stone people ate. The balance of BJU is as follows: proteins – 40-45%, fats – 20-30%, carbohydrates – no more than 15%. Caloric restrictions are not mentioned in public sources.

Let’s take a closer look at the diet of ancient ancestors.

Allowed and prohibited foods on a paleo diet

What can be eaten:

• lean meat;
• fish;
• up to 2 eggs per day;
• unprocessed seeds and nuts;
• vegetables, herbs;
• fruits and berries;
• mushrooms;
• honey, natural dried fruit in limited quantities;
• vegetable oils.

Each dish must be cooked to a minimum. Meat and fish can be boiled, baked, grilled without a lot of oil. Eggs are a good source of protein. They can be boiled, fried, but omelettes with milk or cream are prohibited.

Fruits and berries are best eaten in season and locally grown.

There is controversy surrounding brown rice. On the one hand, this product, which could have been available to humans in the Paleolithic era. But on the other hand, was it actively eaten if the mass cultivation of the culture began many years after the Neanderthals? This is, of course, a matter of individual choice.

Prohibited products:

• bread, pasta, rich pastries;
• sugar and sweets;
• dairy and fermented milk products;
• cereals, cereals;
• starchy vegetables;
• refined oils;
• alcohol.

According to paleo diet theorists, our gut is not ready for gluten, sugar and milk proteins. Also, do not use sugar substitutes.

Paleo diet for 7 days

Day 1

Breakfast: 2 hard-boiled or soft-boiled eggs, green salad with peppers, tomatoes and a cup of berries.

Lunch: a piece of boiled or grilled chicken, baked vegetables and natural dried apricots for dessert.

Dinner: sautéed mushrooms in olive oil with spinach, courgettes and bell peppers.

Day 2

Breakfast: scrambled eggs with spinach.

Lunch: beef steak, a couple of tomatoes, a portion of seasonal berries or fruits.

Dinner: One or two lean river fish, any vegetables of your choice, and olive oil dressing.

Day 3

Breakfast: protein omelet with chia seeds.

Lunch: stewed mushrooms with vegetables in vegetable oil, a handful of berries or fruit for dessert.

Dinner: salad and dry pan fried chicken breast.

Day 4

Breakfast: a salad of fruits, nuts and seeds of your choice, a teaspoon of honey for dressing.

Lunch: fish with cabbage, carrot and onion salad.

Dinner: salad with seaweed and egg.

Day 5

Breakfast: poached egg with vegetables, nuts and dried fruits for dessert.

Lunch: lean pork steak, mixed greens with lemon juice and any vegetable oil).

Dinner: lobio with vegetable oil.

Day 6

Breakfast: two eggs in an avocado (no cheese).

Lunch: baked or boiled fish with seasonal vegetables (Brussel sprouts, broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, etc.)

Dinner: a piece of meat on the bone with herbs.

Day 7

Breakfast: mix of seeds, nuts and berries with a spoonful of honey.

Lunch: Assorted mushrooms in a pan with vegetables.

Dinner: tamagoyaki omelet (we use vegetable oil for frying).

Paleo or keto diet – which is better?

Paleo and keto diets are often compared online. The main similarity is the lion’s share of protein products on the menu. Also, experts say that during both one and the other diet, ketosis begins – the process of splitting the body’s own fat reserves due to carbohydrate starvation of cells. Both in keto and paleo, fast carbohydrates, flour, cereals, and sweets are excluded.

The difference is that on a keto diet it is allowed to consume animal fats (butter or bacon for example), dairy and sour-milk products. Fans of ketogenic nutrition do not disdain overseas fruits and vegetables.

To sum up, the keto diet looks more gentle and varied.

Pros and Cons of the Neanderthal Diet

The benefits of the Paleo diet are clear. If you are overweight, it will start to go away due to the rejection of sweets, starchy foods and, in general, lowering the level of carbohydrates in the diet. Also, a ban on invigorating food supplements will help to establish circadian cycles (you will start to get tired more quickly during the day and go to bed earlier).

Instead of side dishes of pasta or instant porridge, you will have vegetables, which for some will have a positive effect on digestion. Many write that paleo dishes give a long saturation. After a couple of weeks, you will most likely wean yourself from sweets and begin to feel the taste of food in a much more multifaceted way.

One of the obvious disadvantages is a small set of products that can quickly get bored. In addition, the products are not cheap, except for eggs and seasonal vegetables. When switching to a protein diet, losing weight often feels a breakdown, energy and a deterioration in mood. Many cannot exclude flour or dairy products, which contain many vitamins, micro- and macroelements necessary for human life.

Before you decide on a Neanderthal diet, be sure to consult with your doctor and get his consent. Also, during paleo, visit a doctor to monitor the condition of the body. Adhering to one or another restrictive eating style should be a balanced decision between you and a specialist.

© TM “YAENSVIT”2021-09-10T11:29:12+03:002023-01-17T08:56:12+02:00Paleo or Neanderthal diet is a special style of eating that involves eating food typical of ancient people. In the Paleolithic era, people were engaged in gathering and hunting, respectively, the diet had a lot of meat, fish, nuts, eggs, raw seeds, mushrooms, a little less berries, fruits, vegetables and greens.

Paleo (PALEO) diet – Blog Sardora on vc.ru

The Paleo Diet, also known as the Caveman Diet, eats uncultivated plants and wild animals, similar to what cavemen supposedly ate thousands of years ago.

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This is a diet high in

protein, fiber and fat. Why should we eat like cavemen? The premise is that our bodies are genetically programmed to feed like our Stone Age ancestors (before the advent of modern agriculture).

The Paleo diet is based on hunting, fishing, and gathering foods such as meat, fish, fruits, honey, vegetables, eggs, berries, and roots. If a product didn’t exist 10,000 years ago, then chances are it’s not an authentic Paleo product.

However, a true paleo diet is difficult to follow because most meats and plants are domesticated, not wild. At best, most people can stick to a modified version of the Paleo diet that is gluten-free and organic. Diet advocates also recommend eating grass-fed meat (not corn), as it is closer in nutritional quality to what our ancestors had.

You won’t find some foods on the paleo diet, such as legumes (peas, lentils, beans), dairy products, grains, sugar, potatoes, and processed oils. Also, you won’t find any drinks other than coconut milk, organic green tea and of course water.

There are many versions of the paleo diet, and some are more restrictive than others. Some versions of the diet allow some oils, such as flaxseed and olive oil, to be relaxed.

Suggested Benefits of the Paleo Diet

According to paleo diet creator Lauren Cordain, Ph.D., “This is the key to rapid weight loss, effective weight control and, above all, lifelong health. The paleo diet uses its own mechanisms of the body, developed over millions of years, to slow down the weight gain and development of chronic diseases of civilization.” (1).

According to Eaton et al., the Paleolithic diet contains more fiber (both soluble and insoluble), more micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), healthy carbohydrate sources (fruits and vegetables), and more animal protein sources. Combined with a low intake of sodium, sugar, and saturated fat, the paleo diet deserves more scrutiny.

Suggested Benefits of the Paleo Diet

According to paleo diet creator Lauren Cordain, Ph.D., “This is the key to rapid weight loss, effective weight control, and above all, lifelong health. The paleo diet uses its own mechanisms of the body, developed over millions of years, to slow down the weight gain and development of chronic diseases of civilization.”

According to Eaton at al., the Paleolithic diet contains more fiber (both soluble and insoluble), more micronutrients (vitamins and minerals), healthy carbohydrate sources (fruits and vegetables), and more animal protein sources. Combined with a low intake of sodium, sugar, and saturated fat, the paleo diet deserves more scrutiny.

Potential Disadvantages of the Paleo Diet

Nutrition experts and the scientific community agree that for optimal health, the diet should be higher in fruits and vegetables, and lower in sodium, sugar, saturated fat, and processed foods. However, there is considerable evidence pointing to the beneficial effects of diets containing low-fat dairy, legumes, and whole grains (5-8), which the Paleo diet explicitly excludes.