What exactly is the Paleo Diet and what does it stand for? Who should start the Paleo Diet? Does the Paleo Diet really work? Where can you find examples of a Paleo meal plan? I will answer all these questions and more in the following article.
So, what is the Paleo Diet? The Paleolithic or Paleo Diet is the modern attempt to return to the supposed diet of our ancestors. It is based on the assumption that people who ate this way did not suffer from most of today’s common diseases of civilization. Conditions such as high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and heart disease were either rare or virtually nonexistent at that time. Of course, they faced other illnesses, but the point is that this fortunate circumstance points to the healthy diet of our ancestors. The expectation, therefore, is that if you want to reverse some of these conditions, or simply enjoy better health, you should make the Paleo Diet part of your health strategy. The diet essentially consisted of lean meat, nuts, seeds, and berries. Also known as the caveman diet, it has been labeled a trend diet due to its current popularity.
The period of our ancestors that is considered for this diet is the Paleolithic Era (hence the name of the diet) — a period that lasted about 2.5 million years and ended roughly 10,000 years ago with the advent of animal husbandry and agriculture.
The underlying basis of this idea is the evolutionary discordance hypothesis, which is itself part of evolutionary medicine. The beginnings of this hypothesis can be traced to Walter Voegtlin’s work in the 1970s. Its core premise is that humans are genetically adapted to the nutritional needs of foods available in the Paleolithic era. These needs supposedly have not changed and are still suited to the diet of our ancestors. Despite the availability of many relatively new foods such as legumes, grains, dairy, and highly processed, calorie-rich foods — staples of our modern diet — the theory argues that the human metabolism is not adapted to them. The result is inadequate metabolism and absorption, leading to conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
The answer was the Paleolithic Diet. A man named Loren Cordain helped bring it to the world’s attention. He wrote the book The Paleo Diet in 2002, which popularized the diet. By 2009, he had successfully trademarked the term “Paleo Diet.” By the late 2000s, the diet gained popularity, mainly because of its appeal as a return to nature and its perceived effectiveness.
Criticisms of the Paleo Diet
The logic behind the diet has come under fire:
- First, critics argue that there is no concrete evidence of what people in the Paleolithic era actually ate.
- Second, some evidence shows that Paleolithic humans did in fact eat legumes and grains.
- Third, the assumption that humans are genetically adapted to specific local diets is unproven.
- Fourth, it is argued that humans have greater nutritional flexibility than the diet allows.
- Finally, the Paleolithic era was an extremely long period, during which humans lived in different regions with varied food availability.
Additionally, some argue that Paleolithic humans may not have developed diseases like diabetes simply because they rarely lived long enough to do so. A stronger argument is that the root cause of these diseases is the imbalance between energy intake and energy expenditure, rather than the consumption of certain foods. Our ancestors, as hunters and gatherers, were constantly active and burned off surplus food energy. This lifestyle has been eliminated in modern society, replaced by sedentary living and convenience, which reduces physical activity. The excess energy that is no longer burned gets stored as fat, clogged arteries, and stressed organs, leading to today’s diseases of affluence.
Composition of the Paleo Diet
So what does the diet include? Let’s take a closer look. We have already mentioned that it essentially consists of lean meat, nuts, seeds, and berries, while excluding grains, dairy, and processed foods. But in what proportions should these foods be consumed?
Cordain claims that protein accounts for 19–35% of the calories in wild diets, so the Paleo Diet should require a similar amount — which means more protein and meat. This is higher than the CDC’s recommendation of 10–35% of calories from protein.
Proponents also argue that the fat content of the Paleolithic diet was higher than today’s average diet. However, such fats should mainly be unsaturated, while omega-6 and trans fats should be avoided.
In this diet, the main sources of carbohydrates are non-starchy fruits and vegetables, which make up about 35–45% of daily calories. It is also high in fiber, but fiber from non-starchy vegetables and fruits, not from grains. One notable deficiency, however, is calcium, which was missing from the Paleolithic diet and therefore must be supplemented to prevent bone mineral loss.
Excluded food groups, which proponents argue were rarely or never eaten in the Stone Age, include carbohydrate-rich foods such as barley, wheat, and rye; processed oils, salt, sugar, dairy, legumes like beans and peanuts. Coffee and alcohol are also generally not considered Paleo, since our ancestors could not produce them.
Effectiveness of the Paleo Diet
But despite arguments for and against it, is the Paleo Diet really effective against conditions like diabetes? Let’s see:
- In 2007, Lindeberg conducted a study on 29 diabetics with glucose intolerance or type 2 diabetes, all of whom also had ischemic heart disease. They were divided into two groups and assigned either a Mediterranean or a Paleolithic diet. While both groups showed improved glucose tolerance, the Paleo group showed far greater improvements.
- In 2009, Jonsson and colleagues examined the benefits of the Paleo Diet for type 2 diabetics. Again, results favored the Paleo Diet, with lower HbA1c, BMI, blood pressure, triglycerides, weight, and waist circumference, and higher HDL cholesterol.
- Other studies, such as O’Dea’s in the 1980s on 10 aboriginal patients with type 2 diabetes, also demonstrated the blood sugar-lowering effects of the Paleo Diet.
- Osterdahl’s uncontrolled three-week study on 14 healthy subjects showed that even short-term adherence to the Paleo Diet improved blood pressure, glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, and lipid profiles — without weight loss.
Although it is argued that the Paleo Diet must be supplemented with vitamin D and calcium, and that more controlled studies are needed before definitive conclusions can be drawn, the evidence suggests that the Paleolithic Diet could be a promising option for diabetics.
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