Paleo diet

"Paleo Diet" is a trademark belonging to Loren Cordain,

Paleo diet (aka paleolithic diet and caveman diet) is based on the types of foods presumed to have been eaten by humans in stone age . The Palaeolithic, or Stone Age, is the longest period of human history. It started 2.6 million years ago and ended 10,000 years ago. The people who lived in the stone age are also called hunter-gatherers. During the stone age the food consisted chiefly of meat, fish, vegetables, and fruit and excluding dairy or cereal products and processed food.

We do not know exactly what meats and vegetable humans ate during stone age. For practical purposes we will have to substitute their food with presently available foods.

Paleo diet recommends eating:

Grass-produced meats, wild meat

Fish/seafood (not farmed)

Fresh fruits and vegetables

Eggs

Nuts and seeds

Healthful oils (Olive, walnut, flaxseed, macadamia, avocado, coconut).

It prohibits eating:

Cereal grains

Legumes (including peanuts)

Dairy

Refined sugar

Potatoes, starches

Processed foods

Salt

Refined vegetable oils

Alcohol

Characteristics of Paleo diet.

1. It has a high protein content,

2. It has a low carbohydrate content,

3. It leads to high fibre intake.

4. It has high fat content,

5. Potassium salt intake is high and sodium salt intake is low.

6. It has a dietary acid-alkaline balance.

7. It calls for a high intake of vitamins, minerals, plant phytochemicals and antioxidants.

The healthy Paleo diet results in improved blood lipids, weight loss, and reduced pain from autoimmunity. It also helps preventing diabetes and cardio vascular diseases.

Paleo diet can also: enable weight loss, slow or reverse the progression of autoimmune disease, improve sleep, increase energy, improve acne, increase athletic performance, increase libido, improve mental clarity and outlook.

You can find Paleo diet food list here.

The Weston A. Price Foundation

This foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the American diet through education, research and activism.

The foundation has been criticized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its advocacy of drinking raw milk and by Joel Fuhrman, MD for its advocacy of the health benefits of animal-based fats.

Weston Price was a dentist from Cleveland, Ohio. His 1939 book 'Nutrition and Physical Degeneration', records his study of pre-industrial populations including tribal Africans and Pacific islanders, Inuit, North and South American natives, and Australian aborigines.

With little or no medical facilities these peopled led a long life with their traditional food, which is claimed to be healthier than the modern American diet.

The Foundation is a non-profit organisation. It was founded by Sally Fallon Morell and Mary G. Enig. They co-authored two cookbooks - 'Nourishing Traditions' and 'Eat Fat, Lose Fat: Lose Weight and Feel Great with Three Delicious, Science-based Coconut Diets'.

The foundation is opposed to veganism and some aspects of vegetarianism. It recommends animal fats, dairy fats, olive oil, and cod liver oil, among others. It also recommends organic fruits and vegetables, raw dairy products, soured or lacto-fermented dairy and vegetables (such as sauerkraut), whole grains (soaked or soured to neutralize their phytic acid), and bone stocks.

There are many diets, including the two above. Vegetarian and vegan diets are also said to be good.

It is not necessary to follow any of the diets religiously. You can use your knowledge of nutrition to choose what you want to eat.