The Paleo aka caveman diet has received a lot of press, and basically involves eating like our caveman ancestors. This style of eating may help you lose weight, and reduce your risk of diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes etc. The paleo diet is a high-protein, high-fiber food plan that doesn’t involve counting or reducing calories. The core foods are lean meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, eggs, nuts, seeds and healthy fats (e.g. olive, avocado, coconut).
The main foods removed are grains (e.g. wheat, oat), legumes (e.g. chickpeas), dairy, sugar, potatoes (kumara are OK in moderation), salt and refined vegetable oils (e.g. canola). You also can’t eat any processed foods on this diet (i.e. virtually anything in a packet unless labelled ‘Paleo’).
It’s virtually impossible to strictly follow a Paleo Diet without eating meat, seafood, or eggs. Legumes, which are a great source of protein for vegetarians and vegans, are excluded on the paleo diet. A ‘complete’ vegetarian or protein powder is one way round this. Another possibility if you are willing to eat a less strict Paleo food plan, aren’t avoiding dairy or aren’t vegan is to consume natural grass-fed butter, cheese and/or (no-added sugar) yoghurt. If you choose to drink milk (and aren’t allergic to casein) opt for the organic, raw, grass-fed variety. In general, I don’t recommend dairy (except for ghee) and I will explain why in a future blog. In the meantime, if you must have some dairy like products try goat or sheep dairy products, or nut and coconut milk substitutes.
Some people are concerned about missing out on the health benefits of dairy. There are plenty of myths surrounding dairy (that it can strengthen bones being one) which I’ll discuss more in a future blog. Others may be concerned that they will become unwell if they don’t eat grains as NZ guidelines recommend 6 servings of whole-grain foods per day. However, you’re more likely to become unwell by eating grains! For example, grains can lead to neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and autism. This is partly because, although our bodies have hardly evolved from caveman days, we’ve only been eating processed grains for about the last 100 years, i.e. we aren’t designed to digest grains. Grains can damage your gut and suppress immunity, among other problems.
Also, modern farming practices have selected grains to be high yielding and fast growing. This has changed the protein in the grain (often gluten) to one that triggers more allergic reactions. Lastly, grains don’t like to be eaten and so contain substances that make it difficult to digest them. Sprouting and soaking grains helps (although there is always Paleo bread options at most supermarkets to save you the hassle!).
My personal opinion is that paleo diets are fantastic for reducing the amount of sugar, dangerous fats, carbohydrates and salt that are linked to our current chronic disease https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25828624/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19604407/ and obesity epidemic https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23414424/ . There are precautions with any food plan though. As with any new eating plan it is best to seek support (from a Functional Medicine Doctor or nutritionist) to ensure this style of eating is suitable for you. In particular, I recommend that vegetarians and vegans seek support if wishing to eat Paleo to ensure they obtain all the essential amino acids needed to maintain their health.
Also, when switching to a strict paleo diet, the natural sudden decrease in dietary salt (found in abundance in packet foods) may cause light headedness. If so, please get checked out but you can try to add 1/2tsp of good quality salt per day (best done under medical guidance). The drop in salt will mean people on blood pressure (BP) drugs need to monitor their BP as they may need lower doses of their medications when switching to this food plan. The same goes for diabetics on blood sugar drugs. As their blood sugar improves they may need lower doses of diabetes medications. I also recommend supplementing the Paleo plan with calcium rich foods like tahini (1 tablespoon a day), and also vitamin D and B vitamins (including folate).
The main foods removed are grains (e.g. wheat, oat), legumes (e.g. chickpeas), dairy, sugar, potatoes (kumara are OK in moderation), salt and refined vegetable oils (e.g. canola).