Paleo Diet: What It Really Is and What Foods to Eat

There paleo diet It is a diet based on the conscious choice of untreated and unprocessed foods: only pure raw materials , which could be found even by primitive men at the dawn of humanity.

The diet of our prehistoric ancestors has become one of the biggest food trends of the moment: the reason for this success is due to a desire to return to nature and origins, perhaps taken a little to the extreme.

The idea behind this type of nutrition is that if it didn't exist then, it can't be consumed today: no snacks or snacks, but not even simple pasta, for example.

The Paleolithic Diet Between Fashion and “Fit” Culture

However, a distinction must be made between what the paleo diet it should actually be, if applied seriously based on the historical evidence of primitive nutrition, and what instead has been distorted and reworked by a certain "fit" culture.

According to fashion and a superficial interpretation of this diet, the diktat would be: lots of pure meat and fish, practically absent or at least very limited carbohydrates of any kind. This is because, obviously, a high-protein, sugar-free diet allows for rapid weight loss, but may lead to negative health consequences and micronutrient deficiencies.

Paleo Diet: How the “Prehistoric” Diet Really Works

On the contrary, scientists, nutritionists and biologists agree in stating that eat like prehistoric man means something completely different: in fact, the diet of the ancient inhabitants of the planet was 70% of vegetable origin , practically a plant based diet .

This is because it was based on the collection of spontaneous fruits of the earth, mainly fruit for those who lived in tropical and subtropical areas, while above all roots, tubers and berries for the inhabitants of temperate and colder zones. Vegetables, therefore fibers and carbohydrates, essentially, rich in vitamins and minerals.

The animal proteins were in a smaller percentage: the game that could be caught, as well as the fish caught with rudimentary tools and the eggs "stolen" from unattended nests.

It even exists a study by the University of Bologna , which analysed the finds of the primitive Hazda community, who lived in Tanzania in the Paleolithic, precisely to reconstruct their “table” habits.

Paleo diet, what foods to eat and how

But then, what foods to eat to follow the paleolithic diet nowadays?

The concept of is certainly very healthy. consume only pure, untreated and unprocessed foods in any way. Green light for fresh fruit, vegetables and tubers in quantity, but also nuts and berries.

Among the animal proteins , ok for meat, fish and eggs but with the foresight to choose products not deriving from intensive farming, both for ethical reasons and for coherence, given that farming did not yet exist in the Paleolithic.

Foods and Condiments Not Allowed in the Paleo Diet

Cereals and all their derivatives are banned – from flour to pasta: as they are the fruit of agriculture, they are not included in the paleo diet.

Banish refined foods , sugars, everything that is chemical – from sweeteners to flavourings.

Even foods that are considered normal and beneficial are not consumed by purists: olive oil , to give a concrete example, being the result of subsequent processing, based on cultivation and the ability to transform raw materials, should not be consumed.

The dishes are not seasoned at all, therefore, given that even the salt It only came into common use in later eras.

Benefits and Contraindications of the Primitive Diet

Like any other type of diet with somewhat “strong” choices, flexibility and awareness are everything.

The Benefits of the Paleo Diet

The benefits are those resulting from not consuming too much sugar or refined and industrial foods. The absence of preservatives, colorants and chemical additives and the abundance of fresh, lightly seasoned and untreated foods is certainly positive for the body, which in the early stages will feel a boost of energy and "detox".

Contraindications of the Paleo Diet

However, there are several grey areas of this diet: the first is linked to the issue we mentioned at the beginning of the article, that is, to a mystified interpretation of the paleo diet, seen only as a high-protein diet based on animal products. This is not the case, and overdoing the meat at the expense of carbohydrates and fiber can lead to malnutrition and negative consequences for the entire metabolism, especially because you do not get enough vitamins and minerals.

The second is that, in the long term, it could be an unsustainable diet within a “normal” life : thinking about any episode of social life, finding the right paleo alternative on the menu of a pizzeria or a canteen could be really difficult.