The Paleo Diet

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What is the Paleo Diet?

The paleo diet has become yet another diet that people are trying in hopes of weight loss and looking and feeling great. It is also called the caveman diet, as it is based on the foods that our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate, which does not sound very appealing at first. 

However, the paleo diet has proven to “work with your genetics to keep you lean, strong and energetic” (Wolf, 2015) because that is the way our bodies are genetically designed to eat (Bonci, 2015). This diet sounds pretty appealing now doesn’t it?

The paleo diet is a clean, preservative and additive free diet (Bonci, 2015) that is based on fruits, vegetables, lean meats, seafood, nuts, seeds and healthy fats (Wolf, 2015). Along with the eating of all of these nutritious foods, naturally (pun intended) there are benefits that come along with them.

Benefits:
- Anti-inflammatory benefits that are found in plants.
- Increased protein and fibre intake.
- Weight loss! (However this is often due to limited food sources and lack of carbohydrates in the diet)
- An improved feeling of fullness between meals – so you don’t feel like snacking as often.

Before we hop onto the bandwagon of any diet we have to access the basic nutrients to what we need, and this helps if we use the Australian Dietary Guidelines (Council, 2013). These guidelines are set out so we know what food groups we should and shouldn’t eat, and how much of each. 
Unfortunately the paleo diet does not include one of the biggest food groups on this pie chart, being grains!

Also, the paleo diet does not include dairy, so it doesn’t really adhere to the second guideline of the Australian Dietary Guidelines, which is: Enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from these five food groups (Council, 2013)– vegetables, fruits, grains (including legumes and beans), lean meats poultry and fish as well as milk, yoghurt and cheese. 

This pie was chart found at:https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/guidelines/australian-guide-healthy-eating

The Cons

·      It can be quite expensive.

·      Lack of calcium in the diet.

·      Can cause a nutrient imbalance.

·      Not recommended for vegetarians.

(Bonci, 2015)
Unfortunately there are always negative aspects of any fad diet, and a few of these could cause serious health risks.

Nutrient Breakdown

The paleo diet is higher in protein 19-35% than the average western diet, which sits around ~15% (The Paleo Diet, 2015). This is great for muscle building!

It is also higher in fibre, all of those fruits and vegetables contain much more fibre than some of the whole-grains on the market, and this can improve weight loss and digestion.

There is a higher intake of some vitamins, including iron, which helps in the oxygen transport in blood and potassium, which helps with fluid balance and keeping your heart healthy.

There is a lower carbohydrate intake in this diet however. Which is both good and bad. It’s good because the foods that you’ll be eating in this diet have a lower glycaemic index (your blood sugar levels won’t spike like they would when you eat confectionary) but it means that you might not get the right amount of carbohydrates that you need, which is about 3-6 grams per pound of bodyweight.

There is also a lower calcium intake because there is no dairy in this diet. This can lead to calcium deficiency. Low levels of calcium are not good  for the bones or development, so I would not recommend the paleo diet to growing children!

Recommendations

The paleo diet is great for people that eat all types of meat and want to shed some of that excess fat that they are carrying. However if you are vegetarian, or pescetarian this diet may not be easy to follow and won’t adhere to your complete nutrition requirements.

I also would not recommend this diet to kids, as they need more carbohydrates and a wide variety of foods that include dairy and a balance of all of the other food groups.

If you do decide to follow the diet, I do have some recommendations:
1. Incorporate small amounts of dairy, or take a calcium supplement.
2. Incorporate whole-grains, beans and legumes. This does not need to be in every meal, but more so in the morning when you need more energy!

Works Cited

Bonci, L. (2015). Pros and Cons of the Paleo Diet. Retrieved May 1, 2015, from UPMC - Life Changing Medicine: http://www.upmc.com/services/sports-medicine/newsletter/pages/paleo-diet.aspx

Council, N. H. (2013). Australian Dietary Guidelines Summary. Retrieved May 1, 2015, from Australian Dietary Guidelines (2013): https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/n55a_australian_dietary_guidelines_summary_131014.pdf

The Paleo Diet. (2015). The Paleo Diet Premise. Retrieved May 1, 2015, from The Paleo Diet: http://thepaleodiet.com/the-paleo-diet-premise/

Wolf, R. (2015). What is the Paleo Diet? . Retrieved May 1, 2015, from Robb Wolf: http://robbwolf.com/what-is-the-paleo-diet/