The paleo diet is based on foods from The Paleolithic era, dating back 10,000 years. The aim of the paleo diet is similar to the Mediterranean diet, as it eats closely to the way humans ate in the early ages. When the technology became more advanced – people began developing dairy, grains, and legumes. These factors in many people’s diets supposedly contribute to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. For the paleo diet, you can eat fruits, vegetables, nuts, fish, lean meats, and oils from nuts. You are supposed to avoid grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, potatoes, processed foods, and refined sugar.
The Paelo diet supposedly has many benefits, like weight loss, but the main reason I was so interested in the diet is that you are eating directly from the earth. People who do the paleo diet are less likely to consume any preservatives, refined sugars, or chemicals.
I have always been interested in dieting. Although it was never to lose weight, I always like experimenting with the foods I eat. I have tried cutting lots of different foods, just to see how I feel. I will never be able to know the long term effects (because I only diet for a short time), yet still, it is interesting to compare the short term effects for my body.
I have gone sugar-free, gluten free, dairy free, but never paleo. I knew that it was very healthy and emphasized everything I wanted in a diet. I read blogs and found that people were loving it, and being easily convinced, I obviously had to try it. So, last winter I tried the diet, but it was a lot harder than I had expected.
During the diet, I brought my lunch to school every day, which is something I would not have done before this. It forced me to meal prep, as I couldn’t eat most of the food at my school.
But, for me, there were a couple of problems with the diet.
I am Italian, and I eat a lot of pasta. It was very difficult for me to enjoy my meals when I had to eat something different than everyone around me. Going into it, I knew I had to cut out some of the foods I loved and craved, but food became something I was unable to look forward to, as I could not something I was craving. I couldn’t eat most of my favorite foods- pasta, cookies or ice cream.
I was eating good food, but the people around me were eating things that wanted to eat, but were unable to. Surrounding myself with this negatively affected my mental health, and I knew I needed to stop.
Although I think dieting can be fun for a short period of time, I do not think that there is value in doing this diet in the long term. While researching this, I found some dangers regarding the paleo diet, that I had never heard about. During the diet you cut out grains, but what I did not know is that there are many different types of wheat that contain great sources of vitamins and nutrients. Since you are eliminating this from your diet, people are at risk of lower cholesterol and chronic diseases because grains help our bodies with these aspects. With a lower carbohydrate intake, the body can resort to using fat and muscle for energy, when working out.
When you are participating in any type of diet, it is very important to understand that when you remove something from your diet it can lead to deficiencies. Taking out dairy or carbohydrates can be helpful in the short term, but in the long term, it can lead to many risks. Restricting yourself from dairy, for example, can lead to deficiencies related to bone health. These deficines are not specific to going paleo, but since you are removing a lot of foods, you are put at greater risk.
Everything is good in moderation. It is not good to go on a crazy diet where you are restricting your body of its needed nutrients, but it can be good to try in the short term.
If you are not happy when you are eating, you should not be participating in a diet. This diet was a good learning experience because I was able to try healthier foods and challenge my body.
Overall, I would recommend the diet, but I do not think it should be part of your lifestyle, unless your body can handle it. Mine couldn’t, and I know other people who went through similar situations. Rather than going paleo, I suggest that you eat less refined sugars and preservatives and make goals, rather than restrictions. Doing this will insure an overall healthier diet, well still eating the things you love (in moderation).
Work Cited:
Everything You Need to Know About the Paleo Diet. (n.d.). Retrieved June 7, 2019, from https://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20786451,00.html
5 Hidden Dangers of the Paleo Diet. (2018, September 10). Retrieved June 7, 2019, from https://www.waldeneatingdisorders.com/5-hidden-dangers-of-the-paleo-diet/
Original PaleoDiet. (2017, December 04). Scientific Verification of the Long Term Effects of Paleolithic Diets. Retrieved June 7, 2019, from https://thepaleodiet.com/long-term-scientific-verification-of-the-paleo-diet/
Paleo diet: Eat like a cave man and lose weight? (2017, August 08). Retrieved June 7, 2019, from https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/paleo-diet/art-20111182
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