Paleo is trending right now, big time. In a nutshell, Paleo is a nutritional regimen based on pasture-raised meat, eggs, fresh fruit and vegetables, and nuts, of course. It’s a way to get in touch with our primal urges and caveman roots. It’s undeniably hip—but is it healthy?
In the last few years, Paleo has loped toward the mainstream—it was most-searched diet of 2013, according to the Google Trends Zeitgeist list. The premise of Paleo is that emulating the eating habits of our paleolithic predecessors can make us healthier and less obese. Its main criticism of modern diets is that they rely too heavily on modern (read: farmed), processed foods.
However, critics of the Paleo diet counter that the diet is founded more on privilege than on logic. Whereas caveman ate Paleo of necessity, for us moderns it’s a choice—and a pricey one at that. Moreover, Paleo’s restriction of certain food groups is seen as excessive and even imbalanced by many nutritionists. The science just isn’t there to support the notion that Paleo-eaters live longer, or are healthier than those who don’t follow the diet. As an example of Paleo backlash, the U.S. News, in its 2014 rankings of “Best Diets Overall,” announced that the Paleo diet was at the very bottom, tied at No. 31 with the Dukan diet. In the diet review, it was noted “experts took issue with the diet on every measure.”
However, cons aside, there are a lot of pros to eating Paleo. The diet’s flat rejection of grains has its own logic, an argument that is not so easily dismissed. In his international bestsellar, “Grain Brain,” David Perlmutter, a Naples, Florida, neurologist, maintains that carbs are not just hard on the digestive system; they can cause dementia and other fearsome brain havoc. “Modern grains are silently destroying your brain,” he writes. “Basically, I am calling what is arguably our most beloved dietary staple a terrorist group.”
Paleo is a worthy experiment, even if it’s just to break carb addiction and reintroduce yourself to protein’s unparalleled satiating effect. For short periods, a paleo cleanse may be just what you need to get rid of the extra pounds that plague you. Here are just a few of the potential benefits that Paleo can offer, especially if embraced with moderation and discrimination.
Benefits
- Offers a clean diet without additives, preservatives or chemicals.
- Rich in nutrients absorbed from fruits, vegetables, oils, nuts and seeds.
- Abundant iron through increased red meat intake.
- Rich in healthy fats.
- Improved satiety — a feeling of fullness between meals, due to the higher intake of protein and fats.
- Reduced bloat.
- Supports weight loss primarily due to the limited food choices.