In our modern world, being on a diet is common place. At any given time at least 65% of all Americans are on a diet. We are suckers for diets and the stranger the diet the faster it circulates, there was the cabbage diet, the grapefruit diet, the low carb diet, the high carb diet, the protein diet and many more. Most diets are restrictive and although you may initially lose weight, in the end we gain back that weight and generally cause damage to our metabolism. The Paleo diet, if you can call it a diet, is unique because it is based on the foods that allowed our ancestors, the caveman, to survive.
The Paleolithic diet or Paleo diet refers to the hunter gatherer age or the Stone Age. It is more of a lifestyle change than a diet because it focuses on the foods that our metabolism remembers and has not strayed from, even though our foods continue to change. It is the diet of fruits, nuts, vegetables, and meats that allowed our ancestors to live healthy lives.
The agricultural age which began about 10,000 years ago was the beginning of our problems. Up to that time man was nomadic and foraged for food in whatever area he chose to move. The foods and animals he ate were very diverse, in one area he might find fruits and root plants, while in another area he subsisted on seafood and nuts, while in another area he might live on the animals of the plains. These animals were not the genetically engineered fat animals of today, but lean and trim animals that were mostly muscle. Fat animals are products of a life of protected leisure; whereas the animals of the wild still remain the products of the fight or flee mentality where fat is a luxury that reduces their chance of survival.
The age of the hunter gatherer ended with the coming of agriculture because man was then restricted to only the crops he produced or obtained in trade. The diverse diet was a thing of the past and the diseases of society began. This fact is evident in the American Indians before the coming of the white man. They lived the life of the caveman subsisting on the diverse foods of the area and when the white man appeared with his diseases they were almost wiped out.
The Paleo Diet focuses on these original foods before the age of cultivated grain and processed foods. We are genetically programmed to eat the foods of the caveman and our metabolism does not know how to process packaged or chemical engineered and mechanical processed food. If the caveman did not eat it then we should not eat it because in our diet it causes:
Allergies. We drink milk and at some time in our life we become lactose intolerant. This is merely an allergy to dairy products that can be prevented by eliminating dairy products from our diet. Modern society addresses lactose intolerance as an ailment or disease, but it is merely your body rebelling against something it cannot metabolize. The caveman did not have dairy cows and our metabolism is telling us the same thing, “Do not consume dairy products”. Of course the publicity is that milk is good for us because it builds strong bones; milk does not build strong bones vitamin D and calcium does and it can be found in natural products such as fish, beef liver, eggs, and oranges to name a few.
Diseases. Man was created disease free; heart and lung disease and cancer are products of the contaminated air we breathe and the processed foods we eat. Our air will continue to be a problem, but our food is a different situation. You are the controller of what goes in your mouth and if you want it to be cookies, candies, dairy products, boxed foods, breads, fat meats, processed meats such as bacon and sausage then you must live with the consequences.
Obesity. We are a fat society and obesity is our number one health problem, but being over weight or obese is not an individual problem, it is a problem of industry. Years ago the wheat that had already lost all of its nutritional value through processing was found to have better shelf life if certain chemicals were added to the finished products. These chemicals especially hydrogenated fats make baked goods set for days on the shelf without molding. With this fact in mind consider what these chemicals do to your system. What they do is create fat, clog your arteries and produce disease.
The Paleo Diet is not really a diet but it does have natural weight loss properties because it is high in natural fiber. Natural fiber slows down your metabolism and makes you feel fuller for a longer time. You will find that you stay satisfied longer and it will take less food to make you feel full. If you have high blood pressure or diabetes you will note a marked difference in your health in 30 days. Your immune system will be more functional, you will have fewer problems with digestion and your vitality will increase. Athletes and amateur athletes prefer this diet as it develops more muscle per workout and recovery from workouts is minimal. They also like it because they have fewer bouts with the flu and fewer respiratory problems.
By: Eugene Dillon
