For more of our feel-good podcast picks, check out our article. Additional reporting by Stephanie Bucklin and Melinda Carstensen. By subscribing you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Health Topics. Health Tools. Paleo Diet. By Beth W. Reviewed: November 24, Medically Reviewed. The diet can improve your health by eliminating high-fat and processed foods that have little nutritional value and too many calories. This plan emphasizes loading up on fruits and vegetables that are bursting with healthy vitamins, minerals, and fiber, which fills you up faster so you eat less, helping curb weight gain.
Sandon says. And whenever you burn more calories than you consume, you'll lose weight, she says. So what does the science say about the paleo diet? Some research suggests that the health claims hold water. A review analyzed four randomized controlled trials with participants, and researchers found that the paleo diet led to more short-term improvements in some risk factors for chronic disease including waist circumference and fasting blood sugar compared with diets used as controls.
Another article, published in the journal Australian Family Physician in January , reviewed clinical trials that explored the effect of paleo on health markers including weight, inflammation, and insulin health. Some of the studies found similar evidence that the paleo diet may be linked to weight loss, lower blood pressure, and improved blood lipid levels — but the article concluded that because of the small sample sizes, short duration, and the similar frameworks of most existing studies on this diet, further research is needed to prove whether it lives up to the bold health claims made by some of its proponents.
In an article in response to the first review, authors Tanis R. Fenton and Carol J. Fenton, from the University of Calgary Cumming School of Medicine in Alberta, wrote a letter to the editor in which they expressed their disappointment with the review.
Cutting out processed foods and sugar will also lower your risk of diseases too, like type 2 diabetes and certain cancers, she says. Furthermore, the diet emphasizes exercise. Exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle and can help you lose or maintain your weight. It can also be expensive — foods that are organically grown, and grass-fed beef and other meats typically cost more. For example, one model based on data sets from the United States Department of Agriculture found that a 9 percent increase in income would be necessary in order to follow the paleo diet while meeting all daily recommended micronutrient intakes except for calcium.
For instance, the fat allowance of the diet may be problematic. There are now several different versions of the paleo diet. Many of them allow some modern foods that science suggests are healthy. These include quality grass-fed butter and even some gluten-free grains like rice.
Many people now think of paleo as a template to base your diet on, not necessarily a strict set of rules that you must follow. Summary You can also use the paleo diet as a starting point, adding in a few other healthy foods like grass-fed butter and gluten-free grains.
Summary When following the paleo diet, you can indulge in small amounts of red wine and dark chocolate from time to time. Summary Water should be your drink of choice when following the paleo diet. Many people also drink tea and coffee. There is usually no need to track calories or macronutrients protein, carbs or fat on the paleo diet, at least not in the beginning. However, if you need to lose a lot of weight, it is a good idea to cut carbs somewhat and limit your intake high-fat foods, such as nuts.
If you want more examples of easy paleo meals, read this article: 20 Paleo Work-Friendly Lunch Recipes. Summary You can make a variety of delicious meals using paleo-friendly foods. Above is a sample menu of what one week on the paleo diet might look like.
There really is no need to eat more than three meals per day, but if you get hungry, here are some paleo snacks that are simple and easily portable:. Summary Paleo snacks are easy to prepare and take with you on the go. A few ideas include fruit, nuts, hard-boiled eggs or baby carrots. It is a good idea to clear all unhealthy temptations from your home, including sugary sodas, pastries, cookies, crackers, bread, ice cream and cereals. Ryberg, et al. A Palaeolithic-type diet causes strong tissue-specific effects on ectopic fat deposition in obese postmenopausal women.
Journal of Internal Medicine, Ten healthy females with a BMI over 27 consumed a modified paleolithic diet for 5 weeks. The researchers measured their liver fat, muscle cell fat, and insulin sensitivity. The participants lost an average of 9. Liver and muscle fat. The fat contents of liver and muscle cells are a risk factor for metabolic disease. As you can see, those who had a lot of liver fat fatty liver had the most significant decrease.
During the 5-week study, the women experienced weight loss and reductions in liver fat. They also had improvements in several important health markers. This graph shows the amount of weight loss in the studies. The graph below shows the effect on waist circumference. This is a marker for a type of visceral fat that accumulates around the organs, as well as a risk factor for various diseases. The studies showed statistically significant reductions in waist circumference.
Decreasing waist circumference may reduce the risk of diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Two studies saw reductions in total cholesterol. However, in two others, the difference was not statistically significant 2 , 3 , 4 , 5. Two studies observed a statistically significant reduction in LDL bad cholesterol 4 , 5.
Two studies noted a statistically significant difference in HDL good cholesterol. One study showed a decrease, the other an increase 3 , 5.
All of the studies showed reductions in blood triglyceride levels, but the difference was not statistically significant in one study 2. The results of these studies suggest that the paleo diet can lead to improvements in insulin sensitivity and glycemic control, although the results were not always statistically significant 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5.
Four of the studies numbers 2—5 above looked at blood pressure levels before and after the intervention. Overall, participants tolerated the paleo diet well, and there were no reports of adverse effects. Additionally, the paleo diet used in the studies is not the typical paleo diet that many people follow today.
Loren Cordain, recommended these. This theory is rooted in the fact that modern-day diet-related diseases like type 2 diabetes , cancer, and heart disease did not exist in the stone age. And it is clear that modern-day diets can strongly contribute to health concerns like high blood pressure and uncontrolled blood sugar.
Paleo diets are centered around unprocessed foods whole foods available to cavemen and restrict nearly all modern-day foods, many of which traditional diets would still consider healthy options - like beans, legumes, and dairy.
Basically, if you were unable to acquire the food through hunting and gathering 2. Foods you can eat on the paleo diet include:. While there are clear nutrition benefits to following a well-balanced paleo meal plan full of nutritious whole foods, there is no research suggesting that all modern foods are harmful to our health and need to be avoided. Additionally, eliminating nutritious options like beans, legumes, whole grains, potatoes, and low-fat dairy might put you at a nutritional disadvantage since you are eliminating easy sources of essential vitamins and minerals like calcium, vitamin D, thiamine, folate, niacin, and riboflavin.
It can be easy to get lost in the debate around nutritional theories like why we should be eating like our ancestors when we really should be asking ourselves - does this style of eating provide any real advantages to our health and nutrition?
And do you have to follow a strict paleo diet to reap these benefits?
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