The Paleolithic Diet

A short aside from the origins of agriculture... have you ever heard of the palaeolithic diet, more commonly referred to as the paleo diet?

Photo taken from the BHAC website

The diet was founded by Dr. Loren Cordain of the Colorado State University, and is based on the notion that the most beneficial eating habits for human health are the ones that we are genetically adapted to (i.e. the diet of the hunter gatherer). The diet is supposedly associated with a wide range of health benefits from weight control to the reversal of autoimmune disease (Österdahl et al., 2007; Cordain et al., 2005; Frassetto et al., 2009)

So, what can you eat on the paleo diet? In short, modern foods that replicate what our hunter-gatherer ancestors used to eat. The diet is centred around these following food characteristics:

• Higher protein
• Low carbohydrate and glycemic index
• High fibre
• Moderate to high polyunsaturated fats with Omegas 3 and 6
• High potassium, low sodium
• Alkaline
• High vitamin, mineral, antioxidant, and phytochemical content

For example, the paleo diet allows you to eat food items such as grass-produced meats, fish and seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables, eggs, nuts and seeds, and oils such as olive, flaxseed, and avocado. A "paleo-friendly" meal could be this lemongrass chicken curry.

If this post has piqued your interest and you'd like to learn more about the paleo diet, check out PaleoHacks' post on the top 25 paleo blogs. Although I do think that consuming more foods rich in vitamins, antioxidants, fibre, etc. is important for overall health, I think I'll be sticking to a more modern diet for the time being. The paleo diet also brings up some environmental questions - for example, if the globe's population increased their intake in protein from animal sources, what would be the consequences in terms of global emissions?  

What are your thoughts on the paleo diet?