What is Paleo Diet? Everything You Should Know About the Cave-Man Diet

We often come across various diets like keto, Mediterranean and Atkins. Each diet is different in its own way and can't be suitable for everyone. In recent years, the paleo diet has become quite popular in the fitness industry due to its purported benefits. It is also known by other names such as cave-man diet or stone-age diet. It has numerous benefits and is said to be good for certain inflammatory conditions. But a new study suggests that there's a darker side to it.  Paleo diet has been found to be bad for heart health. If you have heard about the palaeolithic diet for the first time, here's what you should know. Paleo Diet Could Increase Risk of Heart Diseases, Says Study.

What is a Paleo Diet?

Paleo simply says to follow a whole-food-based diet. It resembles what our ancestors or cavemen used to eat where they had to hunt for food. Depending upon the part of the world, palaeolithic men had fed on a  low carb, animal-based foods or high carb plant food.

In short, their diet comprised whole, organic foods without grains. According to a study published in Diabetologia, the paleo diet can lead to significant weight loss, also it improves glucose tolerance more than the Mediterranean like diet in individuals with ischaemic heart disease.

What You Can Eat on Paleo Diet?

In a paleo diet, you can eat most foods in their unprocessed form.  Foods rich in omega 3 fatty acid and high in protein are must in the paleo diet. But you cannot grains or processed food -- things cavemen didn't eat. Here's a list of paleo-friendly foods:

• Meat
• Chicken
• Vegetables
• Fruit
• Nuts
• Seeds
• Spices
• Healthy fats
• Oils

Here's a list of foods to avoid for paleo diet:

• Soft drinks
• Sugar
• Dairy
• Margarine
• Trans fats
• Artificial sweeteners
• Margarine
• Grains
• Flour
• Vegetable oils

Pros of Paleo Diet

Paleo diet can help you develop lean mass as it involves high protein and fibre. Most importantly this diet says to eat whole food without the addition of any preservative which can protect the body from various disease. The involvement of high protein and healthy fat will help you to feel full for a longer period of time. As it involves clean eating, it can help you in weight loss and fat loss.

Cons of Paleo Diet

Paleo Diet does not support the eating of carbohydrates which is one of the main components of the macro-nutrients required by our body. The body requires carbs, protein and fat in the ratio 2:1:1. Also missing out on grains and legumes will keep the body short of essential nutrients which can be derived from these foods. This diet is not ideally suited for athletes who train vigorously and need to load their body with simple carbs to work as a fuel. This diet is against the eating of dairy foods like cheese, therefore Paleo falls short on Calcium.

Can Paleo Diet Increase the Risk of Heart Disease?

According to a study published in the European Journal of Nutrition, the paleo diet can increase the risk of heart diseases. In the research, it was found that people following the paleo diet had a high amount of trimethylamine-n-oxide (TMAO) in their blood. TMAO is an organic compound, produced in the gut are said to be associated with increased risk of heart disease.

It is always recommended to consult your family doctor or your dietitian before blindly going in for any diet. It is true that diet plays an important role in weight loss or fat loss, but at the end of the day what really matters is your total calorie intake irrespective of any eating habit you follow.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 30, 2019 05:09 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).