What you need to know about the Paleo Diet
We’ve all heard of the Paleo Diet in one way or another. But is it just another fad or do we think it’s here to stay?
Paleo supporters will tell you that you can’t go wrong with Paleo. The benefits can be quite impressive:
- Easy, quick weight loss without the need to count calories
- High energy levels without any crashes
- Improved workouts
- Reduced allergies
- Improved sleep
The Paleo diet makes reference to the Paleolithic era in history where humans lived in a hunter-gatherer economy. As you can imagine, the diet consisted mainly of fish, grass-fed meats, eggs, veggies, fruits and nuts.
The foods excluded from the Paleo Diet are grains, legumes, diary, potatoes, refined salts and sugars and processed oils. In general, the Paleo Diet is characterized as being mainly high-protein, low-carb and high-fat.
Overall, the Paleo Diet is a high protein diet, which definitely has its benefits. It also avoids processed meats which is a plus and emphasizes lean and non-fatty meats. It also includes a lot of veggies and fruits which decreases the risk of cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and other diseases.
Overall, there’s no question that the Paleo Diet is a healthy way to eat, but it definitely has its drawbacks as well.
For example..
- Dairy products are a good source of calcium, protein, vitamin D, potassium and other vitamins. You can definitely find these nutrients in other ways, but there’s no denying the benefits of dairy products which are excluded from the Paleo Diet.
- Whole grains have been shown to reduce inflammation in the body and decrease the risk of various diseases including cardiovascular diseases, type 2 diabetes, and cancer.
Don’t get me wrong, there are definitely tonnes of benefits from the Paleo Diet but there are definitely draw backs which aren’t just limited to the ones shown above.
Although the Paleo Diet definitely has its benefits, for those that are looking for weight loss, following the Paleo Diet won’t necessarily help you lose weight. Just like with any other diet, weight loss requires a caloric deficit, regardless of how you get there in terms of your consumption. By recording and keeping track of your macros, this can definitely go a long way as well.
As always, we offer the ability to receive complimentary nutritional advice with any of our personal training packages. If you’re interested in setting up a complimentary assessment with one of our personal trainers, you can check out our website or give us a call at 1-888-682-0724.
