What is a paleo diet and should I try it?
The paleolithic, or paleo, diet 鈥 aka the stone age, hunter-gatherer or caveman diet 鈥 is based on the idea that if we eat like our ancient ancestors, we鈥檒l be healthier and reduce our risk of certain diseases. But is it really a good idea to eat like cave people?
Supporters suggest modern food isn鈥檛 suitable for the human metabolism, blaming farming and agriculture for contributing to modern-day issues such as obesity. But experts question the nutritional suitability and historical accuracy of the diet. So if you鈥檙e considering changing your diet for weight-loss or health reasons, could a paleo plan be right for you?
What can you eat on a paleo diet?
The paleo diet requires you to eat foods that existed before the farming and agricultural revolution (around 10,000 years ago). On the menu is food that could be hunted, fished or gathered 鈥 so meat, fish, shellfish, poultry, eggs, veggies, roots, fruits and berries. Off the menu are grains, legumes (beans, lentils and peas), dairy, sugar and salt.
Yet paleo appears to mean different things to different people. Some followers won鈥檛 touch processed foods. But others make 鈥榩aleo鈥 cakes using processed maple syrup and coconut sugar, arguing that maple and coconut trees existed before farming and agriculture, unlike sugar cane or beets, which table sugar is usually made from.
鈥淣utritionally speaking, sugar is sugar, no matter whether it has come from a maple tree, a coconut, sugar cane or beets鈥, says dietitian Sophie Medlin. 鈥淵ou may be able to get a marginal amount of electrolytes (salts needed for normal cell and organ function) from some sugars, but that鈥檚 like putting a gherkin on a burger and calling it healthy鈥, she adds.
Is a paleo diet healthy?
Whole foods are encouraged on the paleo diet, which is of course healthy advice. But could cutting out all foods developed since the paleolithic era lead to a risk of nutritional deficiencies?
鈥淓liminating dairy could increase the risk of calcium deficiency, and avoiding many starchy foods, as this diet does, can reduce the amount of fibre you eat. This could be a problem for your gut microbiome, which thrives off digesting fibre鈥, says Medlin.
Other sources of calcium include dark leafy greens and fish such as sardines (especially the bones), while fibre is found in vegetables and fruits.
Of course, in cutting out modern foods, you鈥檙e eliminating the majority of processed foods, from minimally to ultra-processed, from your diet. When avoiding processed vegetarian protein sources, such as tofu, oats, seitan or tempeh, it鈥檚 important to ensure you鈥檙e not replacing them with too much red meat. The NHS advises you to eat no more than per day.
One of the issues is that fatty cuts of meat may be high in saturated fats. 鈥淲e need some fat in our diet to help absorb vitamins, but too much fat, especially saturated fats, can raise your cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease鈥, advises Medlin. According to the NHS, men should eat no more than . There is also a link between red (and processed) meat and . You can eat meat, fish and eggs on the paleo diet.
Avoiding or limiting salt, as recommended by a paleo diet, can reduce the risks of raised blood pressure, thereby cutting the risk of heart disease and stroke.
So there are benefits of the paleo diet, but 鈥渢here is no clear scientific evidence for claims that (it) helps prevent or treat medical conditions. In fact, much research is and legumes for health issues, such as reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease鈥, says Medlin.
Is a paleo diet good for weight loss?
There are no weight-loss guarantees on a paleo diet, though some small studies show it can be effective for . If you eliminate a food source and don鈥檛 replace it with the same number of calories, you may of course lose weight. On the other hand, if you replace legumes, grains and dairy with higher-calorie sources, you may gain weight.
鈥淎 paleo diet may help you to lose weight, but on the whole it is not well balanced鈥, says Medlin. 鈥淒iets to promote weight loss can still include pulses, dairy and some wholegrains.鈥 Medlin adds that the best weight-loss diet is one you can stick to, so if you are overweight and the paleo diet works for you, it could be worth a try. But be aware that research suggests it isn鈥檛 easy to follow.
A in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition followed 250 overweight people for a year as they dieted with minimal professional support, allowing them to opt into a Mediterranean food plan, intermittent fasting, or a 鈥榩aleo鈥 plan including some dairy, legumes and grains (making it much easier than a traditional paleo diet). After one year, the 鈥榩aleo鈥 plan had the lowest retention rate, with just over a third sticking to it.
What was a real paleolithic diet?
The paleolithic era stretches from about 2.5 million to 10,000 years ago. Much of what we know about the period is based on studies of skeletal remains, human artefacts and modern hunter-gatherers.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not much information鈥, says Mark Thomas, Professor of Genetics at University College London. 鈥淚t鈥檚 reasonable to say the human metabolism could be best suited to the types of diet humans have eaten for the longest period of time. The trouble with that is we don鈥檛 know a great deal about ancestral diets, and paleolithic diets were likely to be extremely variable across different regions and time periods.鈥
Research indicates there have been evolutionary changes since the paleolithic era, which could counter the pro-paleo argument that humans are better suited to an ancient diet. One example is the development of a gene that aids the digestion of lactose, the sugar found in milk. 鈥淭his gene has evolved over the last six to eight thousand years, in areas where humans started dairy farming. It is found in Europeans, and in many Middle Eastern, African and southern Asian populations鈥, says Professor Thomas. However, this gene is not as prevelant in areas where dairy farming was, and is still not, common place, such as East Asia, suggesting its evolution is directly influenced by the introduction of dairy.
The bottom line
No-one really knows what a real paleolithic diet was, but the generally accepted modern-day 鈥榩aleo鈥 plan doesn鈥檛 stray too far from a balanced healthy diet. While eating the 鈥榩aleo way鈥 could help you lose weight, there are always health risks when eliminating entire food groups from your diet. Experts explain you can achieve weight-loss results and be healthy with a balanced diet that includes modern grains and pulses, both of which research finds can reduce the risk of issues such as cardiovascular disease.
