Paleo Diet Pros and Cons – How to Overcome the Cons
The fact that sports dieticians have to look keenly into what the athletes are eating in order to evaluate their performance proves that our food has a lot of impact on how we live, feel and perform. Recently paleo diet has become quite famous for providing a lot of health benefits. Is it really good? There can’t be a perfect diet for everyone. So, how can paleo diet claim to be good? We have discussed about paleo diet earlier. Let’s take a look at its pros and cons again.
What is Paleo Diet?
Paleo diet was developed by Loren Cordain, a Colorado State University researcher. He claims that paleo diet is what human bodies were genetically designed to eat. Here are some facts:
- We are not cavemen anymore
- Most humans don’t hunt for food now
- It has been proven by recent studies that early man was more of a plant eater and not much of a meat eater.
- There are many food choices available for us
Paleo Diet Foods
- Fish
- Lean meats, like chicken, pork, turkey, buffalo (bison), lean beef
- Seafood
- Eggs
- Fresh fruit
- Seeds such sunflower and pumpkin
- Nuts like almonds, cashews, walnuts, pistachios, pecans (but not peanuts)
- Non-starchy vegetables like green beans, lettuce, cabbage, asparagus, sprouts, spinach, Brussels and cauliflower
- Plant-based oils like coconut, olive, grapeseed and walnut oil
Foods You Should Not Eat According to Paleo Diet
- Grains like oats, barley, wheat and rice. This means bread, crackers, pasta, bagels, cereals and granola bars are not allowed
- Starchy vegetables like potatoes and corn, so potato and corn chips, popcorn and tortillas are no-no
- Beans and legumes; so, no peanuts or peanut butter, soy foods like tofu, soy milk or eadamame, no hummus or beans of any type
- Dairy products like milk, cheese, yogurt or ice cream
- Sugars like honey, soda, syrups, jams, jellies, cookies, candies, sports drinks
- High-fat meats like hot dogs, rib roast, ribs, ground meat, bologna, salami, pepperoni
- Salty foods like chips, crackers, soy sauce, sports drinks, pretzels, added-salt foods
- Processed foods and trans fats like French fries, doughnuts, macaroni, fruit snacks
Benefits
- You eat clean foods without additives, chemicals and preservatives
- You get anti-inflammatory benefits from plant nutrients in vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and oils
- More red meat will give you more iron
- There may be improved satiety due to higher consumption of proteins and fats
- You lose weight due to limited food options
Disadvantages
- Paleo diet can be expensive
- You miss some health benefits offered by grains and dairy products
- Paleo diet is difficult to follow for vegetarians.
- It’s also difficult to follow for athletes because most athletes require 3 to 6 gm of carbohydrates per day per pound of their body weight which paleo diet can’t provide with just fruits, vegetables and meats.
- With a limited range of foods, it can be difficult to continue with paleo diet for most people because they get bored with the same food everyday
Solution
Considering the disadvantages of paleo diet, PaleoHacks has come up with some amazing cookbooks that can make you a Paleo Pro in your kitchen. This means that this range of books teaches you to make you some extremely delicious and nutritious paleo recipes within minutes. They are very easy to make so you won’t have to learn a lot of tricks.
Learn these recipes and live a healthy paleo life.