Learning to eat like a caveman may sound crazy but it can offer some significant and very beneficial changes to your health. Our ancestors did not have access to fast food restaurants or grocery stores with prepackaged foods. They ate much differently than many of us do today, sustaining themselves mostly on meats, vegetables and fruits. And yes, despite not having sandwich bread and noodles they found a way to survive.
The “Paleo Diet” is the 21st century version of the caveman diet. It is a healthy, delicious, and simple style of eating for the way our bodies were genetically designed. It is based on how people ate in the Paleolithic, pre-agriculture era. The food choices more closely resemble a hunter-gather diet than a fast food menu. The Paleo Diet consists of eating organic meats, wild game, fish, fresh local eggs, nuts, fresh fruits, and vegetables; no grains, legumes, dairy, sugar or donuts.
The Paleo Diet has been shown to improve and optimize health. In the current North American diet more than 70% of the energy from food comes from dairy products, cereals, refined sugars, refined vegetable oils and alcohol. This diet is associated with our current epidemic levels of obesity, cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure, type II diabetes, osteoporosis and cancer. Paleolithic people ate a proper balance of good fats, low starch vegetables, no refined sugar, and wild game with plenty of physical exercise, allowing them to avoid many of the diseases of modern civilization that we currently see.
Eating the Paleo way is easier and more delicious than you may think. Once you begin to remove processed, over-sugared foods from your diet you will begin to appreciate the wonderful flavor and sweetness in fruit and vegetables. Not to mention how good you will begin to feel. If you are concerned it many be too difficult to incorporate into your busy lifestyle, not to worry. Once you learn the basics of the Paleo diet you will find it is easy to stick to. There are many websites dedicated specifically to Paleo eating and a plethora of books on the subject. If you are looking for a local paleo support group, look no further than you local CrossFit affiliate gym, as many support and encourage this way of life.
So why live the Paleo way? A better question might be why not? Why continue to suffer with bloating, headaches, fatigue and diseases associated with modern living such as obesity, Type II diabetes and heart disease? Choose to change your diet, modify your lifestyle, and incorporate regular exercise and you will enjoy a lifetime of good health. Look to the past to help you create a better, healthier future.