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What is a Paleo Diet?
A Paleo diet, also known as paleolithic diet or caveman diet, is all about natural foods to help achieve great health and a perfect physique. The human body evolved for more than 2 million years with the food found in nature: game meat, fish, vegetables, wild fruits, eggs and nuts. The human race was thriving on this diet high in animal fat and proteins and low in carbohydrates, but things changed when we introduced unnatural foods to our bodies. 
Paleo Diet Lifestyle | paleo diet tips and recipes
*If you’re new to a paleo diet, check out Paleo 101 to read the 15 simple guidelines and kick start your journey.
The next step is to start cooking some of the best recipes. For even more great recipes, check out the cookbook
Finally, the simple meal plan and the food list are great tools for those who are just starting.
This is not just a diet that you follow for some tome to achieve a specific goal, but a lifestyle and way of living in harmony with nature and our food to achieve great health in every aspect.
The idea is that our genes and physiology evolved through the process of natural selection and are most adapted to be nourished with the food that we evolved around. That includes the whole spectrum of animal food including their fat and organs as well as eggs, vegetables and limited amounts of fruits and nuts.
On the opposite side, some of the foods that we started eating in large quantity since the beginning of the agricultural revolution about 10,000 years ago are completely alien to our genes and metabolisms and wreak havoc in our body, often causing what we call the metabolic syndrome or diseases of civilization. That includes obesity, type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, auto-immune diseases, osteoporosis, Alzheimer’s and a host of other conditions that were unknown to our ancestors.
Some of the worst offenders in today’s diet are what’s actually recommended to consume by governments and nutritionists mainly because years of bad science and economic agendas have demonized things like saturated fat, cholesterol and red meat over the last decades. What we should really be eliminating in our diet are grain products, excess sugar, vegetable seed oils, legumes and dairy, some of which are at the core of the U.S. food pyramid.
The diet and lifestyle is not just based on imitating what our ancestors did, but also on real non-biased science and evidence. The habits of our healthy ancestors give us a good framework to study deeper and to try and find what our food really does to our bodies and how to live the longest and most vibrant lives.
Paleo at a Glance
The Paleo 101 post goes deeper in the important points to consider to implement an optimal diet, but the point here is to get you up and running with new and healthier lifestyle habits as quickly as possible. So, without further ado, here is a Paleo diet in as few words as possible…
1. Avoid toxic foods
Toxic foods include:
- Grains (wheat, rye, barley, oats, brown rice, …)
- Legumes (soy beans, peanuts, chickpeas, kidney beans, …)
- Vegetable seed oils (soybean oil, peanut oil, corn oil, canola oil, …)
- Added sugar (sodas, candies, cakes, fruit juices, …). Some sugar from natural sources like fruits is perfectly fine.
- Sources of dairy high in protein (casein) and sugar (lactose) and low in healthy butter-fat.
2. Eat nutrient-rich foods
You can eat a vast array of vegetables, root and starchy vegetables, meat, poultry, fish, seafood, healthy fats, eggs and fruits. Nuts and seeds are good too, but too much nuts and seeds can be problematic.
A focus should be placed on eating a variety of foods that are high in vitamins and minerals. These include:
- Organ meats (liver, kidney, bone marrow, heart, brain, …)
- Leafy green vegetables (spinach, kale, swiss chard, arugula, …)
- Meat from grass-fed ruminants (beef, bison, lamb, …)
- Mollusks and other seafood (oysters, mussels, wild salmon, sardines, …)
- Egg yolks;
- Bone broth;
- Fermented foods (sauerkraut, kimchi, …);
3. Promote a strong immune system, a healthy gut and a body that’s resilient to infections
After your diet is low in toxic foods, high in nutrient-rich foods and is optimized for your personal needs, there are still a few key points to keep in mind. In short, you want to keep a strong immune system, a healthy gut and a body that’s generally really strong against the constant attacks of infections, viruses and detrimental bacteria.
- Get frequent sun exposure or supplement vitamin D when sun is not an option;
- Reduce and manage stress in your life;
- Implement healthy sleeping habits;
- Get frequent and healthy exercise;
Sleep, stress management and exercise are the big three elements, other than diet, that are most important for optimal health.
