By Chef K.T. Murphy
Proponents of the Paleo Diet can’t stop talking about all of it’s health benefits, whether you’re trying to lose weight or just live a healthier life. You don’t have all day and neither do we, so these are our five favorite things about the Paleo Diet.
1. No Processed Foods
Probably the best thing about the Paleo Diet is that where most diets out there hold that fat or carbohydrates – both essential parts of a healthy diet – are the problem, the Paleo Diet is built on the premise that processed and artificial foods are the problem.
By removing processed foods rather than fats or carbs, the Paleo Diet lets you get all of the essential nutrients that other diets would have you go without, while encouraging you to skip unhealthy foods that other diets might allow.
2. Healthy Fat Intake
Some low-fat diets encourage the removal of fat from your diet despite the fact that your body needs fat to survive. It’s a part of every cell in your body, especially in your nervous system. Fat is also needed for your body to use certain vitamins.
By encouraging the consumption of fat from healthy sources like plant oils and discouraging the consumption of fat from unhealthy sources like processed foods, the Paleo Diet helps you get this demonized essential nutrient without all of the modifications and extra sugars that often come with it.
3. Healthy Carbohydrate Intake
Like fats, carbohydrates are often vilified by diets despite the fact that your body needs carbohydrates for energy.
The Paleo Diet doesn’t restrict carbohydrates, which can come from healthy sources like fruits and vegetables but does restrict foods that have lots of carbohydrates and little else. These foods, often called “Energy rich and nutrient poor” foods, include sodas and many processed baked goods that we all should stay away from whether we’re trying to lose weight or not.
4. Plenty Of Vitamins And Minerals
As mentioned above, many diets will – as the old saying goes — “throw the baby out with the bath water” by restricting fruit and vegetable intake as a way of reducing carbohydrates.
A diet without fruits and vegetables leaves basically nothing but meat. While meat is a healthy dietary element, there are many nutrients, especially vitamins, minerals, and dietary fiber, that it just doesn’t deliver. Because the Paleo Diet focuses on removing unhealthy sources of carbohydrates, it leaves healthy sources of carbohydrates alone, giving you a much more varied diet.
5. Just The Right Amount Of Protein
Just like many low carb diets try to get rid of carbohydrates by getting rid of fruits and vegetables and so get rid of all of the other healthy nutrients that go along with them, many low-fat diets try to get rid of fat by getting rid of meat and so lose a valuable source of protein.
Protein is used by your body to build muscles, which is important if you plan on exercising during your diet – which you should. Exercise is good for you whether you are trying to lose weight or not, but if you are trying to lose weight it is especially important.
You gain weight when the energy that you consume exceeds the energy that you use. Dieting without exercises decreases the energy that you consume, but you can do twice as much good by increasing the energy that your body uses, which is best done through exercise. Exercise is difficult without enough protein.
The Paleo Diet also avoids the dangers of using protein as a fuel, which is the basis of some low carb diets like the Atkins Diet. Your body can break down protein for use as fuel, but it leaves behind extra acids that aren’t good for your body and can be especially harmful if you’re trying to exercise on what becomes basically an all-meat diet.
All the best
Chef Murph
XoxoX
