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The paleo diet is based upon the premise that us humans are genetically the same as our paleolithic ancestors, and should therefore try to mimic their diet and lifestyle in order to improve health. This includes eating a lot of animals, and animals contain saturated fat. Therefore some people may have some concerns about the health effects of the paleo diet since they’ve been led to believe that saturated fat causes heart disease.
So is the Paleo Diet healthy? Short answer: Yes.
The paleo diet is most certainly healthy, since it includes food that human beings have been well adapted to eat. It seems logical that this sort of diet would be more healthy than the traditional western diet and even the diet recommended by most nutritionists. It simply makes evolutionary sense.
It includes meat, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds. These are all natural foods that don’t contain preservatives, don’t have any sugar, hydrogenated oils or additives. How could the paleo diet not be healthy?
Well, there is the saturated fat argument. But science has long ago proven that saturated fat isn’t bad for us, it just seems that most mainstream doctors and nutritionists haven’t been keeping up with the latest research.
The paleo diet doesn’t contain three of the major harmful substances present in food today: sugar, gluten grains and processed vegetable oils.
The paleo diet is usually quite low in carbohydrates, which supports low insulin levels. Blood sugar control and insulin sensitivity are improved, both important biomarkers of health. High density lipoprotein (HDL, good) is elevated, and Low density lipoprotein (LDL) changes from the small, dense type (bad) to the large, fluffy type (benign).
A diet low in carbohydrates also lowers triglycerides, another very important biomarker of cardiovascular disease. Body fat usually lowers quite a bit on the paleo diet, and weight loss occurs.
It is also very much higher in micronutrients and essential fatty acids than the standard western diet. Foods such as grains, which are low in nutrients, are replaced by foods such as meat and vegetables which are very high in them. The Omega-6/Omega-3 ratio is also very much improved, but the western diet has way too many Omega-6 fatty acids in them.
A low Omega-6/Omega-3 ratio lowers inflammation, and is protective against heart disease.
So, with the outstanding micronutrient status, lack of preservatives and additives, great fatty acid profile and improved Omega-6/Omega-3 ratio, the paleo diet is most certainly very healthy and might even be the optimal diet for human beings. It’s not just logical, it is supported by extensive amounts of science.
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