How is paleo healthy

Products and services. Paleo diet: What is it and why is it so popular? Is the Paleo diet, an eating plan modeled on prehistoric human diets, right for modern humans? By Mayo Clinic Staff. Thank you for Subscribing Our Housecall e-newsletter will keep you up-to-date on the latest health information. Please try again. Something went wrong on our side, please try again. Show references Tarantino G, et al.

Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease. Should we eat like our caveman ancestors? Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Accessed March 17, Manheimer EW, et al.

Paleolithic nutrition for metabolic syndrome: Systematic review and meta-analysis. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Beals KA. Is a paleolithic diet the key to achieving optimal health and athletic performance?

Wang C, et al. Macro-process of past plant subsistence from the Upper Paleolithic to Middle Neolithic in China: A quantitative analysis of multi-archaeobotanical data. Plos One. Dietary guidelines for Americans, Department of Health and Human Services. Accessed May 28, See also Mediterranean diet Butter or margarine: Which is healthier? Butter vs. It emphasizes local, sustainable, organic and non-GMO foods and grass-fed meat options. It discourages foods that are processed or have artificial ingredients and colorings.

It encourages foods that make the body work hard to obtain calories while providing nutrients that optimize efficient use of those calories. It may kick-start weight loss and, at least in the short-term, improve blood sugar and lipid profiles.

A good resource for achieving dietary balance is ChooseMyPlate. Department of Agriculture. Not getting enough calcium increases the risk of osteoporosis, rickets and bone fractures. Chronically low carbohydrate intake may lead to an overuse of fat for energy, or ketosis.

Medical supervision is recommended for those on the paleo diet, especially for anyone with heart, kidney, liver or pancreatic disease or who is interested in maintaining the very low-carbohydrate version of the diet. I encourage them to use the paleo as the starting point of a healthy diet but to add beans, lentils, nuts, whole grains, and low-fat or nonfat dairy or other calcium sources such as dark leafy greens, tofu, and soy or almond milk.

I also recommend that they carefully choose protein sources, emphasizing quality over quantity. Plate balance is the key. Good resources for achieving that balance are the ChooseMyPlate.

Ironically, the meat consumed by our ancestors contained much less fat than current farm-raised meat. To make it healthier : Eating an abundance of vegetables, fruits, and nuts captures the beneficial side of the paleo diet. Emphasizing daily consumptions of fibrous vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds is consistent with public health nutrition recommendations. Adding fish when affordable, and when sustainable can also be a good choice.

Conclusion : The paleo diet is a potentially healthy diet based on a valid premise about the harms associated with modern, processed foods. But overindulgence in fatty meats especially processed meats can immediately turn this potentially promising diet into a health disaster.

The series will review the eight currently most prominent diets in America. The next blog post will discuss vegetarian or plant-based diets. He practices primary care internal medicine and studies strategies for preventing chronic disease. Stanford professor and nutrition scientist Christopher Gardner , PhD, examines the impact of diet on health and disease.

Min Joo Kim provided research assistance.