Over the past year or so there's been a ton of activity in the nutrition blogosphere, mainstream news, and variety of other publications hyping up the benefits of what's known as the Paleolithic a.k.a. "Paleo" diet. Honestly, it feels like some sort of nutrition cult...the amount of people who adamantly promote and swear by "paleo" is mind-blowing.
Essentially the "Paleo" diet aims to replicate the diet of ancient hunters & gatherers, (i.e. cavemen and everyone else who lived in the time of the dinosaurs) and emphasizes eating only 100% natural foods and healthy fats that come from animals, the earth, etc.. Paleo limits your diet to pretty much only meat, fish, eggs, veggies, and nuts, and vehemently opposes grains, dairy, trans fats, and processed sugars. Although I'm 100% for a diet grounded on the basis of natural foods, high protein, healthy fats, low sugar, etc., I also think it's completely ridiculous to think that nutrition/diet in our society has any way of resembling that of a caveman's 10,000's of years ago. Plus, food groups such as dairy, whole grains, and beans are fantastic sources of protein, calcium, vitamin D, fiber, antioxidants, and healthy/complex carbs. All of those things are essential and should be a part of any healthy diet.
My 2 cents: Adopt a sort of modified Paleo diet, you know...for the modern day world. Add some grains, dairy, beans, and others carbs. You need 'em for energy, healthy, and taste...who wants to eat veggies and chicken at every meal, that ain't living!
Check out the picture below from PaleolithicDiet.com (and www.nickfromnebraska.com where I originally stumbled upon this...and no, I did it the old fashion way, not using the website) for the full story on the Paleo Diet, and then decide for yourself...to Paleo or not to Paleo? Let me know what you think!
