The paleo diet, also known as the Paleolithic, cave, or Stone Age diet, tries to create a food system with which to re-synchronize with our genetics and evolutionary reality.
It is based on the consumption of foods available in nature before the Neolithic Revolution, agriculture, and the beginning of sedentarism when our ancestors hunted and gathered.
THE CURRENT PALEO DIET CAN BE VEGAN
All refined products, dairy products, cereals and pseudo-cereals, legumes, sugars, molasses and syrups, salt, alcohol, and coffee are excluded.
It is presented as a diet to regain health, lose weight, and combat degenerative diseases of today's civilization, such as cardiovascular, autoimmune, obesity, or diabetes.
WHY GO BACK TO PREHISTORY?
The paleo diet has become popular thanks to the books and writings of Loren Cordain, an American scientist who is an expert in nutrition and exercise physiology.
Its defenders postulate that in the Paleolithic our ancestors obtained 55% of their daily calories from animal protein, 15% from fruits, vegetables, and seeds, and the rest from fats, especially saturated ones.
The paleo diet shares with philosophies such as raw veganism the idea that our digestive system and our genetics have not had time to adapt to the changes that have occurred since the generalization of agriculture and, more recently, a sedentary lifestyle.
While hominids have existed for about 6 million years, modern humans emerged 200,000 years ago and agriculture around 10,000.
The Industrial Revolution, also food, is barely two centuries old.
And in recent years changes, both in diet and lifestyle, have accelerated dramatically.
Too fast for our biology to have been able to adapt.
EXCESS ANIMAL PROTEIN
The paleo diet, as currently proposed, has its weaknesses, especially when it comes to consuming animal protein, as it recommends including it in all snacks, between 3 and 5 a day.
The evolutionary logic of the proposal itself does not justify this consumption.
Our ancestors couldn't eat animal protein every day because they didn't have the logistics and technology to hunt animals so easily.
Nor did they have the cooling systems that we have today to preserve it.
Other studies suggest that our ancestors, after spending the day collecting and hunting, met at the end of the day to share the food found among all.
That is, they practiced prolonged fasts daily during which they made a physical effort and only ate once at the end of the day.
A COMPLETELY DIFFERENT MODEL
Basically, the paleo diet proposes a completely different food guide, almost inverted, from the food pyramid we know (with an abundant presence of carbohydrates) and proposes a return to the origins to regain health and vitality.
It is not a temporary diet, but a complete paradigm shift. But the thing is not so simple: whenever a movement arises, its variations appear.
Thus, in the paleo diet, there are currents that defend that food should be eaten raw. It is a raw paleo, a meeting point with non-vegan raw food.
DO YOU KNOW THE "STICK" DIET?
There is also a current "stick", which comes from paleo + vegan, which proposes a much more plant-based paleo diet.
For ethical or sustainability reasons they refuse to consume large amounts of animal protein, although they do include it in small doses, so its name is debatable.
Paleo-omnivorous proposals such as the ketogenic diet or the autoimmune protocol (AIP) have also been designed to combat widespread health problems.
They are strict and, after following them, it is essential to adopt a new way of eating for life.
YOU CAN KEEP THE GOOD
The paleo diet can bring an interesting point of view to veganism, as it emphasizes the importance of knowing our evolutionary and food history, as well as choosing the best foods for health.
Many people who have opted for a vegan lifestyle out of ideology neglect such an essential aspect as taking care of yourself.
They consume products without animal suffering, but nothing natural or healthy, with colorants, flavorings, preservatives, and other highly recommended additives.
The raw, live or raw vegan diet defends points that we also find in the paleo diet and that it is important to claim:
- Incorporate a good amount of healthy fats.
- Avoid refined and processed ones.
- Choose organic food, not very altered by the methods of agriculture, and, if possible, local.
- Do not eat cereals or legumes (only their sprouts or sprouts in small doses).
- Exercise, especially fasting, is also key.
- Beyond the model, we must not forget that we are not only what we eat, but also what we think, what we feel, how we act, the place where we live, and with which beings we share it.
The meat intake proposed by the paleo diet, if we all carried it out, is unsustainable worldwide, and no matter how much it is insisted that it comes from animals raised in the open air and with grass, the ethical position before animal exploitation is Irrelevant.
That is why we must not forget that, in the paleo movement, there is also the "pagan", a more conscious and compassionate version.
HOW CAN YOU MAKE YOUR DIET MORE PALEO?
The base of a paleo-inspired diet should be a vegetable and 70% raw.
These are your allies:
- Vegetables: give priority to those that do not need cooking.
- Little sweet fruits: provide energy without ups and downs.
- Fermented: they are easy to digest and promote intestinal health.
- Seeds and nuts: provide protein and fat. Activate them (let them soak for a few hours before preparing them).
- Sprouts: they are full of life and nutrients.
- Coconut oil - a great source of healthy fats. Choose it virgin.
- Super extra: add brightly colored foods rich in antioxidants.
Also include foods in moderation that give you extra energy as well as sweetness, but without overusing them:
Tubers: they are ideal as a source of carbohydrates if you eliminate cereals and legumes, especially if you do sports.
Accompany them with healthy fats –oil, seeds, avocado to avoid glucose peaks.
Sweet or very sweet fruits: accompany them also with healthy oils and fats.
Finally, eliminate foods that inflame the intestines, such as gluten and dairy products, from your diet.
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