Negative effects of the Paleo diet
-It is possible to suffer a deficiency in vitamin D in the short term
-It requires a lot of discipline and control
-It can cause the well-known “yo-yo effect” due to rapid weight loss in the first weeks
-It is very monotonous, which makes it impossible to follow it in the long term
-It is advisable to pay attention to the nutritional deficiencies of dairy products and legumes
-It has possible side effects: excess protein, which raises bad LDL cholesterol levels, and the kidneys must work harder to eliminate waste products. Cold or flu due to lack of carbohydrates (fatigue, irritability, and fever) and cravings (due to lack of sugar).
-Risk of an unbalanced diet
-Getting meat and fish from free-range animals is difficult and expensive
Factors to consider if you want to follow the Paleo diet
- Start small: don’t start the diet drastically. Start by substituting one of your meals for a paleo, then two, and so on. On the Internet, we can find a lot of recipes.
- Eliminate cereals and grains in steps: first, eliminate the batters, then the breakfast cereals and biscuits, then the pasta, then the rice, and finally the bread.
- Eliminate soft drinks, sugary drinks: with natural juices, infusions, or water. You will start to nourish yourself with vitamins, fiber, and mineral salts instead of excess calories that do not provide you with anything.
You can substitute sugary drinks for infusions or water. You can substitute sugary drinks for infusions or water. - Buy meat and fish that have not lived on farms. Protein: farm animals, which move little, are fed feed and fattened based on fluid retention. Animals raised in the wild have high physical activity, and their diet is more natural.
- Change the amounts of food: eating many times in small quantities supposes the intestine to be in constant movement. On the other hand, if you eat few times but eat well, the intestine will only work three times a day.
- We are what we eat: our diet greatly influences the incidence of allergies, acne, intolerances, obesity, inflammation, diabetes, and tumors.
- Each of us is unique: Diet supporters recommend not being guided by fads, recommendations, or bad opinions. They recommend trying, and if this lifestyle makes you feel better and your body appreciates it, they advise continuing with the Paleolithic diet.
One of the best-known and most followed diets that exist today is the Paleo Diet. It is a revolutionary method based on eating as our ancestors used to eat during the Paleolithic era, hence the name of the diet. Therefore, we are facing a diet that is mainly based on eating meat, fish, fruits, and vegetables, that is, everything obtained from hunting and agriculture.
This article aims to discover what the Paleo Diet is, its benefits, and the cons of this revolutionary eating method. Planning has many followers but also has a large number of detractors due to its dietary limitations. Here we tell you!
What is the Paleo Diet
Proponents of the paleo diet indicate that this method of eating is based on the needs that our body has. Our ancestors were strong and healthy, consuming what they obtained directly from the earth; they did not process anything to eat well. And that is precisely what this diet is based on: you eat everything that comes directly from nature, and humans have not treated that fruits, vegetables, meat (not processed), and fish.
In this diet, therefore, the consumption of dairy products, cereals, and processed products that are not natural and treated by human intervention is eliminated. This Stone Age diet defends that we do not need more than natural ingredients to have a nutritious, varied, and beneficial diet for health. Sugars, cereals, dairy products, and legumes are eliminated.
Benefits of the Paleo Diet
Currently, many people follow the paleo diet because they defend that it is a natural eating method and more than enough for our health. Evolution has meant that advances in the industry will also affect our food and, therefore, they are betting on a return to the origins to avoid including unnecessary toxins or chemicals in our body.
The main benefits of the Paleo Diet are as follows:
Blood sugar reduction and better balance.
An energy balance is achieved throughout the day.
Reduction in the consumption of saturated fat by eliminating processed foods.
It is an ideal diet for athletes since protein is a great ally for muscles s and joints.
Bits help lose weight by reducing the consumption of sugars and fats.
Vegetables and fruits are rich in fiber, making it a filling diet.
Cons of the Paleo Diet
But despite being a very popular diet today, many people are against this method of eating. And, as in the past with the Dukan diet, the Paleo Diet eliminates the intake of carbohydrates and legumes, two food groups that are very beneficial for our health. The main cons of this diet are:
• Increased cardiac risk due to the high consumption of proteins that the diet defends.
• Increase in bad cholesterol from abusing animal proteins.
• More risk of kidney problems because the kidneys have to work harder due to the high protein intake.
• Fatigue and excessive tiredness due to lack of energy derived from the omission of carbohydrates.
• Risk of hypothyroidism since the body can reduce the function of the thyroid to save energy due to the lack of hydrates.
Followers of the paleo diet do not cook food and eat it raw.
Is not true. It is one thing to avoid consuming ultra-processed foods and another not to cook food. Avoid consuming ultra-processed products from the food industry. The fresh products that you cook at home are an excellent option. Learning to cook is a factor that will help you improve your health.
Life in the Paleolithic era was very short
Nothing is further from reality. The problem was the infant mortality rate, which lowered the average age. But past adolescence, it was easy to even exceed 70 years, much longer than the 31-year life expectancy in England during the industrial revolution at the beginning of the 19th century.
Hygiene and sanitation have significantly increased life expectancy in recent years because it has drastically reduced infant mortality. But the maximum age that a human being can live has hardly changed throughout our history. Very few documented cases have exceeded 120 years.
It is harmful because it increases the consumption of fats and cholesterol
For fear of raising cholesterol, good fats have been stigmatized and unfairly punished for many years, especially since Ancel Keys began associating their consumption with cardiovascular disease.
We now know that there is no direct causal relationship between eating good fats, increased cholesterol, and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
