The Paleolithic Diet or Caveman Diet
The basic principles of this 'cave man diet' are so simple.
This diet insists that one should only eat foods that were available to our Paleolithic ancestors. All major dietary components are covered- (i.e. vitamins, fats, protein, fats, carbohydrates, antioxidants and phytosterols etc). This is for the simple reason that it is the only diet that is coded for in our genes - it contains only those foods that were "on the table" during our long evolution, and discards those which were not.
The diet includes meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, low-starch vegetables, root vegetables, herbs, spices and some fruit and nuts. It should be noted, however, that our Paleolithic ancestors did not pollute the water supplies or add chemicals to naturally growing foodstuffs.
The theory is that our early ancestors limited themselves to this diet because that was what their bodies (and therefore our bodies) had evolved to need. This is of course not entirely true. The main reason that Paleolithic man limited himself (apparently) to the above food types was not that their bodies had evolved to need only a limited diet, but that there was nothing else available.
Foods to AVOID on this diet:
Grains- including bread, pasta, noodles
· Beans- including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts,
snow-peas and peas
· Potatoes
· Dairy products
· Sugar
· Salt
Foods to EAT on this diet:
· Meat, chicken and fish
· Fruit
· Vegetables (especially root vegetables, but definitely not including potatoes or sweet potatoes)
· Nuts, eg. walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia, almond. Do not eat peanuts (a bean) or cashews (a family of their own)
· Berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.
Try to increase your intake of:
· Root vegetables- carrots, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, Swedes
It will take some time for your body to adjust to the changes you may experience on this diet. There is a huge surge in your vitamin intake. There is
a huge decrease in your toxin intake. So take it easy whilst your body adjusts, but int he long term you could feel healthier.
