The paleo diet or paleolithic diet is based on the types of food which our ancient ancestors ate in the stone age. These early humans were what is known as hunter gatherers, which means that they hunted wild game and fish and gathered plants, fruit and berries. This was their everyday diet on which they were healthy and fit. They had to be in good condtion to survive the rigors of every day life in the stone age. We as their descendants inherited the type of digestive system which they developed over many thousands of years to handle the types of food which they lived on.
Unfortunately in this modern age relatively few people live on this kind of menu. On the contrary we depend so much on refined and processed foods that a health crisis is now developing in all highly developed nations where food is plentiful. We overeat daily on foods made from refined white flour, sugar and high GI carbohydrates. This leads to obesity, high blood sugar levels and to a near epidemic of diabetes. Diabetes was a relatively rare disease 100 years ago but has now become very common. If we look around we see obese people everywhere and the percentage of very obese children is alarming to say the least. These fat kids get little or no exercise, drink sugar laden carbonated drinks and overeat on a diet which is anything but healthy.
This has resulted in a steadily increasing incidence of juvenile diabetes which is a life threatening illness. Many people want a fast fix to their overweight problem which accounts for the amazing number and variety of weight loss diets which are everywhere you look. Many magazines feature a new diet on their cover every month in the knowledge that they will sell magazines to the desperate multitude who want to try yet another fast fix for their overweight bodies.
Only a very tiny percentage of these diets can work in the long term. Most of them can help the dieter to lose a few or even many pounds, but it is not permanent weight loss. As soon as they return to their former eating habits the weight goes right back on, plus a few extra pounds usually. These diets do not feature a menu which can be adopted as a life time diet. They are for quick temporary weight loss and are doomed to fail in the longer term.
The paleo diet which is the “natural” human diet which our bodies have evolved to live on is a lifetime diet which includes all the nourishing foods our ancestors lived and were healthy on. All processed foods, sugar, refined white flour products and other unsuitable foods are eliminated from the diet.The result is permanent weight loss which takes place naturally and easily and a healthy body which is being given the foods it naturally handles to best effect.