images

THE BENEFITS OF PALEO

Many people turn to the Paleo diet because of the weight-loss benefits, but that’s not where the idea originated. If you remember, the diet was created by a gastroenterologist to help his patients with various gastric disorders. Of course, weight loss is a wonderful side effect that has its own set of healthful benefits.

When you add in the myriad other perks, going caveman is almost a no-brainer. Let’s take a quick peek at some of the biggest health benefits of following a Paleo diet.

Weight Loss

Since this is one of the primary reasons that many people decide to switch to a Paleo diet, this is a good place to start. Because you’re eliminating empty carbs and adding in lots of healthful plant fiber and lean protein, losing weight will be much easier. A few other factors that contribute to healthful weight loss include:

The bottom line is that you’ll be consuming foods that help your body function the way that it’s supposed to, and one of the natural side effects of that is weight loss.

Healthy Digestive System

Remember that this was the original reason for the diet to be utilized. The theory is that people’s bodies aren’t adapted to eating grains, dairy, and other foods that are forbidden by the Paleo diet, and so they cause digestive upset, inflammation, and discomfort. Also, your digestive tract needs fiber to help it sweep food through your system or else it builds up and causes problems. Just some of the conditions that may be improved by going caveman include:

Many people who begin the Paleo diet for other reasons, such as weight loss or heart health, report improved digestive health. Yet another reason that this incredible diet is worth your time!

Type 2 Diabetes Prevention

In the United States and other cultures that have adopted a Western diet, type 2 diabetes has reached disastrous proportions. Historically an adult disease, children are developing this debilitating illness at an alarming rate, and there’s no sign of this trend changing. One of the main culprits is excess consumption of processed sugars and flours.

By simply eliminating these calorie-laden, nutritionless foods from your diet, you can literally save your own life. The Paleo diet helps you avoid type 2 diabetes as well as metabolic syndrome, a precursor to many different diseases, for the following reasons:

Immune Health

When you eat foods that your body isn’t adapted to, such as processed grains, legumes, and dairy products, your body produces an allergic response in the form of inflammation, even if you don’t experience any obvious outward symptoms. You may notice dark circles under your eyes as well as a feeling of general lethargy. You may attribute these symptoms to stress or exhaustion, but they’re actually signs of a chronic allergy.

Inflammation in your body is a bad thing if it’s occurring chronically, and it has been causally linked to such autoimmune disorders as:

The sad part here is that you don’t even realize what you’re doing to your body because there are often no symptoms until you have developed the disease. Switching to the Paleo diet may help reduce or eliminate your risk of many debilitating illnesses.

Cardiovascular Health

For most of your life, you’ve probably been told how horrible red meat and other animal proteins are for your heart, but recent research indicates that this is simply not true. Remember that there’s a huge difference in scarfing down a fatty hamburger or sausage and enjoying a lean, organic, grass-fed steak. The burger and sausage are full of saturated fats and, most likely, hormones and additives.

On the other hand, steak is a lean, nutritious protein that delivers essential vitamins and minerals with very little bad fat and no empty calories, preservatives, or hormones. When you throw omega-3s and LDL-lowering healthful fats into the mix, you’ve got a heart-healthful meal that’s good for anybody.

A Few Final Words on Health

The health benefits of giving up processed flour, refined sugar, and foods that cause inflammatory responses could fill an entire doctoral thesis, and the advantages to eliminating hormones and artificial additives from foods could fill another one. This chapter didn’t even touch on how a Paleo diet can help with allergies, cancer, brain health, joint health, or celiac disease, but some of these will be covered in the discussion of the health risks of gluten in the next chapter. Suffice to say, the benefits of going Paleo far outweigh the relatively minor inconvenience of giving up a few foods.