What Is The Paleo Diet?

Fad diets come in and out of fashion (as with everyone else), but the latest one has me wondering. It’s called the Paleo diet, and it’s currently the most online-searched diet in the first few days of 2013.

What is this Paleo diet? Is it effective? Is it healthy? I’m here to let you know.

The Paleo diet is basically a play on the Paleolithic Era’s hunter-gatherer eating habits. No packaged or processed foods, and large amounts of vegetables, seeds and fruit along with an avoidance of refined carbs.

Seems healthy enough, no? Eh, not so much. The major concern here with this diet is the meat emphasis. Large amounts of red meat should not be encouraged, due to the associated increased heart-disease and cancer risks, but in the Paleo diet, this much meat consumption is encouraged.

This diet also forbids a bunch of foods you actually need, such as dairy, legumes, grains and starches. Marion Nestle, a Paulette Goddard Professor of Nutrition, Food Studies, and Public Health at NYU says “I can’t think of any nutritional reason why such foods should be prohibited, the basic principles of healthful eating are simple and easy to follow: Vary unprocessed foods. Don’t overeat.”

That advice sounds much easier than eating like a caveman. Don’t live up to the hype of this diet, especially since most cavemen did not live past 30. Think about it.

Ally | Elite.

Photo Credit: Getty Images