Paleo Diet: Know The Past For A Better Future

Over the years, ‘food’ has gained increasing importance in people’s life. Newer varieties, recipes and plans are introduced daily and nutritionists exert a lot in designing diet plans apt for your height, weight & requirement. One unique kind of diet popular these days is named as the “Paleolithic diet” or “Paleo diet” for short. This modern nutritional diet derives its origin from the acknowledged ancient diet of nomadic group of people that existed during the Paleolithic era dating back approximately 10,000 years. Hence the Paleo diet assumes alternative names such as ‘Stone Age diet’, ‘Hunter- gatherer diet’ or ‘Caveman diet’.

Paleo diet basically consists of the following food groups;

• Vegetables: consuming raw vegetables is the key to a healthy life and the paleo diet secret resides in this very fact. The diet plan essentially includes all types of vegetables.
• Fruits: fruits contain necessary vitamins and mineral required by human body. Including larger proportions of fruits of all types in the diet boosts health.
• Nuts and seeds: Nuts and seeds like almond, pistachio, walnuts, pecans, cashew, pumpkin seeds, hazelnuts, sesame seeds and many more help boost health.
• Herbs: in our modern lifestyle, the food we eat has, to a great extent, excluded various types of beneficial herbs. Ingredients like parsley, thyme, basil, tarragon, chives, oregano, sage, dill, bay leaves, coriander, lavender, mint, and rosemary not only make the food tastier but they also help make the food nutritious.
• Natural spices: these include garlic, cloves, chilies, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon, onions, black pepper, hot peppers, star anise, mustard seeds, fennel seeds, cayenne pepper, nutmeg, paprika, and ginger.
• Animal protein and fats: these two food groups are also very important as they give the body its necessary energy required to stay healthy.
• Food like grains, wheat, rice or soy should be strictly avoided when following a paleo diet.

Paleo diet has been a long lost secret to a healthy strong life. The tribes of hunter- gatherer and nomadic communities were physically fit, tall and firm, had straight teeth and perfect eye-sights and were rarely inflicted with diseases common nowadays such as arthritis, diabetes, heart strokes, depression, hypertension etc. One huge obstacle in the perfection of Paleo diet was that without the knowledge of fire and cooking, many food items were excluded. Their toxins rendered them inedible and a lot of energy remained trapped and didn’t become part of Paleolithic food chains. However, sense of cooking these foods was a major breakthrough in what we call the Neolithic Diet.

A diet that mimicks our ancestral diet is the most suitable one for our well- being and health!