Paleo Diet Research Sparks Further Nutritional Debate

New research into the Paleo diet has once again sparked off debates and arguments amongst the nutrition experts of the world as to whether eating as our ancestors did is a healthy weight loss diet, or a fast track to a dangerously unhealthy lifestyle.
Arguments for the Paleo diet, named for the Paleolithic era from when the ‘cavemen’ lived. Having compared weight loss in women on the Paleo diet and those who have followed modern nutritional guidelines, both for a period of two years, researchers have found the Paleo diet to be more effective at losing weight.
The diet promotes eating meat, fruit, vegetables and berries, whilst avoiding foods that ‘cavemen’ would not have had access to, such as dairy, grains and alcohol.
These foods, particularly the meats, will fill you up, while still being healthy, which leads to less hunger, a crucial factor for a successful diet as hunger can cause backsliding and breaking off a diet.
Furthermore, some nutritionists argue that some proteins derived from dairy are hard to digest and can cause minor allergies in people. By avoiding these foods, people begin to feel healthier and better about themselves.
On the other hand, the Paleo diet is arguably a step too far, cutting out necessary food groups that cause people to deprive themselves of certain nutrients. For example, fruit and vegetable can supply carbohydrates, but we also need complex starch such as those found in pasta, that followers of the diet will not get.
Furthermore, eating a lot of protein can risk taking on excess saturated fat which is linked with a lot of health problems.
The debate between the ‘best’ diets is not set to end any time soon.

Related Articles