Safe Paleo Diet

Is the Paleo Diet Safe?

As with any new, or newly popular, diet, it has become common for people to question whether the Paleo Diet is safe. The Paleo diet is, of course, a way of eating based on the diet of Paleolithic Man, the hunter gatherer, or caveman. So what is the answer? Are we right to question it, and is the Paleo Diet safe or is it just another potentially dangerous fad?

Low carbohydrate diets

The first possible objection to the Paleo way of eating is based largely on a misconception, the idea that it is a low carb diet. The Paleo Diet certainly shares some similarities with the well know, and perhaps infamous, Atkins Diet. Like Atkins, Paleo suggests high fat and protein intake and includes far less carbohydrates than we are generally used to eating.

Unlike the Atkins diet, however, the Paleo Diet does not seek to restrict carbohydrate intake, and it is that extreme restriction that can case problems and, potentially, be dangerous. If you deliberately, and greatly, restrict your carbohydrate intake in order to remain in ketosis, the major aim of the Atkins diet and its process of weightloss, then you really do need to be careful. This method, if attempted at all, is probably best supervised by a medical professional, it can certainly produce some side effects that are unpleasant. This is not to say that it's not effective, for it does seem to get results, but there's really nothing to suggest that this is how we are naturally meant to eat.

So, rather than being deliberately low in carbohydrates, the Paleo Diet just tends to be so because it removes grains, sugars and potatoes, the major sources of carbohydrate in most people's diets. When you take those staple foods out of the equation, most people who try the paleo diet find themselves looking for ways to get more carbohydrates, not restrict their intake. But is the paleo diet safe in terms of this lower carbohydrate intake? Yes, because it is a diet based on a balance of nutritionally rich foods, not on the idea of restriction.

High fat diets

The other major objection to the Paleo Diet, on medical grounds, is the encouragement to eat lots of protein and fats. The concern, of course, is the increase in cholesterol and the idea that eating all that fat is going to cause you to gain weight. This is, however, NOT TRUE. The capitalisation is entirely justified as this is such a major, and yet common, mistake! There is research, and plenty of it, though far beyond the scope of this article, to show that it is not eating fats that causes you to gain weight but carbohydrates. Refined sugars and grains, wheat in particular, are the worst offenders here.

As ever, it's best to do your own research, but you won't need to look far to find plenty of evidence that eating fat and protein, and plenty of it, is a good thing; it's certainly not the reason that people put on weight. This shouldn't be taken as carte blanche on fatty foods - they're not ALL good, but the ones that are may come of something of a surprise. Again, it's beyond the scope of this article, but let's just say: butter, eggs and fats from pastured, grass fed animals is all very good for you. But beware those vegetable oils - if you have to do any more than squeeze something to get the oil out of it, be suspicious! So, olive oil is good - corn, palm and soy oils are not. The Wikipedia pages for those oils make for some interesting reading - you might want to learn more before putting any more of those in your body!

So is the Paleo Diet safe or not?

It does seem a little ironic that people will question the wisdom of something like the Paleo Diet but happily continue eating refined sugars, modified starches and hexane extracted, hydrogenated oils that really have no place in the food-chain of any animal, let alone on human plates. And yet, of course, there is the illusion of safety in the known.

It's true to say that Westerners in general, and Americans in particular, are more overweight and less healthy than has been the case for many decades, if ever. Should you be tempted to question this just take a look at some of the magazine advertisements and posters from the 1950s - skinny, not fat, was considered to be a problem in those days! So, rather than asking 'is the paleo diet safe?', you might, perhaps, be wondering how safe your current diet is!

The Paleo Diet is one based on natural balance. It's a very different balance than the one we've been taught for years, but it is balanced, it is not a diet of extremes. You should view with suspicion any diet that calls for extreme actions, especially if it involves restricting certain food groups, such as carbohydrates or fats. Nature loves balance, and will generally have it one way or another!

So, are you still asking Is the Paleo Diet Safe? Perhaps the best answer is simply to try it for yourself. When you notice how good you start to feel, how weight naturally drops off if you need it to, and how much energy and vitality you have, there will be a clue. If you see skin conditions, aches and pains and digestive problems disappearing then you may well be asking not whether the Paleo Diet is safe but why you didn't get round to trying it sooner!