P  A  L  E  O   D   I   G   E   S   T   E   D

A Motto to eat by: "If the cave-man didn't eat it, you shouldn't either" [1] 

The Paleo diet stems from the belief that our ancestors from the paleolithic era had an ideal diet concentrating on meat and vegetables opposed to our processed and carb-dominated diets. This is due to the idea of agriculture being introduced 10,000 years ago and processed foods such as grain, sugar and dairy being produced. Paleo believes the human body was not made to digest these sorts foods and they are the culprits for many autoimmune diseases, type 2 diabetes, heart diseases and the obesity epidemic. "Our bodies were genetically designed to eat a certain way. We started out as hunters and gatherers and our genetic makeup has not really changed in 40,000 years."(The paleo diet, (2015) So why not go way back to when pasta and junk food was not a typical meal? Way back to tens of thousands of years prior. And idealistically "eat the way we ate when we were hunting and gathering: animal protein and plants." (US News and World reports LP, 2015)

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         E              How does this diet stack up to the Australian guidelines??

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Guideline 2: In the Paleo diet although high quantities of vegetables are consumed, legumes/beans are not. Contrarily to the guidelines only 3 food groups are recommended and Grain and Dairy products are strictly excluded from the menu so calcium may be a lacking micro nutrient for someone on the Paleo diet.  Paleo also exceeds the reccommened 35% of fat in a diet by being approximately 5% over. It also exceeds the protein percentage clocking up to 38% over the 10-35% recommendation but has an immensely lower carbohydrate intake. (US News and World reports LP, 2015)

Guideline 3: In the Paleo diet high fat foods are not replaced and cooking generally involves high fat foods such as coconut and olive oil, meat cuts and avocado. As they do not, however, endorse agriculturally made products such as butter and cream (dairy) these (sometimes) bad fats are absent from the diet.  Limiting intake of foods such as processed pies and cakes is also recommended under this diet abiding to guideline 3 as these foods are not 'Paleo' as they are processed and contain sugar. Technically drinking alcohol also is not recommended under this diet as the cavemen would not of had it back in the day leaving water as the main drink of choice. Salt is also much lower as they would not have used it back in the day and if any, it would be found naturally in small doses in the meat. It can not be argued that the Paleo diet will be low in saturated fats purely on the belief baked goods and fried goods are not consumed in this diet as meat can contain a fair amount of saturated fat and People on this diet should be cautious to be mindful of saturated fats and even cut off the fatty cuts on meat such as on bacon or chops to be proactive in lowering saturated fat in their diet.

... Is 'Paleo' for you?!

the good

Possibly. If you have the stamina and sheer strength to give up sugar bypassing all the delectable artificial foods that contain it, NOT to mention lasagna and delicious dairy foods. If yes, you make have what it takes. This is not really a diet but a lifestyle change that has promises to help you lose weight and become in a more healthier weight ranges as well as reducing the risk of vitamin deficiencies and the potential to reduce chances of many health issues and diseases due to a cleaner way of eating.  

the bad On the other hand by shunning "dairy and grains, you’re at risk of missing out on a lot of nutrients." Also you may need to be careful about the saturated fat content in meat that may cause peril to your health and heart.

REFERENCES

US News & Worlds Report, Paleo diet overview (2015) http://health.usnews.com/best-diet/paleo-diet 

Nom nom paleo. (2015). What’s The Paleo Diet?. Retrieved fromhttp://nomnompaleo.com/paleo101

Australian Government, National Health and Medical Research council (2013).AustraliaDietary Guidelines. Retrieved from: https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/_files_nhmrc/publications/attachments/n55a_australian_dietary_guidelines_summary_131014.pdf

Rolfes, S. R., Cameron-Smith, D., Walsh, A., Crowe, T., & Whitney, E. N. (2013).An Overview of Nutrition. In J. Pope (Ed.), Understanding Nutrition: Australian And New Zealand (2nd ed., pp. 19). Australia: Dorothy Chiu.

The paleo diet, Paleolithic Diet – Health and Weight Loss Without Hunger (2015)

http://www.paleolowcarbdiet.com/