10 Key Benefits of the Paleo Diet

There are sooo many diets out there, almost too many to count. There seems to be a new one that pops up each year. Sometimes these diets can be fads, meaning they don’t really work in the long-term and can even be somewhat harmful to the body. However, some of these diets can work in the long run and can produce amazing results for specific people. Not one diet is going to work for everyone; we are all different and our bodies react differently to different foods. Now, by diet I don’t mean eating less. A diet consists of the kinds of foods that a person eats. One of the diets I want to talk about is the paleo diet. There are some incredible benefits that can be had from doing this type of diet. Knowing if it works for you will consist of you trying it out for yourself and seeing if your body reacts positively to it.

1. Helps gain muscle and lose fat

The paleo diet includes a lot of meat products and with that comes healthy protein. Protein is necessary for building new cells, such as muscle mass. On top of that, the more muscle you have, the better your metabolism will work – heck yeah! This is because muscles need energy to move and in order for them to move bigger muscles, you must store more energy in them. Furthermore, a higher metabolism can help with weight loss.

2. Promotes better gut health

Sugar, “bad” fats (this doesn’t include foods like avocado or olive oil) and other processed foods all cause inflammation within the intestinal tract. When there’s too much processed foods and you add a lot of stress on top of that, you can get what’s known as “leaky gut syndrome”, which is when the intestinal walls are breached and things tend to leak out – yuck. Paleo pretty much excludes all sugar, bad fats and processed foods to help a person return their gut health to a normal state.

3. Provides more vitamins and minerals

Eating the rainbow (no, not Skittles!) is something the paleo diet often promotes. Vegetables are a huge part of the diet and it’s recommended to eat a variety of veggies based on what season you’re in. Each color of vegetable provides different nutrients and by eating the rainbow you are able to get as many nutrients as possible.

4. Promotes better digestion and absorption

It is suggested by the paleo diet to eat foods that people adapted the ability to digest over the past thousands of years. Grass-fed beef is considered something you can easily digest and absorb because our ancestors have been surviving off of it for a very long time. Those who have digestion problems, or feel super bloated by the end of day, could see a big difference after trying a strict paleo diet for one month.

5. Reduces inflammation

Inflammation may be the leading cause of cardiovascular disease. The paleo diet suggests many foods that are anti-inflammatory, making your risk for cardiovascular disease less. The paleo diet focuses on omega-3 fatty acids, which is one reason the diet is anti-inflammatory. Omega-3 fatty acids can also help lower the risk for cancer and arthritis.

6. Increases your energy

Ever thought that maybe you need that energy drink or extra cup of coffee because what you’re eating isn’t providing you with sufficient energy? The paleo diet focuses on foods with a low glycemic index (sugars that are absorbed slowly), which can help avoid low energy that normally occurs after eating refined starches or quickly absorbed sugars.

7. Helps you lose weight

While this isn’t the primary goal of the paleo diet, it can definitely happen. The paleo diet is a low carb diet and by just removing processed foods alone can drastically reduce one’s carb intake. The paleo diet believes excess carbs will make a person gain unwanted fat and by limiting carbs to the times a person works out, they can lose weight.

8. Increased overall health

The paleo diet’s main focus is to avoid foods that can harm your health and makes it easy to avoid crappy foods by giving you simple guide: only eat what cavemen would have been able to eat. Now, this isn’t exactly a perfect system, but it will make sure you are eating whole foods and increase your overall health.

9. Decreases allergies

The paleo diet suggests to minimize foods that are known to be allergens, such as grains and dairy. Many people are incapable of digesting these types of foods, which is why the paleo diet recommends removing them for at least one month. However, the paleo diet recommends athletes to eat oats every once in awhile.

10. Promotes a healthy brain

The paleo diet suggests that the best sources of protein and fat come from cold water fish, specifically wild-caught salmon. Salmon is packed with omega-3 fatty acids – something that is missing in many diets. Omega-3 fatty acids contain DHA, which is good for the eyes, heart and brain development and function.

So, there ya have it! The 10 key benefits of the paleo diet. This diet can be very beneficial for many people, but won’t work for everyone. What type of diet works for you the best, or what foods work for you the best?