The paleo diet is mostly based on that it believed people ate during what is known as the palaeolithic era, dating from 10,000 to 2,500,000 years ago
The majority of the diet consists of fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, lean meat and fish. People in this era were primarily hunter-gatherers. As humanity began to farm around 10,000 years ago, this diet became less and less common as food began to be produced on a mass scale. This diet is also known as the stone age diet, the caveman diet, the Palaeolithic diet and the hunter-gatherer diet.
The purpose of the diet is to eat in a way that is closer to how the early human did. The science behind the diet is that humans are not genetically predisposed to the modern that emerged with the advent of farming; the discordance hypothesis is the name given to the concept.
As farming practices evolved, they changed the way that people ate and introduced legumes, grains and dairy to the human’s diet. The introduction of these food types was a recent and rapid change in how we eat. It happened so fast that humanity has not had a chance to adapt. Practitioners of the diet believe that adopting a Paleo approach to eating will reduce your risk of getting diabetes, heart disease or suffering from obesity. One of the first things you need to change is your shopping habits; this guide should help you make more educated decisions when looking at food labelling
What to look out when shopping on a paleo diet.
Whether you are picking up a tin of Alaskan salmon or a bottle of olive oil, it is essential to be able to read, understand and calculate the nutritional benefits of each product. Labels are central to this task.
If it isn’t food, don’t buy it
A famous nutritionist was quoted as saying “Do you want to eat something that starts with an x end in the number 80. When you are shopping for groceries, you need to read nutrition labels for paleo diet to consider what you want to put into your body. If you don’t know exactly what something is and you cannot identify all the ingredients, put it back on the shelf.
No added sugar or artificial colours or sweeteners
The world is overflowing with sugar, and dealing with the oversupply the food industry has been adding it to products on an ever-increasing basis for years. Research has shown that nearly 75% of all packaged goods contain some added sugar. How much-added sugar is too much on a Paleo diet, while this question is important, it is not the only factor you need to consider when reading a label. The glycemic load of the meal is of more importance; calculating this will show how much a persons blood sugar will rise after any given meal. This is a good indicator of whether or not you should eat something.
Keep your list short
A simple rule of thumb when reading a food label is the shorter, the better. If something has two ingredients, then chances are it is healthier than a product with twenty.
Additives and preservative are just bad
Any time you are reading a label, and you need to use your phone to look up what a particular ingredient is, this should be a clear indicator that this food should be left on the shelf. MSG or monosodium glutamate is becoming an increasingly popular flavour enhancer, but it has zero nutritional value and should be avoided. The sodium content of foods is also something you need to consider carefully; high sodium foods are not part of the Paleo diet.
Think of the big picture and strive for balance
You will, on occasion, be in a situation where there is no healthy Paleo food available. Tinned tuna is a prime example, but a quick scan of the label will tell you it is packed with salt and other ingredients that are not healthy.
But if you are stuck in a gas station in the middle of nowhere choosing between that can of Tuna and a nasty hot dog, the choice should be simple. The paleo diet is about the process, not perfection; you will encounter bumps along the road. Just stay focus to achieve the best results.
