12 Paleo Diet Foods That Are Nutritional Powerhouses

What’s up with Paleo?

This popular plan—it’s one of the top diets in America—claims to cure a variety of conditions, including diabetes, obesity, polycystic ovary syndrome, mental illness, and more. However, scientific research on the Paleo diet is limited, so it’s good to be skeptical. Naturally higher in fat and lower in carbohydrates, the Paleo diet is satisfying and can help people lose weight—but people report that the plan is difficult to sustain over the long term.

Paleo diet creators and followers believe we should eat as our hunter-gatherer ancestors did; however, anthropologists are still debating what our ancestors ate, and whether that jibes with Paleo guidelines.

Leaving that controversy aside, Paleo advises that you avoid processed foods, which is a great way to eliminate a lot of sugar and sodium from your diet. Just be wary of the ‘Paleo-friendly’ processed snacks and meals on store shelves. Avoiding dairy is another requirement of the Paleo approach; that could result in inadequate calcium intake, though you can get calcium from other food sources or supplements.

Possibly troublesome is the elimination of legumes, grains, and some fruits. Beans, peanuts, whole grains, and fruits possess vital nutrients including soluble and insoluble fibers, vitamins, and minerals. Carbohydrates are the fuel of choice for our bodies, so a super-low carb diet may have undesirable side effects like fatigue, headaches and mood changes.

Another concern about Paleo is that the diet is naturally high in fat and saturated fat thanks to the strong emphasis on meat and coconut oil. While food guidelines have long been recommended limiting these nutrients to protect your heart, research suggests that the Paleo diet doesn’t always raise heart risk.

All “diets” possess good and not-so-good components, of course. The Paleo-friendly foods outlined here, along with nutrition profiles, allow you to make informed choices.

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