Paleo Diet Tips

The Paleo Diet was popularized by nutrition researcher Dr. Loren Cordain, and is a diet that espouses eating foods that were accessible to our paleolithic ancestors. This means that the diet should emphasize lean meats, fruits, vegetables and nuts, while eliminating processed foods, dairy products, legumes and grains. The diet is easy to implement and maintain with a few simple strategies.

Question Yourself

Make adhering to the Paleo Diet easier by asking yourself a series of questions while preparing each meal. Does this meal contain grains like rice, barley, rye, bread or pasta? Does this meal contain beans like soy, black, garbanzo, white or kidney? Does this meal contain excessively processed or sugary foods like chips, sodas, popcorn or cookies? Does this meal contain any dairy foods like milk, yogurt or cheese? If you answered yes to any of the questions, your meal does not comply with the Paleo Diet and should be changed.

Eliminate the Bad

Nutritional biochemist Dr. John Berardi, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Texas, suggests that Paleo Dieters eliminate all non-Paleo Diet compliant foods from their home, citing Berardi's Law, which states that if you have unhealthy foods in your possession, you will eventually eat them. Berardi has all of his clients eliminate the temptation of poor nutritional choices, simply by removing them from their homes entirely. For Paleo Diet followers, this means ridding your cupboards of processed snack foods, beans and grains, and removing the dairy from your refrigerator for the duration of the diet.

Stock the Good

Dr. Berardi believes that a large number of dietary mishaps are a result of poor planning and a lack of availability of healthy, Paleo Diet-compliant foods. Stock your kitchen with fruits of all kinds, vegetables, a variety of nuts and seeds, and lean meats. Berardi advocates acquiring as many of your foods as possible from local sources at farmers' markets to not only ensure freshness, but to lighten the load on your pocketbook, too.