The Caveman or Paleolithic Diet--Paleo Diet for short--is an eating plan based on foods similar to what our Stone Age hunter-gatherer ancestors ate. The diet emphasizes meat, fish, eggs, tree nuts, vegetables, fruits and mushrooms. It excludes most or all cultivated grains, dairy products, salt, refined sugars and processed fats.
Reasoning
In the Paleolithic era, which lasted about 2.5 million years, or most of human history, people ate only wild plant foods and meat they hunted. About 10,000 years ago, humans began cultivating food and domesticating animals, shifting to a diet based more heavily on grains. Promoters of a Paleolithic-style diet say our bodies are genetically much better adapted to the hunter-gatherer's diet than to a diet high in carbohydrates, salt, sugar and processed foods.
Proponents
Much of the research on the Paleolithic Diet comes from radiologist Dr. S. Boyd Eaton and professor Loren Cordain. Eaton co-authored an influential paper on paleolithic nutrition in 1985 in the "New England Journal of Medicine," as well as a book, "The Paleolithic Prescription: A Program of Diet & Exercise and a Design for Living." Cordain, a professor in the Department of Health and Exercise Science at Colorado State University, is author of "The Paleo Diet" and "The Paleo Diet for Athletes."
The Diet
Eaton and Cordain cite evidence that Paleolithic humans probably ate more fat, more protein and less carbohydrate than we do. To follow a Caveman Diet, eat lean meats such as grass-fed beef or game, naturally raised poultry, organ meats, wild-caught fish, eggs, organically grown fresh fruits and vegetables (especially root vegetables, but not potatoes or sweet potatoes), mushrooms and nuts. Avoid dairy products, beans of all kinds, potatoes, sugar and processed foods. Don't add salt to foods. Use only fats that come from fruit (such as olive oil) or nuts (such as walnut oil).
Pros
Few researchers have studied Paleolithic diets per se, although a small Swedish study reported in the July, 2009 issue of "Cardiovascular Diebetology" indicated that Paleolithic style diets may reduce the risk of heart disease in diabetics. However, the Caveman Diet resembles the Mediterranean diet and similar diets that research has shown may help promote weight loss and protect against ailments, such as heart disease and diabetes.
Cons
The Paleo Diet may not provide enough vitamin D and calcium. If you follow the Paleo Diet and don't eat liver, Cordain recommends taking a vitamin D supplement. Eating a lot of fish can expose you to toxins such as mercury. Some variations of the Paleolithic Diet are high in saturated fat, which is linked to an increased risk of heart disease. Anthropologists such as William Leonard of Northwestern University point out that humans evolved to eat quite a varied diet, and blame our modern health problems more on lack of dietary diversity and exercise than on particular foods.
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