Rupestre paintings. In the times of the paleo diet

In 2002 Professor Loren Cordain published a book called The Paleo Diet: “Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat“. In it, he promotes a diet very similar to that our ancestors followed thousands of years ago, when hunting and gathering were the only way to get food.

The Paleolithic or Paleo Diet, proposes a model of nutrition that mimics our ancestors, those hunter gatherers who did not have sophisticated cooking techniques but food in its most natural state possible, without any processing.

This type of diet has been proposed as a healthy diet. It is promoted as a valid alternative to lose weight.  Is it a another miracle diet ?

This diet is based in wild meats, fish, vegetables and fruits, none of them raised or cultivated, as agriculture and pastoralism had not yet evolved at that time. It bans any cultivated carbohydrates as those coming from corn, wheat, potatoes, rice or any cultivated seed or root. It also bans any type of meat or fat except those coming from wild animal, seafood or nuts.

The paleo diet basically consists of a nutrition pattern rich in red and white meats. No cold meats or sausages are allowed, and above all, fresh fruits and vegetables as well as nuts and seeds.

Without entering to discuss the benefits of this diet, not supported by sound scientific studies, its main problem are the difficulties to find the right products for the daily intake.

On top of that many healthy products are not included in this diet, as it could be the olive oil.