Paleo Diet: Eat Like in the Stone Age

Paleo diet – this is the name of a weight loss trend that refers to the gray prehistoric times. Because with the Paleo Diät, which is called also stone age Diät, only such food is permitted, which was (allegedly) already accessible to our ancestors in the stone age. Thus, during the diet comes mainly a lot of fruit, vegetables and meat on the table. We present you the diet plan of the Paleo diet including delicious recipes for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition, we reveal which good reasons speak for, but also against the Paleo diet.

Basics of the Stone Age diet

“Paleo” is the abbreviation for the English term “paleolithic”, meaning “stone-age”. The Paleo diet is based on the assumption that our genetic makeup has hardly changed since the Stone Age. Therefore – so the proponents argue – the Stone Age diet is the only correct form of nutrition. After all, our genes have adapted to this diet over millions of years. Thus, the high-fat, high-protein diet of the Stone Age is said to have helped Homo sapiens evolve into modern humans. Today, proponents see the Stone Age diet as an opportunity to prevent diseases of civilization such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This is because “modern” foods such as cereals, dairy products or industrially processed products are poorly tolerated by the human organism.

How the Paleo diet works

With the Paleo diet only foods come on the table, which according to the proponents were already accessible to our ancestors – and before they became sedentary. The following foods are therefore off limits during a Paleo diet:

  • Dairy products
  • Cereals and products containing cereals
  • Industrially manufactured foods, such as ready meals, sugar or refined vegetable oils.
  • Legumes and soy products
  • Industrially processed meat and sausage products
  • Coffee and alcohol

Instead, the emphasis is mainly on fresh food. Allowed are therefore:

  • Vegetables and fruits (especially berries)
  • Eggs
  • Nuts and seeds
  • Mushrooms
  • Herbs
  • Meat
  • Fish and seafood
  • Certain oils, such as coconut and olive oil
  • Honey
  • In limited quantities potatoes and rice

The most important role in the diet plays the consumption of meat, which is said to have been much higher in our ancestors than it is today. Tip: Who likes it can also supplement the Stone Age diet with insects, worms and larvae. However, these foods, which in the Western world are still quite unusual, are not mandatory.

Stone Age diet: delicious recipes

Below are three recipes that you can use to test the Paleo diet for a day. Breakfast: for breakfast, have mushrooms with scrambled eggs: slice 300 grams of brown mushrooms and chop one onion. Fry the onion briefly in a pan and then add the mushrooms to stew. Then prepare the scrambled eggs from two eggs. Lunch: For lunch, have the meat cut into strips: cut 200 grams of beef steak into fine strips and fry the meat. In the meantime, quarter ten cherry tomatoes and cut two spring onions into fine rings. Add the spring onions to the beef and fry the onions briefly. Then add the tomatoes and give everything another good stir. Dinner: For dinner, have a crispy chicken salad: for the salad, cut 120 grams of chicken meat into small pieces and fry. The leftovers of half a chicken, for example, are also good for the salad. Also cut 300 grams of radishes, 200 grams of tomatoes, 100 grams of carrots and 100 grams of kohlrabi into fine pieces. Then mix a dressing from some olive oil, salt, pepper as well as seasonal herbs and pour it over the salad.

Criticism: arguments for the Paleo diet.

There are some proponents of the Paleo diet, who point to the original diet and the weight loss achieved as a result. In fact, it can be noted positively that the basis of the Paleo diet is healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, mushrooms and nuts. It is also positive that seasonal foods are preferred.Unhealthy foods such as sweets, alcohol or fast food, on the other hand, are completely prohibited – after all, such industrially manufactured products were not available to our ancestors either. The Paleo diet is also easy to carry out, because there are no quantity restrictions. Also annoying calorie counting is not necessary. If one believes experience reports, a fast weight loss sets itself with strict adherence to the stone age nutrition particularly in the first weeks. Meanwhile there are some studies, which certify the Paleo Diät a positive influence on our body. Thus, the Stone Age diet is said to have a positive effect on blood sugar levels and the cardiovascular system. Weight loss and a reduction in abdominal fat were also observed in study participants. Looking at the study results, however, it should be noted that either only a very small number of subjects were studied in these or methodological errors were found.

Criticism: arguments against the Paleo diet

Some points of the Stone Age diet give experts cause for criticism. In any case, the claim that our genes have not changed since the Stone Age is not tenable. In addition, it must be noted that our lifestyles are different today than they were back then. This is another reason why we need a different nutritional mix than our ancestors. And: THE Stone Age diet does not exist – rather, the eating habits of that time were relatively different depending on the habitat and food supply. For example, it is disputed among experts whether meat consumption in the Stone Age was actually as high as the diet prescribes. Statements about the diet in the Stone Age and its health benefits are merely hypotheses. Scientific evidence is not available. The complete renunciation of milk and grain products is also to be seen critically. Thus by the stone age nutrition clearly fewer coal hydrates, but more fats and proteins are taken up, than generally recommended. The protein supply is already increased with many Germans however. Nourishing scientists advise therefore against it to increase these still further. This is because the intake of too much animal protein can have a negative impact on our health. Also in terms of sustainability, the very meat- and fish-heavy diet during the Paleo diet is for many difficult to reconcile with their values.

Conclusion: good impulses, difficult in the long term.

The Paleo diet can therefore contribute to weight loss. It is also positive that many unhealthy foods, such as alcohol and sugar, are eliminated from the menu when it is implemented. However, in the long term, this type of diet is not very balanced and not easy to integrate into everyday life due to the absence of cereals or dairy products. The 10 vegetables with the lowest calories