Saturday, August 25, 2012

Paleo Diet Food List: The Healthy and Non Boring Choice

By Peter Smith


The biggest reason for diet failure is boredom. Diets are often restrictive, and do not offer a wide variety of foods to choose from. Typically, individuals will stick with it for a while, and then give into cravings for high fat, high-calorie foods. This is often referred to as yo-yo dieting, and is particularly harmful because the metabolism learns to adapt and prepare for starvation. This cycle slows down the metabolism and results in failure. The Paleo diet food list offers a variety of foods to choose from and is simple to follow.

The Paleo approach shows individuals how to choose foods for optimal health and well-being. It takes us back to the days before agricultural farming introduced the body to grains, legumes, dairy, and artificial sweeteners. It allows us to eat only those foods that are natural and avoid artificial man made enhancements. This helps to clear the body of toxins, which in turn helps to stabilize the metabolism, which may be slow from years of yo-yo dieting.

One can enjoy meats, as our ancestors did, like beef, fish, and fowl. Eggs are OK as well, and can come from duck, chicken or quail. All fish, including shellfish, is allowed on this plan. Be creative and find delicious recipes that include these options.

One can enjoy fresh vegetables such as lettuce, spinach, kale, arugula, endive, and collard greens. Other vegetables one can indulge in include carrots, sweet potatoes and yams. Healthy fats that are included in avocados, olive and coconut oil, and coconut milk are options as well. To make the bland become wonderful, experiment and season foods with herbs such as thyme, parsley, mint, basil, and rosemary.

Snacking is allowed. Fresh fruits make an excellent snacks and include choices like bananas, grapefruit, apples, melons, berries, and pears, to name a few. Nuts contain healthy fats, and are a good choice for snacking. Pistachios, Brazil nuts, pecans, and cashews are delicious snacking options but remember they as wonderful as they are, we are talking about the natural variety here and in limited serving size. Salted nuts or those nuts cooked in oil are off limits and don't forget nuts are high in calories.

Wheat and gluten have been getting some bad press lately, and rightfully so. When the agricultural revolution came about, we discovered grains like wheat, oats, barley, and rye, and while these might seem like healthy choices, for some, they are not. These glutens and grains have been linked to obesity, schizophrenia, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. For those who are sensitive to these foods, it may lead to stomach upset and bloating. They also contain opioid peptides, which are psychoactive chemicals and found in drugs like morphine.

The Paleo diet food list is extensive. It contains healthy foods that promote weight loss and health. With so many wonderful choices, it is impossible to get bored on this diet.




About the Author:



0 comments:

Post a Comment