Health Benefits Of Paleo Diet

Choosing a Paleo diet to improve your health is a smart move. The scientific and medical literature is showing more and more positives from Paleo living. Here are 6 of the biggest reasons why you should follow the Paleo diet. 

6 Health Benefits Of Paleo Diet

1: Less Fat, More Muscle

This is key for overall health. The link between body fat and certain illnesses is well-established. Reducing the risk of developing various cancers and heart disease should be a priority for most of us. Paleo is great for reducing fat and therefore decreasing these risks.

It is also ideal for building muscle. Aside from the fact that it makes you look better, a little more muscle is actually the easiest way to keep body fat low. Muscle uses more calories to exist than fat so the more muscle you have, the more you can eat without gaining weight.

2: Feed Your Brain

How often do you think about the effect diet has on your brain ? Everyone worries about those love handles, but few make the connection between good food and brain health. Brain function and development is actually strongly influenced by what we eat.

A high intake of Omega 3 fatty acids has been shown to be very important in this respect. And where do we find these Omega 3’s ? They are most concentrated in fatty fish like salmon and in free-range eggs and even grass-fed meats. Paleo anyone? So if you want to keep those little grey cells working and ward off Alzheimer’s disease, making the switch to the Paleolithic diet makes sense.

3: Healthy Intestines

More and more studies are pointing to the importance of gut health in overall health. When you think about it, this makes sense. It isn’t what you eat, it is what you absorb that is important. If it damages your intestines or full of bad bacteria nourished by years of poor food choices, how can you be healthy ?

Apart from the obvious problems, from cancer to irritable bowel syndrome, just getting nutrients from food becomes impossible. Eating natural foods like fish, meat, fruit and vegetables promotes good bacteria in your gut and decreases unhealthy bacteria. Over time, this means that your gut is in good shape and you can enjoy the benefits of Paleo diet and of the food you eat for the rest of your body.

4: Reduce inflammation

Inflammation is a killer. Scientific research suggests that inflammation is the leading factor for heart disease. For example, reducing it has huge health implications. So what causes this inflammation ? Well, there are several factors. However, it is fairly clear that a lot of modern processed carbohydrates and sugars play an important role.

These foods aren’t part of the Paleo lifestyle. Replacing refined foodstuffs with natural ones is easy and the results are quick and noticeable. Less inflammation means that those aches and pains that had become part of getting out of bed in the morning seem to disappear and the risk of heart disease falls dramatically.

5: Higher Energy Levels

This is one of the nice benefits of Paleo diet food because it is clear in a short space of time after starting the diet and really impacts daily life. Often we don’t realise just how poor our energy levels have become. Digesting processed food and artificial ingredients all day long takes energy. Ever wondered why you feel so tired after that carb-heavy lunch? This is why.

Changing to a diet rich in fresh (preferably organic) produce produces almost miraculous results for many people. Suddenly you can feel much more alert all day without those unpleasant difficulties.

6: Say No To Allergies

Food allergies are actually far more common than you might imagine. Most of these problems are related to modern foods. By modern food, don’t just think of fast food and fizzy drinks. Grains and dairy products are relative newcomers into our diets and are two of the biggest problems for allergies. They can cause everything from upset stomachs to rashes and inflammation.

Even when you think you are eating healthy food, if your diet is heavy on grains (for example bread, even whole grain bread) and dairy, then you could be in trouble with allergies. Cutting these out of your diet altogether as you go Paleo could improve many things from skin tone to aches and pains which are caused by food allergies.

There you go. These are just some of the health benefits of a Paleo lifestyle. It doesn’t mean that you have to adopt an all-or-nothing approach either. Depending on your goals and your food tolerances, you could be fine with certain carbs like rice and potatoes for example. However, science shows that basing your diet heavily around a Paleo approach has real benefits to your well-being, both short and long term.