Broccoli, Bacon and Cashew Salad

Recipes taken from The Paleo Cookbook.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Recipes taken from The Paleo Cookbook.

Roasted Carrots and Onion with Honey Balsamic Dressing

Recipes taken from The Paleo Cookbook.

Pumpkin and Chicken Curry

Recipes taken from The Paleo Cookbook.

Roast Pumpkin and Red Onion with Rosemary

Recipes taken from The Paleo Cookbook.

Saturday, May 11, 2013

Health Benefits of the Paleo Diet

Paleo Cookbooks - Recipes for the Paleo Diet


Agriculture has introduced wide-sweeping changes in the way we eat today,
yet our genes have not changed as rapidly. Our bodies are still designed for
the high-protein, low-carbohydrate food consumption pattern of our hunter
gatherer ancestors. This means we are genetically ill-equipped to handle the
high-carbohydrate, low-protein diet of modern times.
This state of better health is true even among the indigenous cultures that
have survived into the present day and continue to follow a diet of foods
available to them in their natural surroundings. When anthropologists
compare these primitive, hunting-gathering peoples with their modernized,
grain-eating neighbors, the close association between diet and disease is
very clear. You will not find heart disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis or
other “diseases of civilization” among the hunter gatherers. But all these
conditions exist among their modernized relatives, with their diets of grain
products, sugar laden and processed foods.
Modifying our diet so it becomes closer and more similar
to the dietary
patterns of our paleolithic ancestors, who ate only natural — not
manufactured — foods, our body will be healthier and we will be at lower
risk of suffering from the many illnesses and diseases in society today.
The paleo diet provides the body with healthy low-GI carbohydrates from
natural food sources, while avoiding our modern diet’s over-consumption of
highly processed carbohydrates. Our bodies are not genetically equipped to
handle processed carbohydrates, let alone an excess of them. Yet, we are
often consuming excessive amounts which can result in a weakened
immune system, diabetes, obesity and many other chronic illnesses.
Excessive carbohydrate consumption is rare with the paleo diet. The main
source of carbohydrates is fruits and vegetables — the same way it was for
our ancestors. Fruits and vegetables generally have a much lower glycemic
response than cereal grains and dairy products while providing plenty of
antioxidants and assorted phytochemicals which protect against free-radical
damage and the carbohydrate need for the body on a daily basis.
The paleo diet will provide the body with a higher proportion of fat than the
average Western diet which provides for an additional health benefit as this
is the body’s preferred energy source and is what will help the body perform
optimally. The fat sources found in our modern diet is generally unhealthy;
consisting largely of transfats. It is important to realize that the human
body needs a certain level and quality of fat to enable many body
processes, for example; fat-soluble nutrients such as vitamins A, D, E, and
K and the coenzyme CoQ10 cannot be absorbed without fat, and each of
these vitamins (and many more) are extremely important in order for the
body to avoid nutrient deficiencies.
Our ancestors evolved with omega-3 fatty acids, and many fundamental
biochemical processes in our bodies still require this fatty acid. The
consumption of omega-3 fatty acids in the modern diet is substantially
lower than that of omega-6 fatty acids; another family of
polyunsaturated
fatty acids. The diet of our ancestors showed a 1:1 ratio for omega-3 to
omega-6. The modern diet has a much lower ratio of 1:20, or even less.
Omega-3’s are known to benefit the human body in many ways. Cordain
believes omega-3 fatty acids were key factors in increasing the brain size.
They provided the dietary support that allowed the formation of brain
tissue. They are essential in maintaining structural functions, such as
creating the membranes in your cells to keep tissues healthy, as well as in
supporting biochemical processes and body metabolism. A favorable
omega-3:omega-6 ratio is important for physical as well as mental health,
including but not limited too immune system strength, cardiovascular
system strength and a healthy digestive system.
The modern diet, with its excessive consumption of sugar and simple
carbohydrates and dangerous fats upsets the natural balance of the bodies
ecosystem.
One of the most effective dietary solutions to the health problems we face
today can be found within the power within the paleo diet. It is necessary
for good health to restore the high-protein, high-fat, and low-carbohydrate
balance and to regain the quality of the nutrients which has been lost in
modern day food processing and farming. By striving to duplicate the
nutritional intake of our hunter gatherer ancestors, the paleo diet enables
us to have a clear path towards transforming physical and internal health.

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