In recent years the Paleo, or Paleolithic, diet has grown in interest of people looking for a healthier diet and overall lifestyle. Scientists have also gained increased interest on this diet, especially over the question of whether it has any significant benefits compared to a regular, nonexclusive diet. It is named Paleo with the idea that it includes majority of foods available before agriculture was developed. The Paleo diet is one that is “high in protein and rich in plant matter, while containing no cereal or dairy products, and proposed this as a nutrition strategy better fitted for the human genome” (Frances J. Bligh, Ian F. Godsland, Gary Frost…). In America today, it is easy to find heavily processed and refined foods in the grocery …show more content…
The diet gets its roots from the Stone or Paleolithic Age, which its people had “no cancer, no osteoporosis and no heart disease. They were strong-boned, hearty, and healthy…” (Barron, John). There are many variations to this diet, such as only organic meats, what types of fruits and vegetables are acceptable, and what type of fats/oils are allowed. The biggest and most important aspect for this diet to be complete is the elimination of beans, potatoes, grains, and dairy. These foods are thought to be indigestible by the human body, therefore there cannot be health benefits to them. The only foods that are allowed in this diet are fruits and vegetables, nuts and legumes, lean cut meats, and …show more content…
Many people who cut out dairy do not properly supplement and end up with a calcium deficiency, which can be detrimental to one’s health. Although there have been positive results from the Paleo diet, followers should be careful and take into considerations all the risks; one may even opt. to follow the diet loosely, such as having a serving of dairy a day. Pitt finishes off his article by stating that “The Paleolithic diet is currently over-hyped and under-researched. While the claims made by its celebrity proponents are not supported by current evidence, the Paleolithic diet may be of benefit in the management of various metabolic derangements” (Pitt, E. Christopher). Pros and cons are found with this diet, as with any, and one should decide what is best for their body and
Recently my brother started a modified Paleo diet. The Paleolithic diet claims to be based on the eating habits of Paleolithic humans during the Paleolithic era. For his own nutritional needs he has chosen to combine the Paleo diet and parts of the bulletproof diet created by Dr. David Perlmutter. He has been talking about how great his diet is and that he’s never felt better. My older sister Mar-y-sol argues that while the Paleo diet has some good ideas such as reducing the amount of processed wheat we consume (because the modern diet has far too much processed wheat) it is an out of balance diet and that it goes to the extreme. She prefers to eat a healthy balanced diet with everything in moderation or the omnivore’s ideal diet . These points of view seem valid so I decided to find out what makes a diet healthy.
He claims that a better diet requires spending more time and resources on food, just like the people of the past did. Pollan attributes their surpassing health to this practice, but in his article “How Junk Food Can End Obesity”, David Freedman paints a different story. Freedman describes how examinations of ancient non-Western remains revealed “hardened arteries, suggesting that pre-industrial diets…may not have been the epitome of healthy eating” (514). This discovery seriously undermines Pollan’s assumption that we should follow the lead of our ancestors because even though they spent a greater amount of resources on food and ate absolutely no processed foods, they still suffered from some of the same diseases which Pollan claims his eating habits will curb. As an opponent of processed foods, or “foodlike products” (Pollan 426), Pollan advocates eating whole foods. As many people have a similar opinion, he is not alone in this, but he is misinformed. Freedman reveals that after examining the nutrition labels on various unprocessed, whole foods, he found that many contained more fat, sugar, and sodium than processed foods (512). If unprocessed foods underwent the same scrutiny as processed foods, perhaps this common misconception could be prevented. The basic premise of Pollan’s essay is that a better diet will lead to better health. While we could all benefit from a better diet, “findings linking food type and health are considered highly unreliable (Freedman 518). Freedman discusses the multitude of nondietary factors such as air quality and exercise that render such studies untrustworthy. Pollan might be a well-respected author of nutrition books, but this does not mean that his theories are free of
The food industry is in a state of necessary revolution, for obesity rates seem to be rising exponentially, counties striving to develop have hit lack-of-food road blocks, and massive animal farms produce threats such as unethical treatment of animals and food-borne pathogen spikes. With these dilemmas revolving around the food world, it is natural for one to ponder, “Are human’s inherently omnivorous, eating both animal and plant based products, or were we suppose to be receiving nutrients solely from a vegetarian diet?” Kathy Freston, author of The Lean: A Revolutionary (and Simple!) 30-Day Plan for Healthy, Lasting Weight Loss, discusses her viewpoint surrounding the dilemma by writing “Shattering the Meat Myth: Humans are Natural Vegetarians.” Freston’s answer to the questions presented above
It is a nutritional eating lifestyle, which allows you to achieve your health goals in the most convenient and efficient manner. At the same time, it maintains your trim and fit physique as soon as you attain your goals.
As healthy lifestyles have come to take over the minds of the general public, people have begun to pay increased attention to the food they eat, which in turn has sparked a renewal in vegetarianism. Vegetarianism is a term used to describe the practice of living on a diet consisting of nuts, grains, fruits, and vegetables, with or without the use of eggs and dairy products. People usually associate vegetarianism with the hippy movement in the 1960’s; however, it was Frances Moore Lappé's iconic book, Diet for a Small Planet, released in 1971 that launched the vegetarian movement. Since 1971 vegetarian cookbooks, restaurants, and food brands have become popular and have enticed the likings of about 7 million Americans. Unfortunately, despite the growing popularity of vegetarianism most people living on a carnivorous diet laugh at the idea of giving up meat. Although omnivores are reluctant to give up their current diets, giving the vegetarian diet a chance even for just a month or two can bring about a number of positive consequences. By adopting a vegetarian diet a person is not only...
The Western Diet mainly consists of fried foods, refined grains, sugar, high carbohydrate and fats, and meats (3). It has been hypothesized that having a Western Diet increases one’s chances for developing depression. There has been a great deal of research into why the western diet increase’s one chance of having depression. A common sense reason maybe that the Western Diet consisted of large amounts carbohydrates, fats and sugars which promotes obesity and then causes depression (1). More scientific evidence suggest that having a improper diet like the Western Diet negatively affects peripheral and central dopamine, which are neurotransmitters (chemical which transmit signals across the synapse from the nerve cell to the target cell) directly linked to the mental health of the brain and are negatively affected by high fat diets (4). Research has also suggested that having a poor nutrition status such as lacking folate (a natural water form of vitamin bg which is crucial for many of the bodies processes) and key vitamins like vitamin b12 significantly increases the risk of depression in elderly people (5). Research into the topic of dietary habits and mental health is very crucial with the growing rates of obesity and depression in the United States compared to the rest of the world. Thus, does having poor dietary habits increase the likelihood of having depression? The likelihood of developing depression has been linked to the type of diet one consumes such as the Western Diet, Diets Low in Fat and Carbohydrates and weight control diets like binge eating.
This article details the benefits of a primarily vegetarian diet in primary prevention of heart disease.
The Paleo Diet has changed the lives of so many people around the world. Why not let it change yours?
Ungar, Peter S., and Mark Franklyn Teaford. Human Diet: Its Origin and Evolution. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 2002. Print.
Society has recently become increasingly obsessed with health and nutrition, as more and more individuals realize that they can dramatically change their quality of life by adjusting their diet and lifestyle. One way that people have tried to pursue a healthier lifestyle, is by removing meat and other animal products from their diets, whether they become a strict vegetarian who eats no animal byproducts, or a lacto-ovo vegetarian who still eats eggs and dairy. As with any other lifestyle, research is always being done to see if the benefits outweigh the disadvantages, and so far, the results of vegetarian diets have been encouraging. Vegetarian diets have proven to decrease the risk of heart disease, cancer, obesity, and many other health problems. With a little planning and dedication, a vegetarian diet will be healthier and more beneficial than a traditional diet
Followers consume a diet regimen made up of fresh, raw fruits and vegetables, sprouted seeds, nuts, legumes, dried fruits, milk from coconut, fresh fruit and vegetable juices and other organic or natural foods which have not been processed. Sounds healthy. It stems from the thinking that raw and living foods contain the essential enzymes needed for proper digestion, as well as containing higher nutrient values. Raw food dieters believe the enzymes in raw foods are the life force and that every food has its own essential enzymes. These enzymes help the body digest the foods completely, without relying on the body’s own enzymes. This means that cooked foods, foods cooked higher than 116 °F, are “
Most Americans do not care enough to take a look at the nutritional values of the food that he or she is consuming. That is why America has the highest percentage of obesity in the world. This is a serious problem because one in every three adults is obese, and one in every six children is obese. There are many factors that go into the regular American diet, but most of those factors are not appealing nor is it healthy. Americans put way too much processed food into their daily diet. Some would say that other countries diets superior the American diet because of nutritional values that it carries. Other countries have proven that an active lifestyle is a huge element in the average weight of the country. There are many things that Americans could change about their diets and lifestyle that would help them to become healthier.
Most people in America live on an omnivorous diet, but with the new vegetarian diet trend, there has become much controversy over if a vegetarian diet is truly as healthy as vegetarians believe. Because both sides make strong arguments, neither side wants to back down and claim defeat, but do they have to? There is a large amount of people who claim there is nothing wrong with the standard western diet, even though there is evidence showing it is quite unealthy, however, many studies show that a low-meat-intake diet can ,along with a vegetarian diet, reduce risk of premature death, as well as show positive impacts on common chronic diseases, reduces risk of certain cancers, and even provides essential amino acids.
Many Americans are eating unhealthy diets in the typical American style characterized by lack of moderation. This average diet is defined by high contents of red meat and other fatty foods. Eating these types of food, and the following factor of being overweight, can lead to heart disease and other health problems. A vegetarian lifestyle, on the other hand, limits the intake of meat and other fatty animal products and is known to confer a wide range of health benefits. However, there are many different types of vegetarianism. First, there is the semi vegetarian, who is someone who simply limits meat intake to some degree, the lacto-ovovegetarian, who cuts out all meat, but not animal products such as cheese and eggs, and then the vegan, who chooses not to eat any animal products or byproducts such as honey or gelatin. Each type of vegetarianism has specific benefits, all of which outweigh the benefits of the average American’s diet. I am going to look primarily at the benefits of the lacto-ovovegetarian lifestyle. By eating this type of diet, Americans can balance out their food intake with more fruits, vegetables, and grains and create a diet that is healthier overall. A typical vegetarian diet closely matches expert dietary recommendations for healthy eating, being low in saturated fat and high in fiber, complex carbohydrates, and fresh fruit and vegetables (VSUK). A more balanced diet leads to a healthier lifestyle and a longer, happier life. Therefore, more Americans should be eating a vegetarian diet, specifically a lacto-ovovegetarian style.
Having a healthy dietary method can reduce the chances of receiving many health diseases. These health diseases include obesity, heart disease, and cancer. By consuming certain foods and nutrients in one’s diet the risk factors for these health diseases can be reduced. A healthy dietary method that is beneficial to reducing and/or improving these health diseases is the vegetarian diet. The vegetarian diet follows a dietary pattern that is characterized by the consumption of plant-like foods and the avoidance of flesh foods (meat, poultry, and fish). The foods in this diet provide the body with many essential nutrients. This is why many health benefits have been associated with the vegetarian diet. This dietary method has been linked to reducing the causes of obesity, heart disease, and cancer.