so ... what is Paleo?

Over the last few weeks I have had this question asked of me more than usual, I'm not sure if it is because people are wondering what the heck I was going to eat over the holiday period [although I will be completely honest and say it sort of went out the window...] or whether people are once again curious. So, I thought, lets start a little 101 series over here, an introduction of sorts, spread out over the next few weeks to help clear up some of the questions. And what better place to start, than trying to explain what Paleo is.

Disclaimer: This isn't definitive Paleo guide. It is just information pulled together in order to try to explain what Paleo is, and how it might help you.

Maybe I should call that Paleo in a nutshell. Just not a peanut shell, because they are actually legumes and totally not paleo. I crack myself up... Get it, Like crack a nut shell. Oh dear, where was I? Right. So. Paleo 101. There is a lot that you can read about Paleo, trust me, I have read a lot and I am sure that I have only scraped the surface. There are some disagreements on certain things, but for the most part, everyone agrees on the core tenants, eat whole unprocessed foods, and stop eating grains, wheat, processed sugary ... stuff.  [most of which shouldn't be called food...]

Up until 10,000 years ago us humans were eating what nature provided. Nothing processed, nothing cultivated or harvested. Sure, we have evolved, we certainly are not cavemen. I don't live by the tenant 'if I cavemen didn't eat it then we shouldn't either'. Cavemen didn't have instagram, or Son's of Anarchy and I ain't giving them up. But there are a whole bunch of super smart sciency people who have explained that our genes haven't changed all that much, [from what I have read, I ain't no scientist] so with the introduction of all these new products our guts just aren't coping. Someone told me the other day that our diet has changed more in the last 100 years than it had in the past 100,000. No wonder we are feeling rough. There simply hasn't been enough time for us to adapt to eating those kinds of foods. 

So that's why Paleo is modelled off a simpler time, when we ate what was available from the land, not from the box on the shelf in the supermarket. We are not trying to precisely replicate a caveman diet, and there is not a one size fits all approach. 

This article sums up that idea that Paleo should be a template, not a diet, better than I could, so have a read if you have a moment, because it really is pretty dang good.