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If you feel confused about the seemingly endless amount of modern diet options, you’re not alone. With countless philosophies each promising better health and vitality, it can be tough to know what to choose.
One of the most recognizable options is the paleo diet. Sometimes called the caveman diet, this way of eating seeks to use ancestral principles to fight chronic diseases plaguing modern society like diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
Nowadays, it’s hard to imagine a time when the majority of people were free from chronic diseases like obesity or diabetes. Yet, these challenges weren’t always so widespread.
But how effective is the paleo diet in the modern world?
In this article, we’ll explore paleo diet rules, it’s proposed benefits, paleo foods to eat and what to avoid, as well as explore alternative options to choose from in order to optimize your chances of success.
What is the Paleo Diet?
The foundation behind the paleo diet rests on the concept of evolutionary mismatch—the idea that our bodies evolved to thrive on foods available to hunter-gatherer societies but struggle to process the products of modern agriculture and food processing. Paleo dieters argue that the rapid changes in human diet over the past 10,000 years have outpaced our genetic adaptation, leading to increased rates of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic conditions.
In order to fight back against rampant levels of chronic disease, the paleo diet aims to incorporate the nutritious foods eaten during the Paleolithic era, which occurred from about 2.8 million years ago to 12,000 BC (1). During this time period, it’s thought that people primarily ate fish, lean meats, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and eggs and were thought to largely be free from chronic diseases (2, 3).
These foods can provide crucial nutrients like B vitamins, vitamin D, vitamin E, vitamin K, polyphenols, and minerals like zinc and selenium (4). The emphasis on animal foods also offers branch chain amino acids (BCAAs) which can assist muscle growth and regeneration.
Although it’s not as restrictive as the carnivore or ketogenic diets, the paleo diet can be considered a low-carb diet. The estimated macronutrient breakdown for the traditional paleo diet is (5, 6):
- 35% Fat
- 35% Carbohydrates
- 30% Protein
Thanks to its nutrient density and emphasis on whole foods, the paleo diet may lead to health improvements that can improve outcomes of challenges like diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and various others (7, 8). Mental health challenges like anxiety, stress, and depression may even improve when following a paleo diet (9).
Before starting out, there are various paleo diet rules to be aware of.
Paleo Diet Rules: What You Should Know
Paleo advocates argue that the rapid changes in human diet over the past 10,000 years have outpaced our genetic adaptation, contributing to increased rates of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic conditions (10). Here are the main paleo diet rules to be aware of:
Foods to Include
One of the main paleo diet rules is that dieters should focus on foods believed to be accessible to hunter-gatherer societies. The main foods included on a paleo diet food list include (11):
- Lean Meat: including beef, pork, lamb, poultry, and game meats, preferably from grass-fed or pasture-raised sources. Wild game is also acceptable.
- Fish & Seafood: the emphasis is on wild-caught varieties that provide omega-3 fatty acids and other marine nutrients.
- Eggs: the paleo diet encourages eggs as a key source of protein and other valuable nutrients.
- Fruits and Vegetables: depending on the location and season, a variety of fruits and vegetables would have been available.
- Nuts & Seeds: although less of a priority, nuts & seeds are included in most paleo diets.
- Fats: some versions of the paleo diet allow olive oil, coconut oil, and other traditional fat sources.
Some hunter gatherer tribes may have also had access to foods like honey, dark chocolate, and fresh juices (12).
Foods to Exclude
Another one of the foundational paleo diet rules is the removal of foods stemming from agriculture. Here are some of the most notable foods prohibited on a paleo diet (13):
- Grains: all grains, including corn, rice, wheat, oats, barley, and quinoa.
- Legumes: lentils, peas, beans, peanuts, and soy products are not permitted on a paleo diet.
- Dairy Products: cheese, milk, yogurt, and other dairy products are not considered paleo.
The paleo diet also doesn’t include ultra-processed foods, refined cooking oils (like canola oil), refined sugar, artificial sweeteners, and high fructose corn syrup (14).
3 Problems With the Paleo Diet
Just like the ketogenic and carnivore diets, the paleo diet has intriguing upsides, yet it does have a number of key concerns.
The first challenge is that the paleo diet makes it difficult to meet calcium requirements, thanks to the exclusion of dairy products. Not getting enough calcium may lead to reduced bone density and increase the risk of osteoporosis (15, 16).
Another common criticism of the paleo diet is that Stone Age diets would have been heavily influenced by location, seasonality, and food availability (17). The idea that humans spread out across the globe were eating the same exact diet for millions of years is unlikely (18).
One of the paleo diet rules is a heavy emphasis on wild-caught fish and seafood. Unfortunately, wild-caught seafood can contain mercury and other concerning contaminants (19). Metals like mercury are easily transferred to the human body, and high concentrations may contribute to neurological damage, cardiovascular disease, and nervous system damage (20, 21, 22).
The Animal-Based Diet vs Paleo: Which Should You Choose?
Another diet option that closely resembles the paleo diet is the animal-based diet. Popularized by influential figures like Paul Saladino, MD, the animal-based diet is an ancestral approach to eating that prioritizes animal foods and eliminates ultra-processed foods.
This way of eating consists of high-quality animal foods such as meat, organs, eggs, raw dairy, fruit, honey, and other low-toxicity plant foods. Unlike the carnivore, paleo, or keto diet, the animal-based diet does not limit carbohydrates, making it an appealing option for athletes. It’s also a popular tool to support gut health, weight loss, and much more.
Download the complete animal-based diet food list PDF for a printable animal-based grocery list and other resources to help you get started.
The Bottom Line: The Paleo Diet is Not For Everyone
While the Paleolithic diet offers valuable benefits like the elimination of ultra processed foods, strict adherence to paleo diet rules may create unnecessary limitations that can make it unsustainable and may even lead to a lack of key nutrients needed to feel your best.
For many, the animal-based diet presents greater flexibility and a potentially more sustainable approach that maintains the beneficial principles of ancestral eating while allowing for individual customization.
For individuals considering either approach, the key lies in focusing on the underlying principles rather than strict rules: prioritize nutrient-dense foods, minimize ultra-processed foods, include high-quality animal proteins, and customize based on individual tolerance and health goals.
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