WHAT IS PALEO?


The “Paleo” diet refers to the prehistoric Paleolithic or “Caveman” era. But don’t let the arguably archaic name scare you! "Paleo" is simply a holistic approach to health which embraces whole foods our bodies are accustomed to eating from an evolutionary perspective. It is not a diet fad, but rather a lifestyle. Paleo's goal is to eliminate foods which are incompatible with our own unique constitutions, and which create inflammation and disease.

The “Neolithic Revolution” and introduction of agriculture around 10,000 shifted society away from hunting and gathering healthy whole foods we’d been consuming for thousands of years, to inflammatory foods foreign to our bodies. Today’s food supply is rich in nutrient-lacking, toxic grains and sugar-laden, processed concoctions which do much more harm than good. This foundational diet change heralded many of the modern diseases we have today: degenerative diseases and autoimmune conditions, diabetes and obesity, heart disease, arthritis and even cancer.

Non-Paleo “foods” irritate the gut, increase insulin level and instigate systemic inflammation. They essentially put the body in a state of panic, resulting in a myriad of autoimmune conditions, as the body overreacts to the food substances and launches an attack, hurting itself in the process. Talk about shooting yourself in the foot!

guide to eating paleo, by melanie avalon


PALEO YES LIST
Eat these foods as much as you want, and to satiety!
Meat (Poultry, Beef, Seafood, etc.)
Vegetables
Fruits
Nuts & Seeds
Natural Oils (Coconut, Olive, Palm, Avocado, Flaxseed, etc.)

PALEO NO LIST
Avoid these like the plague!
Grains
Legumes (Beans, Peas, Peanuts, etc.)
Added/refined sugars
Refined/hydrogenated/processed oils (Canola, Vegetable, Corn, Soybean, etc.)
Anything packaged/processed

PALEO MAYBE LIST
The following foods are typically discouraged in the Paleo diet, and should definitely be avoided during the initial 30 days or so, but may be reintroduced and sustained if they do not cause problems. 
Dairy
Nightshades (Tomatoes, Peppers, Zucchini, Eggplant, etc.)
Alcohol (While I’m listing it under “maybe,” my Personal Paleo Pyramid above places red wine on the Yes! list