Activists of the Paleo diet firmly believe it can reduce the risk of modern health problems, saying that hunter-gathers did not face the same illnesses that many people face today, such as diabetes, heart disease, and obesity. But a paleo diet to lose weight?
Many studies show that following a paleo diet can lead to substantial weight loss and improve overall health.
Risks of Obesity
Being significantly overweight can lead to a number of health problems and complications, including:
Diabetes
Diabetes is a disease where the body loses its natural ability to regulate your blood sugar to stable, healthy levels. It can cause heart and kidney disease, strokes, amputation, and blindness.
High blood pressure
Blood pressure is the pressure your blood exerts as it is pumped through your arteries. High blood pressure can cause heart disease, strokes, and even kidney failure.
Arthritis
Arthritis is pain and stiffness in the joints, often accompanied by inflammation, and excess body weight puts additional strain on all your joints.
Heart disease and strokes
Diseases of the circulatory system affect how well your heart pumps, to deliver life-sustaining nutrients and oxygen to every part of your body. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in America.
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea is a condition where the body has restricted breathing during sleep, leading to constant brief periods of waking during the night. The inability to achieve deep, restful sleep has negative health consequences for the body, mind, and mood.
Causes of Obesity
Unhealthy sugars and sweeteners
While sugary foods and artificial sweeteners may not, in themselves, cause obesity, they are a primary source of unhealthy, unnecessary calories for many Americans. They negatively affect blood sugar, appetite, and body weight.
Artificial ingredients and fillers in food
Foods that are high in added salt, sugar, unhealthy fats, and fillers like corn starch and processed grains taste good, but have little nutritional value for the body. As a result, they are not filling, which leads to more eating of such foods, which leads to weight gain.
Lack of exercise
Unfortunately, many people live a sedentary lifestyle, where they commute to work sitting in their car, sit at a desk all day, and sit on a couch all evening. Not only does this lifestyle contribute to being overweight, it’s associated with a lot of other health risks as well. Lack of exercise causes damage to the cardiovascular system, muscle weakness and loss of balance and stability, and even lowers mood and cognition.
How Paleo Supports Weight Loss
No sugary beverages
Many people find that simply by omitting sugary beverages (even zero-calorie artificially sweetened “diet” beverages), they lose weight without even trying. Sodas, sugary juices, sweet coffee drinks, and fruity cocktails are all sources of empty calories with no health benefits and a number of health risks. Just skipping the sugary drinks and switching to water or unsweetened tea saves several hundred calories a day.
No processed foods
Processed foods have unnecessary, unhealthy, filler ingredients like wheat and corn starch that add bulk to the food without adding nutrition. Making your own food, even if it’s the same food you would buy in a box, is more nutritious and has fewer empty calories.
Only heart-healthy fats
Eating unhealthy fats that raise cholesterol and aren’t easily burned by the body contributes to body fat and excess weight. Switching to healthier fats that are more easily used by the body and burned as energy not only protects your heart, it slims your waistline.
Conclusion
The paleo diet can help you lose weight without counting calories, measuring portions, or feeling hungry. Simply changing some foods for others, and skipping some unhealthy foods altogether, can help slim your size and make you feel better inside and out. And this is how we define paleo diet.
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