The Paleo Diet was first popularized in 2002 by Loren Cordain. Before that, it was a fringe diet that only a few followed. But when the diet became mainstream, the popularity of it grew exponentially. Now it is a favorite among athletes and foodies alike. Why did the diet catch on so quickly, and grow to become so popular? Here are five reasons William Bronchick enjoys cooking for Paleo enthusiasts:
Weight Loss
People who switch over to the Paleo Diet often experience weight loss. The Paleo Diet is based on the theory that the human body is designed to process food like our Paleolithic ancestors did. The diet supposes that agricultural practices and food processing evolved faster than our genetics.
All Paleo Diet foods are supposed to be foods that our hunter-gatherer Paleolithic ancestors could have found. The Paleo Diet excludes all grains and processed foods, which are a major contributor to fat production. Carbs easily turn to excess glucose in the body, and then get stored as fat. When people cut out grains and processed products, they often notice that their fat content goes down. And who doesn’t like weight loss? This is a major benefit of the diet.
More Energy
A second benefit is that people experience more energy when they switch to the Paleo Diet. The Paleo Diet is gluten free, and studies show that many people are actually intolerant to gluten. This may be one reason that the switch to Paleo style eating makes people feel so much more energized through out the day; their bodies are no longer dealing with the internal stress of having an unwelcome substance (gluten) in the body.
Mental Clarity
Since the Paleo Diet cuts out grains and processed foods, it is very low in carbohydrates. This helps stabilize blood sugar. If you have ever eaten a high carbohydrate snack, like a candy bar, only to have an energy crash and brain fog an hour later, you know how much blood sugars can affect your sense of mental clarity.
Carbohydrates break down quickly into glucose, and can make blood sugar levels spike super high and then drop way below normal as your body takes the glucose into your cells, out of the blood stream. Proteins and fats are used for fuel in a much slower way, which allows the body to avoid those drastic spikes a crashes.
Better Sleeping Patterns
People on the Paleo Diet eat whole foods, and many of them are plant based. This means that they ingest plenty of vital minerals and vitamins through out the day, which can help the body move into sleep cycles with more regularity. Sleep is regulated in part by the bodies hormones. What you eat greatly affects your hormone levels.
When you eat healthy, nutritious meals, your hormones can stay balanced through out the day, and help you enter into restful sleep at night. When your diet is missing out on vital nutrients, hormone balance can get off track. Though you can take vitamins and supplements, it is very good to get most of your nutrients from food sources. This is because your body can absorb vitamins best when they are consumed as food.
The Satiation Factor
Have you ever eaten a meal high in carbs, like sushi, and felt hungry just one or two hours later? Or have you stuffed yourself at dinner, only to find that you are craving something sweet to top it all off, even though you feel that you have no more room for it? These are signs that your blood sugar is spiking and crashing, which comes from over eating carbs.
On the Paleo Diet, William Bronchick explains that a typical meal might be a serving of meat, a large green salad, and a side of sauteed asparagus. When you eat a nutrient dense, full protein meal, your body does not face the same cravings that you feel when you eat empty calories or too many carbs. With the Paleo Diet, this kind of eating becomes a habit, and you can say goodbye to those overwhelming cravings. This leads to a very relaxing sense that you are in control of your body, and you get to enjoy the pleasant feeling of satiation after a meal.
