What is the Caveman diet?

What is it?

The Caveman diet also known as the Paleo diet is designed off what is believed to be what human hunter-gatherer ancestors ate, thousands of years ago. The Paleo diet is typically based off foods that were believed to be obtained by hunting and gathering, like lean meats, fish, fruit, vegetables and nuts and seeds. 

  Vaaseenaa (2017)

Purpose

The aim of this diet is to return to a way of eating that is more like what early humans ate. The diet’s reasoning is that the human body is genetically mismatched to the modern diet that emerged with farming practices. Pitt (2016), outlines in his text how farming changed what people ate and established dairy, grains and legumes as additional staples in the human diet. This rapid change in diet outpaced the body’s ability to adapt. This mismatch is believed to be a contributing factor to the prevalence of obesity, diabetes and heart disease today (Pitt, 2016). 

Proven benefits of the Paleo diet

• According to Lindeberg (2007) the Paleo diet improves measurements of waist circumference and glycemic control.
• Helps with weight loss and reduces the systolic blood pressure, (Osterdahl, 2008).
• Proven to improve several cardiovascular risk factors, (Jonsson, 2009).
• Scientifically demonstrated to lower cholesterol and triglycerides (Frasseto, 2009).

Concerns with the Paleo diet

• This diet covers all elements of a healthy diet as it is rich in vegetables, fruit and nuts.
• Primary difference between the Paleo diet and other healthy diets is the absence of whole grains and legumes 
• The main difference that separates the Paleo diet with other diets is the absence of whole grains and legumes. Grains and Legumes are a good source of fibre, vitamins and other nutrients. 
• Saturated fat and Protein can be consumed at dangerous levels, increasing the risk of kidney and heart disease and certain cancers. 
• Under-researched, scientific evidence is based off a small population so can not be generalised to the wider population. 

Paleo diet meal Ideas

Breakfast
Eggs
Piece of fruit
Fried vegetables in coconut oil
Bacon
Lunch
Chicken and salad
Sandwich in a lettuce leaf with meat and vegetables
Dinner
Grilled Chicken and vegetables
Baked salmon with vegetables
Steak with vegetables
Snack 
Handful of nuts
Piece of fruit
Celery/ carrot sticks
Berries

Grater (2017)

Reference 

Pitt, C.(2016). Cutting Through the Paleo Hype: The evidence for the Palaeolithic diet. The Royal 

   Australian College of General Practitioners, 45(1-2), 35-38. Retrieved from https://

   www.racgp.org.au/download/Documents/AFP/2016/January/February/Clinical-Pitt.pdf

Lindeberg, S., Jonsson, T., Granfeldt, Y., Borgstrand, E., Soffman, J., Sjöström, K., &  Ahren, B. 

   (2007). A Palaeolithic Diet Improves Glucose Tolerance More Than a Mediterranean-like Diet in 

   Individuals With Ischaemic Heart Disease. Diabetologia, 50(9), 1795-1807. doi: 10.1007/

   s00125-007-0716-y

Osterdahl, M., Kocturk, T., Koochek, A., & Wandell, P. (2007). Effects of a Short-term Intervention 

   With a Paleolithic Diet in Healthy Volunteers. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 62(5),   

   682-685. doi: 10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602790

Jonsson, T., Granfeldt, Y., Branell, B., Palsson, G., Hansson, A., Soderstorm, M., & Lindeberg, S. 

   (2009). Beneficial Effects of a Paleolithic Diet on Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Type 2 Diabetes: 

   A Randomized Cross-Over Pilot Study. Cardiovascular Diabetology, 8, 35. doi:  

  10.1186/1475-2840-8-35

Frassetto, LA., Schloetter, M., Mietus-Synder, M., Morris, RC., & Sebastian, A. (2009). Metabolic 

   and Physiologic Improvements From Consuming a Paleolithic, Hunter-Gatherer Type Diet. 

   European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 63(8), 947-955. doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2009.4. 

Gunnar, K. (2020, March, 13). 5 Studies on the Paleo Diet - Does it work? (Blog post). Retrieved 

   from: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/5-studies-on-the-paleo-diet