The Health Benefits of the Paleo Diet

Everyone has heard about the benefits of the Paleo diet for your waistline, but what something much more important – your health? Is it good for your body to eat so much protein and fat? Well, it turns out that it is. If you're eating healthy fats from vegetable oils, nuts or avocado, they're much better for you than foods like bread and pasta which were never part of the early human diet, and which the human body is not adapted to eat.

We looked at some of the potential positive effects of the Paleo diet on your health and wellness.

Weight loss

A number of studies show the Paleo diet beating traditional low-fat diets for weight loss in both the short and long term, but it's definitely in sustained weight loss that Paleo shows the most outstanding success. The wide range of foods and the fact that there's no need to weigh food or count calories makes it easier to stick to, so the weight lost can be kept off even years after starting the diet.

Weight loss is a factor in dozens of different health problems; heart disease, diabetes, stroke, some cancers and joint problems are all exacerbated by being overweight. Slimmer people tend to have more energy and have an easier time with common activities like climbing stairs or carrying heavy bags. They also tend to sleep better and snore less – if your partner has been complaining then the Paleo diet could help you both get a good night's sleep!

Reduced inflammation

We should be talking about chronic inflammation much more than we are, because this little-known condition can be lethal. It may be an underlying cause of heart disease, some cancers, diabetes, depression and allergies.

Chronic inflammation happens when your body's immune system thinks you're sick and responds with white blood cells even though there's nothing for them to do. It's still not completely understood, but it seems as though pollution, stress and weight gain are all factors.

Here's the good news – reducing inflammation is as easy as adding fruit, vegetables and omega-3 fatty acids to your diet. All these are found in abundance in the Paleo diet. Fish, seafood, nuts and healthy oils all contain high levels of omega-3 and are a staple of paleo, and fresh vegetables with low starch content have been praised by Paleo experts from the beginning. Cutting out gluten also seems to help reduce inflammation, especially when replaced with high-nutrient Paleo foods.

Cholesterol

To stay healthy and keep your body in it's best shape, you want to keep your levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides low. These two compounds clogs arteries and makes them harder, leading to higher chances of a blood clot which could cause a heart attack or stroke. On the other hand, high levels of HDL cholesterol are better because they clear away the bad LDL cholesterol from arteries.

A study published by Eastern Michigan University researchers in 2015 compared the effects of a traditional heart-healthy diet and the Paleo diet on twenty subjects aged 40-62 years. They concluded that total cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides were significantly lowered and HDL raised by the diet, independent of the effects of weight loss.

The Paleo diet worked better than the traditional diet in every metric, and subjects were at much lower risk of the complications from high cholesterol after the study was complete.

Insulin sensitivity

If you've begun to develop some resistance to insulin due to poor diet, the Paleo diet can do a lot to restore your insulin sensitivity. Insulin resistance happens when your blood glucose goes up and down rapidly due to eating too much sugar or refined carbohydrates. Your body has to release a lot of insulin to cope with the sugar and eventually you become desensitized to it.

The high protein and fat content of the Paleo diet keeps your blood glucose at a constant level and allows you to become sensitive to insulin again. A study in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition in 2004 compared a low carbohydrate and low fat diet and concluded that low carb improved fasting blood glucose and insulin sensitivity in overweight but otherwise healthy women.

If you're already pretty insulin sensitive then the diet won't affect you as much, but it will protect you from developing insulin sensitivity in the future.

A better immune system

There are several dietary deficiencies that make you more vulnerable to colds, sore throats and congestion and can make the winter months pretty miserable.

Vitamin A keeps your skin healthy and ensures your immune system works as it should in fighting infections, as well as being good for your eyesight. It's found in oily fish, eggs, cheese and some milk and yogurt. Vitamin C protects cells and keeps them healthy, especially the neutrophils and lymphocytes which are your body's first line of defense. Bell peppers, broccoli, sprouts, oranges and strawberries are all rich in vitamin C.

Vitamin D is critical for healthy bones, teeth and muscles and helps your immune system fire on all cylinders. Your body can make vitamin D in sunlight, but during winter when it's dark you need to get it from your diet instead. Oily fish like salmon and herring, red meat and egg yolks are all good sources.

All these foods make up a large part of the Paleo diet, so if you stick to it you won't have to worry about whether you're getting enough essential nutrients.

Cognitive function

There is increasing research into the effects of different diets on brain function and cognitive diseases like Alzheimer's, and while nothing is conclusive yet the results look promising for the Paleo diet.

Research published in the European Journal of Internal Medicine this year described the detrimental effects of a high-carbohydrate diet on the brain and it's relationship to degenerative diseases. The brain needs healthy fats from the diet and cholesterol to thrive; around a quarter of the cholesterol in the body is used by the brain. Too much sugar and too little fat impair brain function.

Mice who were bred to have Alzheimer's had improved memory when fed a low carbohydrate diet which stimulated ketosis and fed the brain with ketone bodies.

It's no surprise that a diet with so many physical health benefits would also be beneficial to your mental alertness and protect against the effects of aging on the brain. What more reason do you need to adopt a healthy new lifestyle?