Paleo is an abbreviation of Paleolithic which means “older or ancient, especially relating to the geological past”. Basically, eating Paleo is about designing your meals to reflect what our ancestors ate. Paleo is also commonly known as the “caveman diet” for this very reason.
Rob Wolfe has an amazing book called The Paleo Solution
If you have noticed I haven’t called Paleo a “diet”. I know that it is super cliché to say, “It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle.” but it truly is! You don’t eat Paleo for a month or two to lose weight; you eat Paleo for life because it makes you feel better! Ok, here’s where I say that I can’t speak for anyone else, but I will tell you my experience.
How Paleo Helped Me:
Ailment #1: Bad Knees
I have had “bad knees” my whole life. When I was young, I was told that I had Osgood-Schlatter Disease, painful bumps below the knees. However, children usually grow out of this and I never did. Basically, I felt like I had growing pains almost every day, which led to me popping Advil almost every day as well. I went to my primary care doctor about a year and a half ago. They did X-Rays and MRIs but couldn’t find any reason that I should be having pain in my knees. I ended up going to physical therapy and getting Cortisone shots, but my knees continued to hurt. Thank you Western medicine!
So, what happened when I started eating Paleo? I couldn’t believe it, my knees stopped hurting! And if I added dairy or grains back to my diet, my knees started killing me again. Simply put, our bodies struggle to digest grains and this causes inflammation in the body. I have also seen Paleo living treat people’s migraines and other aches and pains.
Ailment #2: Hypoglycemia
I have always had battles with blood sugar. I’ve even fainted on a couple of occasions, due to low blood sugar. When my blood sugar drops, I get shaky, weak, feel faint and become super irritable and dare I say bitchy!
Within the first few weeks of going Paleo, I noticed a huge difference. I used to HAVE to eat every 3 hours or I would have a blood sugar crash. I really noticed the change one night when I was delayed from eating dinner until 8pm. Normally, I would not be able to make it that long. I’d be crawling on the ground, begging for some food. But I noticed that I was perfectly fine!
Grains are made up of polysaccharides, which are long chains of sugar. When your body digests this, it doesn’t think, “Oh, this was wheat bread, so I’ll digest it into something healthier than sugar.” No, it sees sugar, it reacts to sugar. So, my blood sugar would peak and then plummet a few hours later, forcing me to wolf down a granola bar every few hours, only to repeat the cycle again. Now, my blood sugar is well regulated without those peaks and valleys.
Ailment #3: Poor Mood/Depression
I’ve also struggled with a volatile mood and depression for most of my life. I have tried many different medications and therapy over the years and a lot of these solutions have greatly helped me. But I do believe that my overall ability to handle my moods is affected by my blood sugar. It sounds too simple, right? But really, when my blood sugar drops, watch out! I become very irritable and anxious.
When I switched to eating Paleo and my blood sugar stabilized, I felt better all day long, which improved my mood. Not to mention, when I started on this lifestyle journey, I became interested in other ways to become healthier as well, like taking supplements. I will go over my regimen and recommendations on another post. But I feel that an overall healthy body, that is detoxing properly, makes us happier and more apt to handle stressful situations. I have been able to go through things I never thought I had the strength to face. And I believe that diet and lifestyle had a big influence on that.
This is just an overview of a few of the things that eating Paleo has done for me. I know it also greatly helps Autoimmune diseases and weight loss. Here’s some reading material for you to learn even more about Paleo and how it can help you!
Suggested Paleo Learning Material:
The Paleo Solution
Your Personal Paleo Code
The Primal Blueprint
I’m sure that many people have many more stories to share. I encourage you to share your story below. You just might be able to change someone’s life with your experience!
This post contains Amazon affiliate links. However, all of my opinions are my own and are not swayed by being an affiliate.
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