The Caveman Diet Plan
| |When it comes to your overall health, diet is certainly one of the most important factors. In the search for good health and the right weight loss program that can help them lose pounds and inches as quickly and effectively as possible, some have turned to a diet known as the Paleolithic diet. This diet plan involves eating foods that were common during the Paleolithic era, which ended about ten thousand years ago. People who have followed this diet have had some great results with improved health and there are plenty of paleolithic diet books available to help explain how the diet works.
The modern Paleolithic diet originates from the mid 1970s, when a gastroenterologist, Walter L. Voegtlin, popularized the notion that the genetics of humans have not really altered much in the past 2 to 3 million years, when the Paleolithic era began. He pointed out that humans of that era survived mainly on vegetables, roots, fruit, meat and fish, not on refined sugars, fatty foods and processed foods, which make up such a large portion of the human diet today. Humans in the Paleolithic era were almost free of disease, compared to modern humans who suffer cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, obesity and a number of other serious health issues.
This diet, the “caveman diet”, says that only foods that can be hunted or gathered should be eaten, with the exception of grain. It might at first sound like the popular South Beach low carb diet or Atkins, which both call for the elimination of many refined carbohydrates. But, the Paleolithic diet only says that processed carbohydrates need be eliminated, like you would find in cereal and bread. But those found in fruit and vegetables are fine to eat. For that reason, the Paleolithic diet is touted as healthier than Atkins. And the diet is focused on improving the entire lifestyle, not simply on losing weight. This has helped categorize the Paleolithic diet as holistic nutrition.
The Paleolithic diet is a nutrition plan that is based upon the diet of our caveman ancestors. Processed foods are eliminated, and only natural foods that were present in the Paleolithic era are eaten. Raw fruits and veggies, lean meats and fish can help improve your health, helping to lower your risk of heart disease and problem blood pressure and lowering the chances of you becoming obese. It may also contribute to lowered risk of other conditions such as diabetes and cancer. This holistic nutrition plan encourages well-being for the whole body, not simply losing weight, but it certainly also makes the best weight loss program because it can help establish a healthier lifestyle that encourages weight loss.
Incorporating other healthy lifestyle choices, such as regular exercise, can also help to create a stronger and healthier body. Two types of exercise that have become increasingly popular because of the many wonderful health benefits they can provide are rebounding, which is simply jumping or bouncing on a mini trampoline known as a rebounder; and yoga. In fact, many people have found that a yoga DVD can give them the instruction they need to begin practicing yoga in the comfort and privacy of their own home.