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Neha Josh
Stacie Weatbrook
English 2010
20 July 2016
The Paleo Diet
One of the most talked about subject in current date is Paleo. What is Paleo? The word
paleo means old or ancient. The Paleo diet is a diet based on types of foods eaten by early
human, consisting meat vegetable, fish and excluding processed food, grain products and dairy.
As the diet has grown in popularity, alongside so have its critics and supporters. With many
celebrities following the diet and social media posting, now even many of the high-end
restaurants are taking notice on the Paleo principles. It is a protein- heavy low carb diet. This
paper will explain and discuss about the health befits of Paleo diet, and how a healthy diet make
a difference in lifestyle.
People may not realize, but every cell in human body is made from both saturated and
unsaturated fat and human cells depend on a healthy balance of the two in order to properly send
messages in and out. "Also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), omega-3 fatty acids
play a crucial role in brain function, as well as normal growth and development (The Nutrition
Source 1). A low-carb diet dramatically improves your blood sugar control and the function of
your blood sugar hormone insulin. After you eat a meal, insulins job is to get the sugars from
your bloodstream into your cells. The more overweight or out of shape you are, the greater the
amount of insulin your body produces to get the job done. This leads to higher insulin levels in
the blood, which directly blocks your capacity to burn fat via the hormone sensitive lipase (HSL)
enzyme. This person would be called insulin insensitive and if the condition persisted they would

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eventually become insulin resistant and develop type-II diabetes (Ballard, K). Its not just the
hormone insulin contributing to all the positive outcomes. Low-carb diets increase your bodys
satiety signals via the increase in protein consumption and improved efficiency of the satiety
hormone leptin. Low-carb diets also trigger greater lipolysis the breakdown of body-fat as
your body shifts to burning fat as a primary fuel source (Leaf). There is also an increase in the
metabolic cost of producing glucose (gluconeogenesis) when on a low-carb diet, which requires
your body to burn more energy and translates into a slimmer waistline and better health for
clients. One of many benefits of Paleo diet is the diet naturally provides fats because it suggests
both in healthy amounts while other diet limit one or the other.
This study on a Paleo diet for weight loss is great because its relatively long-term. You
can get study subjects to adhere to just about any random bizarre diet for a week (especially if
theyre being paid to do it) and if they lose enough water weight, youll get some impressive
numbers even if your diet is completely unsustainable. But this study is was relatively long-term
(2 years), so it gives a good idea of how Paleo works in the long run (Gunnars). The study
compared the effects of a Paleo diet to the effects of a standard low-fat diet on 70 obese
postmenopausal women. Paleo was a high-protein, moderate-carb, low-ish-fat version of Paleo,
based on lean meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, berries, and nuts. Dairy products, cereals,
added salt, and refined fats and sugar were excluded. The diet was not very low-carb: the
researchers didnt include daily food logs, but given the reported amounts of carbohydrates
eaten, it could have easily allowed for a few servings of starchy vegetables every day (Gunnars).
Unfortunately, dietary adherence was pretty lousy in the Paleo group, which makes it
hard to tell whether or not the diet as written would have worked. Specifically, none of the
women ate the recommended amount of protein. But the results are still encouraging.

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To sum it up, when people get on the Paleo diet, they often lose weight, feel less hungry, and
have fewer cravings for sugar. The body produces more energy, the skin starts clearing up and
the body eventually starts build muscles instead of fat. This way of eating can literally reverse
diabetes, reduce your chances of getting cancer, and reduce inflammation in your joints. It can
help you avoid heart disease. Peoples digestive systems thank them for this diet, and many
people even get to come off of their antidepressants and other medications.

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Works Cited
Chan, T.H. "Omega-3 Fatty Acids: An Essential ContributionOmega-3 Fatty Acids: An Essential
Contribution." The Nutrition Source. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 July 2016.
<https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/omega-3-fats/>.
Gunnars, Kris. "5 Studies on The Paleo Diet Does It Actually Work?" RSS 20. N.p., 23 Jan.
2014. Web. 08 Aug. 2016. <https://authoritynutrition.com/5-studies-on-the-paleo-diet/>.
Kohn, Jill. "Should We Eat Like Our Caveman Ancestors?" Www.eatright.org. N.p., Jan. 2015.
Web. 07 July 2016.
Leaf, Alexander. "Prevention Of Sudden Cardiac Death By N-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids."
Fundamental & Clinical Pharmacology 20.6 (2006): 525-538. Academic Search Premier. Web. 8
Aug. 2016.
Rea, Katherine. Master Trainer/Lifestyle Manager. Vasa Corporate Wellness. Primary
Source. 8 July.2016