Fad diets?

The paleo diet, short for the paleolithic diet, is based on the diets that hunter-gatherers ate thousands of years ago.

Paleo has been classified as a fad diet because it restricts many foods, including dairy, legumes and grains. In addition, critics have pointed out that it isn’t practical or even possible to eat the same foods that our prehistoric ancestors did.

However, the paleo diet is a balanced, healthy way of eating that eliminates processed foods and encourages its followers to eat a wide variety of plant and animal foods.

In addition, studies suggest that the paleo diet may also help you lose weight and become healthier (20, 21, 22).

In one study, 70 obese older women followed either a paleo diet or a standard diet. After six months, the paleo group had lost significantly more weight and abdominal fat than the other group.

They also had a greater reduction in triglyceride levels in the blood (21).

What’s more, this way of eating may promote the loss of visceral fat, the particularly dangerous type of fat found in your abdomen and liver that promotes insulin resistance and increases the risk of disease.

In a five-week study, 10 obese older women who ate a paleo diet lost 10 pounds (4.5 kg) and had a 49% reduction in liver fat, on average. In addition, the women experienced reductions in blood pressure, insulin, blood sugar and cholesterol (22).

You can learn more about the paleo diet and how it can help you lose weight here.