PALEO DIET 101 

 
PALEO DIET 101 1
15 Paleo Diet Guidelines 3

PALEO DIET FOOD LIST 8

Meat 9
Poultry 9
Seafood 9
Fats 9
Eggs 10
Vegetables 10
Fruits 11
Nuts & Seeds 11
Mushrooms 11
Fresh & Dried Herbs 11
Spices, Etc. 11

FOODS TO AVOID 12
Grains 12
Legumes 12
Added Sugar 12
Vegetable Seed Oils 12
 Processed Foods 12
Dairy 13

HISTAMINE INTOLERANCE 13
Foods High In Histamines 14
Histamine Releasing Foods 14
What To Eat Instead: Low Histamine Foods 15

MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, SOCIAL 15

Why Would I Do That? 16
When do I Get to the Food? 19
Summing it Up 20
 15 Paleo Diet Guidelines

1.
A Paleo diet should be high in fat, moderate in ​animal protein​ and
low to moderate in ​carbohydrates​. Calorie counting is not
encouraged, neither is portion control.

2.
Eat generous amounts of ​saturated fats​ like coconut oil and ​butter
or ​clarified butter​. Beef tallow, lard and duck fat are also good,
but only if they come from healthy and well-treated animals. Beef
or lamb tallow is a better choice than lamb or duck fat. Olive,
avocado and macadamia oil​ are also good fats to use in salads and
to drizzle over food, but not for cooking. For more information,
have a look at our ​beginner’s guide to Paleo and fat​.
3.
Eat good amounts of animal protein. This includes red meat,
poultry, pork, ​eggs​, ​organs​ (​liver​, kidney, heart…), wild caught fish
and shellfish. Don’t be scared to eat the fatty cuts and all meals
with proteins should contain fat as well. Learn to cook with bones
in the form of ​stocks and broths​.

4.
Eat generous amounts of fresh or frozen vegetables either cooked
or raw and served with fat. Starchy vegetables like ​sweet potatoes
and yams are also great as a source of ​non-toxic carbohydrates​.

5.
Eat low to moderate amounts of fruits and ​nuts​. Try to eat mostly
fruits low in sugar and high in antioxidants like berries as well as
nuts high in omega-3, low in omega-6 and low in total
 polyunsaturated fat like macadamia nuts. Consider cutting off
fruits and nuts altogether if you have an ​autoimmune disease​,
digestive problems​ or are trying to ​lose weight​ faster.

6.
Preferably choose ​pasture-raised​ and ​grass-fed​ meat from local,
environmentally conscious farms. If not possible, choose lean cuts
of meat and supplement your fat with coconut oil, butter or
clarified butter. Also preferably choose ​organic​, local and/or
seasonal fruits and vegetables.

7.
Cut out all ​cereal grains​ and ​legumes​ from your diet. This includes,
but is not limited to, wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn, brown rice,
soy, peanuts, kidney beans, pinto beans, navy beans and black
eyed peas.
8.
Cut out all ​vegetable​, hydrogenated and partly-hydrogenated oils
including, but not limited to, margarine, soybean oil, corn oil,
peanut oil, canola oil, safflower oil and sunflower oil. Olive oil and
avocado oil are fine, but don’t cook with them, use them in salad
dressings and to drizzle over food.

9.
Eliminate ​added sugar​, soft drinks, all packaged sweets and juices
(including fruit juices). As a rule of thumb, if it’s in a box, don’t eat
it. At the ​grocery store​, visit primarily the meat, fish and produce
sections.

10.
Eliminate dairy products other than butter and maybe heavy
 cream. You don’t need dairy, but if you can’t live without it, ​read
this article​ and consider raw, full-fat and/or fermented dairy.

11.
Eat when you’re hungry and don’t stress if you ​skip a meal​ or even
two. You don’t have to eat three square meals a day, do what
feels most natural.

12.
Eliminate external stressors in your life as much as possible and
sleep at least 8 hours​ per night. Try to wake up without an alarm
and to go to bed when it gets dark.

13.
Don’t over-exercise​, keep your training sessions short and intense
and do them only a few times per week. Take some extra time off
 if you feel tired. Consider short and intense sprinting sessions
instead of very long cardio sessions.

14.
Consider supplementing with ​vitamin D​ and probiotics. Levels of
magnesium​, ​iodine​ and vitamin K2 should also be optimized.
Iodine can be obtained from ​seaweeds​. You probably don’t need a
multivitamin or other supplements.

15.
Play in the sun​, have fun, laugh, smile, relax, discover, travel, learn
and enjoy life like a daring adventure!

 
PALEO DIET FOOD LIST 
 Below you’ll find a list of common Paleo-approved foods by category.
Keep in mind that this list is not exhaustive, but instead aims to cover
the most popular food items available in grocery stores today.

Meat
General
Beef, pork, lamb, veal, rabbit, goat, sheep, bison, wild boar

Game
Deer, pheasant, bear, moose, woodcock, elk, duck, rabbit,
reindeer, wild turkey.

Poultry
Chicken, turkey, duck, quail, goose.

Seafood

Fish
Salmon, tuna, trout, bass, halibut, sole, haddock, turbot, walleye,
tilapia, cod, flatfish, grouper, mackerel, anchovy, herring, catfish.

Shellfish
Crab, lobster, shrimp, scallops, clams, oysters, mussels.

Fats
Avocados, avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil, butter, clarified
butter (ghee), lard, tallow, duck fat, veal fat, lamb fat, fatty fishes
 (sardines, mackerel, salmon), nut butters, nut oils (walnut,
macadamia), coconut flesh, coconut milk.

Eggs
Chicken eggs, duck eggs, goose eggs, quail eggs.

Vegetables

General
Celery, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions, leeks, kohlrabi, green
onions, eggplants, cauliflower, broccoli, asparagus, cucumber,
cabbage, Brussels sprouts, artichokes, okra, avocados.

Green leafy vegetables

Lettuce, spinach, collard greens, kale, beet top, mustard greens,
dandelion, swiss chard, watercress, turnip greens, seaweeds,
endive, arugula (rocket), bok choy, rapini, chicory, radicchio.

Root vegetables
Carrots, beets, turnips, parsnips, rutabaga, sweet potatoes,
radish, jerusalem artichokes, yams, cassava.

Squash
Winter:​ Butternut squash, spaghetti squash, acorn squash,
pumpkin, buttercup squash.
 Summer:​ Zucchini, yellow summer squash, yellow crookneck
squash.

Fruits
Bananas, apples, oranges, berries (strawberry, cranberry,
blueberry, blackberry, raspberry), plantains, grapefruit, pears,
peaches, nectarines, plums, pomegranates, pineapple, papaya,
grapes, cantaloupe, cherries, apricot, watermelon, honeydew
melon, kiwi, lemon, lime, lychee, mango, tangerine, coconut, figs,
dates, olives, passion fruit, persimmon.

Nuts & Seeds

Pistachios, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, chia seeds,
flax seeds, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), pecans, walnuts, pine nuts,
macadamia nuts, chestnuts, cashews, almonds, hazelnuts.

Mushrooms
Button mushroom, portobello, oyster mushroom, shiitake,
chanterelle, crimini, porcini, morel.

Fresh & Dried Herbs

Parsley, thyme, lavender, mint, basil, rosemary, chives, tarragon,
oregano, sage, dill, bay leaves, coriander.

Spices, Etc.
Ginger, garlic, onions, black pepper, hot peppers, star anise,
fennel seeds, mustard seeds, cayenne pepper, cumin, turmeric,
cinnamon, nutmeg, paprika, vanilla, cloves, chilies, horseradish. 
 FOODS TO AVOID 
Here’s a list of foods that should generally be avoided on Paleo, by
category.

Grains
Wheat, Corn, barley, rye, oats, brown rice, millet, spelt, bulgur,
couscous,…

Legumes
Soy beans, lentils, pinto beans, red beans, peanuts, chickpeas,
kidney beans,…

Added Sugar
Sodas, baked goods, pastries, fruit juices, cane juice, cane sugar,
high-fructose corn syrup, agave, aspartame…

Vegetable Seed Oils

Soybean oil, peanut oil, corn oil, canola oil, margarine, sunflower
oil, safflower oil, cottonseed oil,…

Processed Foods

Most foods that have ingredients that don’t seem to come

directly from nature. This will include most commercially
packaged foods.
Dairy

Milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream…

Note that some people still like & include forms of dairy like
cheese, heavy cream and/or yogurt into a healthy Paleo diet
template. In other words, dairy falls into a gray-area. While a lot
of people do better without dairy products at all, others tolerate
them perfectly well.

HISTAMINE INTOLERANCE 
Histamines are compounds that are a normal part of our local immune
responses.

Normally histamines are not a problem, but in some people there is an

overproduction of histamines or an inability to properly breakdown the
build-up of histamines in the body.

When the levels of histamines get too high in the body, symptoms such
as hives, headaches, sneezing, fatigue and irritability are often seen.
The symptoms are often just like allergy symptoms.

The exact causes are unknown, but genetic and environmental factors
are most certainly at play. For people with histamine intolerance, the
primary course of action should be to identify and treat the underlying
cause of the histamine intolerance. Recent research tends to point to
mast cell disorders in many of the cases.
Foods High In Histamines

Some foods are naturally high in histamines, but almost any food that’s
fermented or aged will also be high in histamines. The curing, aging or
fermentation process creates more histamines. Here’s a list of things to
avoid:

Kefir Smoked Wine and

Yogurt salmon alcohol
Cheese Spinach Dried fruits
Kimchi Vinegars Coconut
Sauerkraut Citrus fruits aminos
Bacon Eggplants Fish and
Cold cuts Mushrooms seafood
Salami Raw egg Leftover meat
Sausages whites
Canned fish

Histamine Releasing Foods

Some foods are low in histamines, but trigger the release of histamines
in the body and should be avoided as well:

Tomatoes Bananas Milk

Strawberries Avocados Nuts
Pineapples Alcohol Shellfish
Papayas Chocolate
What To Eat Instead: Low Histamine Foods

Squashes Carrots Sweet

Broccoli Beets potatoes
Cabbage Leeks Turnips
Garlic Bell peppers Pears
Onions Watermelon Mangos
Zucchini Grapes Apples
Cucumber Olive oil Celery
Fresh meat Coconut oil
Asparagus Coconut milk

MENTAL, EMOTIONAL, SOCIAL 

Paleo is mostly known as an approach to food. So

the typical way to “start Paleo” is to purge your
kitchen of grains and sugar, stock up on grass-fed
steaks, and fire up the oven for some roasted
broccoli.
But what if you tried a different approach?
Instead of starting with food, start with
everything else:
● Commit to 8 hours of sleep, every night. Even if you have things to
do. Even when there’s something good on TV.
● Reduce or manage your chronic stress through meditation, talking
it out, taking a hot bubble bath…whatever works for you.
 ● Every other day, get moving in a way that makes you break a
sweat.
In other words, start with the Paleo lifestyle – re-create the sleep,
stress, and activity environment that your body was built for, and then
move on to the food. Eventually you can switch to a completely Paleo
diet. But for the first week or two, it may actually be very helpful to get
everything else humming along first.

Why Would I Do That?

To Set Yourself Up For Success

Changing your diet is hard. It takes energy, long-term

commitment, and the serenity to bear with the rough parts of the
transition period for a while.

Who’s going to have a better shot at all those things: the neurotic
ball of stress skating by on 5 hours of sleep every night, or the
calm, well-rested person who’s had a week or two to slowly look
over Paleo recipes and get everything ready? Who’s going to do a
better job of resisting a donut: the comfort eater who doesn’t
know any better way of handling her anxiety, or the seasoned
stress-manager who knows 10 different ways of active coping that
don’t involve sugar?

Starting with a solid lifestyle foundation will set you up to make

your diet changes stick.

To Lose Weight Better, Especially If You’ve Failed Before.

Trying and failing to lose weight typically means trying and failing
“diets,” whether they’re low-calorie, low-carb, low-fat, or just
plain crazy. It’s easy to start on Paleo as another kind of “diet,”
which means that whatever sabotaged all your previous diets will
sabotage this one, too. Starting with lifestyle changes gives you
the chance to make new habits, get into healthier thought
patterns, and work on your long-term goals without going crazy
over the food stuff for a while.

And that’s without mentioning how important all these lifestyle

issues are for weight loss in and of themselves. Just tackling
behavior, without ever thinking about food, can start you down
the path of weight loss right away:

In ​one study​, restricting subjects to 5 hours of sleep (without

restricting food intake) caused them to gain 2 pounds in a week
compared to well-rested controls. Sleep-deprived subjects ate
more food, and especially more junk.

● Sleep restriction ​reduces metabolic health​ and impairs

insulin sensitivity. In practical terms, this means that you will
be hungrier, have more carb cravings, and have a greater
tendency to store calories as fat, instead of burning them for
fuel.

● Chronic stress is also a ​major factor behind weight gain​. It

may be one of the reasons​ why obesity correlates with
poverty (want stress? Try choosing between food and rent),
and it may also ​affect insulin sensitivity​ and cause metabolic
damage. ​This study​ found that stress management helped a
group of women lose weight compared to a control group,
even without a dietary intervention.
 ● Exercise is a form of stress management; it ​improves mood
and mental well-being, and it also improves insulin
sensitivity and metabolic health.

You might find that even without changing one bite of your diet,
addressing lifestyle factors automatically results in some weight
loss right off the bat. It’s that magic combination of better
metabolic health, lower cravings, less comfort eating, and higher
willpower​. And all of these changes will also make for easier and
faster weight loss once you do start changing your food.

To amplify your non-weight-loss success

Not turning to Paleo for weight loss in the first place? Maybe
you’re looking for an answer to chronic gut dysfunction, ​thyroid
problems, ​migraines​, or something else – and in all of those cases,
dialing in your lifestyle is a critical part of healing.

In fact, poor lifestyle habits can cause exactly the same kinds of
problems as a bad diet. Sleep deprivation and chronic stress
increase inflammation, wreak havoc on the gut flora, suppress
thyroid function, and impair your own immune response. This can
easily cause a massive list of problems ranging from ​constipation
or ​irritable bowel syndrome​ to ​acne​.
 If you’re trying to treat a stress-related problem with food, it just
won’t work: you’re addressing the wrong issue! The answer isn’t
in something you’re eating; it’s in the sleep you’re not getting, the
boss who won’t get off your back, or the chair that you never
leave (or all three). There’s absolutely no point trying to manage a
lifestyle problem with stricter and stricter diets.

By looking at your lifestyle issues first, and then turning to diet,

you’ll never drive yourself crazy looking for a dietary solution to a
lifestyle problem. Who knows: maybe some of your “food issues”
will disappear altogether, freeing you from weeks of trying one
diet after another to find something that works.

When do I Get to the Food?

The short answer: when your new lifestyle habits are well and
truly ingrained. For some people, it might only take a week to get
into a solid routine of going to bed on time, making time to do
yoga or meditate, and hitting the gym every now and again. For
most of us, it takes a little longer. You might even prefer to tackle
one lifestyle change at a time – for example, start with sleep, and
wait until that becomes your new habit. Then move on to stress.

While you’re patching up your lifestyle, of course it’s fine to start

planning your diet changes as well. Look around and gather up
some recipes that sound tasty. Bring home some new ingredients
and just start cooking with them in addition to your regular menu,
to see how you like them. Visit your local farmers’ market and say
hi. Do easy things like leaving fresh fruit around the house so you
can grab a banana instead of a candy bar for a snack. That way,
 when you’re ready to make the diet leap, you’ll have the
groundwork laid out for you.

Summing it Up

Better sleep, effective stress management, and a solid exercise

routine make it much easier to stick with diet changes later, help
kick-start weight loss, and might save you from weeks of dietary
experiments that end up just wasting your time. This approach
isn’t for everyone, of course – some people will always prefer to
start with food, and that’s just fine. But for others (especially
people who’ve dieted in the past), starting with lifestyle changes
might be the perfect trick to help make Paleo stick for good.