The paleo diet includes whole, unprocessed foods, such as vegetables, nuts, seeds, and meat. It may benefit your overall health and reduce your risk for some health conditions, including obesity.

The paleo diet is designed to resemble what human hunter-gatherer ancestors ate thousands of years ago.

Although it’s impossible to know exactly what human ancestors ate in different parts of the world, researchers believe their diets consisted of whole foods.

By following a diet of whole foods and leading physically active lives, hunter-gatherers presumably had much lower rates of lifestyle diseases, such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.

In fact, several studies suggest that this diet can lead to significant weight loss (without calorie counting) and major improvements in health.

Anthropologists also speculate that the paleo diet influenced anatomic and physiologic changes in humans, including an increase in brain size and reduction in gastrointestinal tract size (1).

This article is a basic introduction to the paleo diet, providing a simple meal plan and other essential information.

Paleolithic humans thrived on a variety of diets, depending on what was available at the time and where in the world they lived.

Some ate a low-carb diet high in animal foods, while others followed a high carb diet with lots of plants (1). Some even ate insects, but fortunately, this delicacy is not included in today’s modern interpretation of the paleo diet.

The paleo diet includes meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, healthy fats, and oils (2).

Foods to avoid include processed foods, sugar, soft drinks, artificial sweeteners, and trans fats. Foods to limit include grains, most dairy products, and legumes (2).

However, it’s important to consider the above as general guidelines, not something written in stone. You can adapt all of this to your own personal needs and preferences.

Paleolithic humans’ diets varied depending on availability and location. The basic concept of the paleo diet is to eat whole foods and avoid processed foods.

The paleo diet discourages consumption of certain foods, including:

A simple guideline for the paleo diet is, if it looks like it was made in a factory, don’t eat it.

If you want to avoid these ingredients, you must read ingredients lists and nutrition labels, even on foods that are labeled as “health foods.”

Foods to avoid on the paleo diet include processed foods and ingredients, like sugar, bread, certain vegetable oils, trans fats, and artificial sweeteners.

There’s a variety of whole, unprocessed foods you can eat on the paleo diet. This includes:

Many people prefer to choose grass-fed meats, pastured eggs, and organic produce while following a paleo diet. However, this is not required.

Eat whole, unprocessed foods like meat, seafood, eggs, veggies, fruits, potatoes, nuts, healthy fats, and spices while on the paleo diet. If possible, choose grass-fed and organic products.

Over the past few years, the paleo community has evolved quite a bit.

There are now several different versions of the paleo diet. Some of them allow a few more modern foods, such as grass-fed butter and gluten-free grains like rice.

Today, many people think of paleo as a template to base your diet on, not necessarily a strict set of rules that you must follow.

You can also use the paleo diet as a starting point, adding in a few other healthy foods like grass-fed butter and gluten-free grains.

While following a paleo diet, the below foods and beverages below are perfectly fine in small amounts:

When following the paleo diet, you can indulge in small amounts of red wine and dark chocolate from time to time.

When it comes to hydration, water should be your go-to beverage.

The following drinks aren’t exactly paleo, but are typically accepted as beverages you can consume as part of the diet (3):

Make water your drink of choice when following the paleo diet. Many people also drink tea and coffee.

While there are many benefits to the paleo diet, there are also some drawbacks.

For example, the paleo diet eliminates several food groups that are highly nutritious, including legumes, dairy, and gluten-containing grains.

Legumes are rich in fiber, protein, and a variety of micronutrients including iron, zinc, and copper (9), while dairy products have essential nutrients like calcium, which is important for bone health (10).

Eliminating these food groups altogether can put individuals following a paleo diet at risk of developing nutrient deficiencies.

In addition, legumes are one of the primary sources of protein in the vegan and vegetarian diet, which may make the paleo diet unrealistic for vegans and vegetarians (11).

The paleo diet includes foods that are high in fiber, like vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Since foods high in fiber can have a laxative effect, a person transitioning from a low fiber diet to a paleo diet could experience gastric distress, such as bloating, as a result (12, 13).

It’s important to recognize that there’s no one “right” way to eat for everyone, so while the paleo diet may work for people you know, it may not be best for you.

Talk to your doctor and/or nutritionist before starting a paleo diet.

The paleo diet eliminates several food groups that are highly nutritious, and may cause diarrhea or fatigue. Ask your doctor if the paleo diet is right for you.

This sample menu contains a balanced amount of paleo-friendly foods.

By all means, adjust this menu based on your own preferences.

You can make a variety of delicious meals using paleo-friendly foods. Above is a sample menu of what 1 week on the paleo diet might look like.

If you get hungry between meals, there are plenty of paleo snacks that are simple, and easily portable:

Paleo snacks are easy to prepare and take with you on the go. A few ideas include fruit, nuts, hard-boiled eggs, or baby carrots.

There is an incredible variety of foods you can eat on the paleo diet.

This simple shopping list should give you an idea of how to get started:

To get started on the paleo diet, use the shopping list above to stock your pantry and fridge with delicious, paleo-friendly foods

It is fairly easy to make most restaurant meals paleo-friendly.

Here are some simple guidelines:

Eating out while following the paleo diet doesn’t have to be hard. Simply select a meat or fish dish on the menu and swap in some extra veggies.

The paleo diet is modeled after what hunter-gatherers are believed to have followed. While there is no one way to follow the paleo diet, the basic idea is to avoid processed foods and focus instead on healthy, whole foods.

Paleo-friendly foods include meat, fish, eggs, seeds, nuts, fruits, and veggies, along with healthy fats and oils. Avoid processed foods, grains, and sugar.

You can also base your diet on paleo foods, adding in a few modern healthy foods like grass-fed butter and gluten-free grains.

To get started on the paleo diet, check out the sample menu and shopping list above and stock your kitchen and pantry with these healthy, paleo-friendly foods.