Corporate Fitness and Active Aging

A Corporate Fitness Professional Looks at the Paleo Diet

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This blog was written by Mechelle Meadows. Meet our blogging fitness specialists at the NIFS website.

As corporate health and fitness professionals, we are often the first people our members come to with questions about new diets they come across. We all know that fad diets don’t work, plain and simple, but sometimes these new diet trends are disguised just enough to be appealing to even the most health-conscious people.

Recently, a corporate fitness center member asked for my thoughts on the Paleo Diet. While this is not a brand new diet, it has recently become more trendy. The basis of the Paleo Diet (also referred to as the Caveman Diet) is that the most beneficial foods for the human body are the ones that our Stone Age ancestors would have hunted and gathered. Vegetables, fruits, meat, and seafood are the staples of this eating regimen.

At first glance, it looks okay. It includes all-natural foods rather than pushing any premade meal plans or supplements. However, this program recommends a much different meat-to-plant ratio than what we’ve all been taught in our basic nutrition classes. It suggests that up to 68 percent of our diets should be meat, or calories from animals.

Many metabolic functions can be compromised with an extremely high protein intake. A diet consisting of more than 30 percent protein can be linked to kidney problems and dehydration.

Remind your corporate fitness center members that the word “diet” usually indicates that there is some form of restriction. The healthiest mindset towards food is one that acknowledges all foods are permissible. Our main priority should be filling our bodies with nutrients while leaving room to enjoy treats in moderation. When an eating plan makes claims like “Lose weight!,” or the “World’s Healthiest Diet!,” chances are, it isn’t a lifestyle plan that will stick.