Paleo Cookbook For Dummies (4 page)

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Reaping the Rewards of a Paleo Diet

Paleo often has a reputation for having magic effects because its benefits are so powerful for so many. The backbone of Paleo is really about getting you healthy. Everything in life rises and falls on your health, so when you get healthy, everything else falls into place.

Being healthy means giving your body the right raw materials so they can flourish. This raw material goes beyond eating certain foods to truly embracing a lifestyle — paying attention to why and how you eat and to other factors such as the amount and quality of your sleep, your stress levels, your sunlight intake, your movement level, and your thoughts. When you really go Paleo, you get lasting positive consequences, and the magic unfolds.

How long feeling this switch go on takes is different for everyone. For some, it's immediate; for others, it's a few days or maybe a few weeks. But if you stick to Paleo, it will go on for you, so hang tight!

Most people get started on Paleo to lose weight, but they end up getting more in return: reduced inflammation, lower blood sugar, better sleep, and cleared-up skin and gut issues, all of which I cover in the following sections.

Losing weight and looking younger

Losing weight happens because your body recalibrates or resets to a healthy weight. You lose stored fat because you actually use that stored fat for energy, making you lean and strong.

Here are five reasons you lose weight with Paleo foods:

Where there is waste, there is weight. When your body has a lot of toxins, it naturally harbors more fat as a protective mechanism to store the toxins and protect your organs from them. When you're toxic, you're tired, sluggish, and much less active than you'd normally be. Therefore, the fewer toxins you have in your body, the healthier you are, and a healthy body stands the best chance of losing weight and burning fat. Paleo foods aren't refined and processed; therefore, they're very low in toxins. You're eating
nutrient dense
foods, which are filled with nutrition without all the toxic calories and additives

Inflammation leaves the body, so that bloated, puffy look disappears. When this puffiness disappears, your intracellular and extracellular water balances in your system; you lose that extra water weight and begin to get a lean, healthy look.

Many suffer from weight loss resistance because of food sensitivities. The Paleo foods are low-allergen foods, so they cause fewer sensitivities and associated weight issues.

Paleo foods help you maintain a healthy blood sugar, so you're less likely to get that so-called muffin top around your waist.

You achieve your body's
set point
(the weight set by your genetics at which your body naturally tries to settle) by eating foods that regulate your hormones along with the signals associated with hormones.

Clearing up gut and skin issues

Beauty really is an inside job. What you see on your face is a mirror image of what's happening on the inside, and when your intestines are damaged, it shows.

What causes this damage is typical modern-day lifestyle patterns. Many modern foods lack nutrients and fiber, are filled with toxins, and don't have the healthy bacteria you need to create healthy intestinal cells. If you have acne, rashes, eczema, psoriasis, poor skin tone, and so on,
leaky gut
(where the cells of your small intestine lose their integrity and become porous, creating inflammation and havoc in your body) may be the problem.

Here are some of the offenders in this typical scenario of leaky gut:

Grains, including whole grains and grain-like seeds such as wheat, barley, oats, spelt, brown rice, quinoa, and corn

Beans and legumes