Paleo Diet: What You Need to Know

This eating plan is often considered a fad diet due to its restrictive nature and mixed results. Fad diets often promote quick weight loss that is unsustainable and may severely restrict what you eat. They may be harmful and generally do not have long-lasting health benefits. Talk to your healthcare provider before making any major changes to how you eat.

Here, learn about the foods to eat and avoid on the paleo diet, plus how to decide if the eating plan might work for you.

The paleo diet philosophy involves returning to the hunting and gathering–focused diet that our Paleolithic ancestors ate more than 12,000 years ago, before the widespread development of agricultural and industrial practices.

The rise of ultra-processed, ready-made, calorically dense foods coincides with a rise of chronic conditions like obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and more. The intention of the paleo diet, then, is to eliminate foods that aren’t purely naturally available, with the idea that doing so will help lower the high incidence of those chronic conditions.

“The paleo diet is all about unprocessed, natural foods: Think vegetables, fruit, meat, seafood, natural fat sources, nuts, seeds, and eggs,” says Ginger Hultin, RDN, a nutritionist based in Seattle.

Though it’s inspired by ancient eating, the modern form of the paleo diet gained widespread popularity following the 2002 release of The Paleo Diet, a hit book by Loren Cordain, PhD, a professor emeritus at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.

“People going paleo should think of this as a diet with tons of fresh vegetables as the foundation of what they’ll be eating,” says Hultin. However, there is no standardized definition of what the paleo diet includes and excludes. This is in part because researchers are still finding out what our Paleolithic ancestors ate and how applicable a paleo diet is to our modern nutritional needs.

Other food exclusions mandated in the paleo diet do offer clear health benefits for all individuals, like the call to avoid added sugars and trans fats.

Foods to Include

• Avocado
• Eggs
• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Brussels sprouts
• Cabbage
• Bok choy
• Spinach
• Arugula
• Kale
• Romaine lettuce
• Mushrooms
• Carrots
• Peppers
• Celery
• Asparagus
• Cucumber
• Radish
• Zucchini
• Beets
• Squash
• Onions
• Pumpkin seeds
• Olives
• Pickles
• Apples
• Citrus
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Raspberries
• Blackberries
• Bananas
• Kiwi
• Grapes
• Peaches
• All melon, including watermelon, cantaloupe, and honeydew
• Lychee
• Tomatoes (including sun-dried)
• Chicken (free-range preferred)
• Turkey
• Quail
• Goose
• Beef (grass-fed preferred)
• Lamb
• Pork
• Veal
• Wild boar
• Bacon (nitrate-free preferred)
• Bear
• Moose
• Rabbit
• Duck
• Elk
• Deer
• Reindeer
• Salmon
• Sardines
• Anchovies
• Trout
• Bass
• Walleye
• Haddock
• Flatfish
• Tilapia
• Cod
• Herring
• Grouper
• Catfish
• Mackerel
• Tuna
• Turbot
• Clams
• Lobster
• Shrimp
• Oysters
• Scallops
• Crab
• Mussels
• Almonds
• Cashews
• Macadamia nuts
• Hazelnuts
• Brazil nuts
• Walnuts
• Almond butter (free of sugar and artificial sweeteners)
• Olive oil
• Avocado oil
• Coconut oil
• Tahini
• Butter
• Ghee (made from grass-fed butter)
• Chia seeds
• Garlic
• Ginger
• Chiles
• Leek
• Fresh chives
• Parsley
• Basil
• Cilantro
• Mustard
• Vinegars (including apple cider vinegar)
• Capers
• Cacao powder
• Coconut sugar
• Date sugar
• Raw honey
• Maple syrup
• Water
• Herbal and matcha tea (in moderation)
• Coconut water
• Bone broth
• Unsweetened sparkling water (no natural or artificial sweeteners)
• Black coffee (in moderation)
• Kombucha
• Low-sugar hard cider (occasionally and in moderation)
• Gluten-free spirits (occasionally and in moderation)

Foods to Avoid

• Pasta (including whole wheat and gluten-free)
• Bread
• Rice
• Oats
• Quinoa
• Beans
• Lentils
• Peanuts
• Dairy
• Refined vegetable oils
• Refined sugar: white and brown sugars, agave, corn, syrup, artificial sweeteners, candy
• Soy
• Corn
• Potatoes
• Processed foods, including frozen or processed dinners and packaged foods and snacks
• Salty foods
• Soda
• Sweetened beverages
• Drinks sweetened with artificial sweeteners
• Wine
• Beer

Among the benefits of eating paleo are that you’re not counting calories or carbs or eating on a restricted schedule. Advocates argue that if you eat the approved foods and stop when you’re full, you’ll likely lose weight.

“Some people enjoy the freedom of the paleo diet because they do not need to count calories or other macronutrients,” Hultin says.

However, more research is needed to confidently support these benefits.

• Nutrient Deficiencies Because of the exclusion of major food groups considered healthy by most standards — dairy, whole grains, beans, and lentils — following the paleo diet long term may lead to nutrient deficiencies. These gaps can include lower intakes of calcium, vitamin D, certain B vitamins, and fiber unless these nutrients are added back in from foods or supplements. “While the paleo diet is based on a high veggie intake with fruits included as well, its followers will be missing out on rich sources of nutrients from whole grains, soy foods, and legumes,” Hultin says.
• Unsustainable Weight Loss Research suggests that long-term weight loss is less likely in light of the diet’s restrictiveness.

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• Negative Impact on Metabolism The paleo diet calls for eliminating important sources of nutrition, and such unbalanced eating can negatively affect metabolism.
• Lack of Scientific Evidence Perhaps the largest critique of the paleo diet is the lack of scientific evidence to support its purported effectiveness for boosting long-term health and wellness.

There’s no denying that the foods the paleo diet includes are healthy. The rub is that the diet excludes a number of food groups connected to key nutrients for long-term health. For this reason, before you try the paleo diet, it’s important you discuss it with your doctor. Together, you can decide whether it makes sense for you.

If not, you might consider using the eating plan as inspiration for a less restrictive plan that may still support weight loss without such a heightened risk of other conditions.

“It can be possible to find this level of flexibility (no counting involved) while still including healthy whole grains, beans, and soy foods,” says Hultin. “Whichever diet you choose to follow, it should include one aspect of the paleo diet: tons of veggies!”

• The paleo diet takes inspiration from the way our Paleolithic ancestors ate, namely a hunting and gathering–style diet focused on unprocessed, natural foods. The idea is that this eating plan supports not only weight loss but also a decrease of various chronic conditions.
• The paleo diet includes most meats, fish, fruits, and nonstarchy vegetables. Key exclusions include legumes, dairy, grains, and added sugars.
• Research lacks to support the paleo diet’s purported benefits. On the flip side, following the diet opens you to risk, including nutritional deficiencies and a negative impact on your metabolism.
• Paleo-style eating can be a short-term or “inspiration” tool for some people, but a strict version may be unnecessarily restrictive for many. Any long-term eating plan should prioritize variety, nutrient adequacy, and sustainability.