The Primal Diet, also known as the “caveman diet,” is a diet based on evolutionary theory, focusing on foods consumed before the agricultural revolution. It is an eating pattern that’s high in protein and fat, low in carbs, and designed to closely resemble the diet of early humans. It focuses on what humans ate long before the agricultural revolution. This includes the elimination of processed carbohydrates and focusing on eating natural foods like fruits, nuts, vegetables, and grass-fed meats.
The Theory Behind The Theory
This diet has provided all the necessary fuel and building blocks that, along with specific exercise, prompting genes to create strong muscles & enabling them to expend lots of energy each day while moving around, maintaining healthy immune systems. It also played a leading role in evolving larger brains and the ability to raise healthy children.
There weren’t any pre-set times for breakfast, lunch or dinner, rather all meals were eaten sporadically. When food was plentiful, they ate more than they needed and stored the excess as fat. When times were scarce, they survived on fat stores. This random or “non-linear” eating pattern kept their bodies in a constant state of preparedness.
Before having readily accessible foods at a moment’s notice, your ancestors traveled to find food and constantly moved around looking for their next meal. When agriculture became the new norm, travel and movement were no longer needed.
Civilizations had year-round access to food, people settled in one location, and they no longer needed to hunt and gather. You’re no longer twisting, sprinting, and pushing your body to the physical limit. This lack of strenuous exercise has led to a population suffering from health and weight-related diseases.
What is Primal?
Primal is a lower-carb way of eating compared to a standard modern diet because you won’t be consuming bread, pasta, tortillas, cereal, bakery items, most packaged snack foods (chips, pretzels, crackers), and the like, all of which provide loads of carbs in the average person’s daily diet. Simply by eating the recommended foods, most people find that they naturally end up in the range of 75–150 grams of carbs per day, give or take. This is also the zone in which many people can easily and comfortably manage their appetite and body composition.
So, What Should You Eat?
Your diet should comprise whole, unprocessed, preferably organic foods such as:
- Vegetables: avocado, broccoli, cabbage, kale, zucchini, etc.
- Fish and shellfish: salmon, halibut, trout, tilapia, shrimp, scallops, lobster, etc.
- Meat: bison, elk, and venison, plus grass-fed beef, lamb, pork, etc.
- Poultry: chicken and turkey
- Eggs: whole eggs and egg whites
- Nuts and seeds: almonds, pecans, walnuts, hazelnuts, pistachios, macadamias, pine nuts, hemp seeds, pumpkin seeds, chia seeds, flax seeds, sunflower seeds, etc.
- Fruits: all fruits
- Healthy fats: extra virgin olive oil, coconut oil, avocado oil, walnut oil, grass-fed butter, ghee, and lard
- Some milk alternatives: unsweetened almond, coconut, cashew, hemp, and flax milk
- Spices and herbs: basil, cinnamon, cumin, black pepper, cilantro, sage, rosemary, etc.
While the bulk of your diet should consist of the foods above, the Primal Diet allows several other foods that aren’t considered “primal.” These foods should only be eaten in moderation — and as long as they don’t cause you to exceed your daily carb goals.
- Coffee and tea: unsweetened coffee or tea
- Dairy: raw or organic full-fat dairy, including unsweetened yogurt, kefir, full-fat cream, and milk
- Legumes: soaked or sprouted lentils, edamame, dry roasted peanuts or peanut butter, and fermented whole soy products like tempeh
- Natural sweeteners: honey and real maple syrup
- Starchy vegetables: potatoes, sweet potatoes, and winter squash
The Primal Diet also allows for occasional treats, often referred to as “sensible indulgences.”
- Alcohol: whiskey, scotch, brandy, cognac, light beer, and red or white wine
- Cheese: goat’s or sheep’s milk cheeses, Gouda, Cheddar, blue cheese, feta, etc. (preferably raw and grass-fed)
- Dark chocolate: 70% cocoa content or higher (preferably organic)
If There Is A “What To Eat” there should be a “What Not To Eat”
- Sugar and high fructose corn syrup: soda, fruit juice, table sugar, candy, pastries, cake, cookies, milk chocolate, ice cream, etc.
- Grains: whole grains, refined grains, bread, rye, barley, pasta, muffins, pancakes, cereal, etc.
- Some vegetable oils: soybean oil, canola oil, cottonseed oil, safflower oil, grapeseed oil, etc.
- Trans fats and hydrogenated fats: margarine, shortening, and any foods containing partially hydrogenated oils
- Processed foods: chips, pretzels, crackers, convenience meals, frozen dinners, fast food, granola bars, etc.
- Artificial sweeteners: aspartame, cyclamates, sucralose, acesulfame potassium, saccharin, etc.
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