The Paleo diet is one of the more popular diets that has risen in popularity in recent years. In 2013, ‘paleo’ was the most Googled term – and that says a lot!
If you’re on a Paleo diet, what can you eat (and not eat)?
Some foods you CAN eat on Paleo are meat (including poultry, seafood, etc), eggs, fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and oils like coconut oil, avocado oil, and olive oil.
Foods to AVOID on Paleo include all grains (including gluten-free grains and pseudo-grains like quinoa), dairy, legumes (peanuts, soybeans, etc), refined sweeteners, artificial sweeteners, alcohol, and grain- or legume-based oils like peanut oil and corn oil.
We’ll explain this more in-depth with a handy side-by-side comparison chart to make it more clear!
What is the Paleo diet?
The Paleo diet (short for Paleolithic; also called the caveman diet) is an eating style meant to mimic what people could hunt and gather millions of years ago before farming began.
The Paleo diet is pretty strict compared to a typical Western diet and avoids many of today’s more common foods.
Some foods avoided on a Paleo diet aren’t very nutritious (like refined sugars), but some are considered healthy by non-Paleo dieters like whole grains and legumes.
A summary of the foods and drinks avoided on a Paleo diet include:
- All grains, including gluten-free and “ancient” grains (also called pseudo-grains or pseudocereals)
- Dairy products
- Refined sugar/sweeteners, as well as artificial sweeteners. Unrefined sweeteners like honey and maple syrup are allowed.
- Legumes (beans, peanuts, soy, etc.)
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
What can you eat (and not eat) on the Paleo diet?
If it could be hunted or gathered by cavemen, it’s Paleo! Let’s summarize the foods that you can eat (and those that you should avoid) below!
| Food Group | EAT on Paleo | AVOID on Paleo |
| Meat/protein | All types of meat/protein, including beef, poultry, seafood, and eggs. Wild-caught fish and grass-fed beef are preferred over grain-fed/farmed. | None |
| Grains | Non-grain alternatives like almond flour, coconut flour, tapioca flour, and cassava flour | All grains including wheat, rye, barley, oats, rice, corn, and pseudocereals and pseudo-grains like amaranth and quinoa |
| Vegetables | All vegetables except legumes | Legumes (soybeans, lentils, peanuts, etc. |
| Fruit | All fruit without added sugars or sweeteners | Avoid fruit with added sugar, such as dried fruit with added cane sugar |
| Fats/oils | Coconut oil, avocado oil, olive oil, palm oil, and other non-grain or legume-based oils | Legume- and grain-based oils like soybean oil, peanut oil, corn oil |
| Nuts and seeds | All nuts and seeds (except peanuts); nut butters | Peanuts (not technically a nut, but often mistaken for one) |
| Dairy | Ghee (clarified butter), dairy-free milk alternatives like unsweetened almond milk, unsweetened coconut milk, etc. | Avoid all dairy including milk, cheese, regular butter, yogurt, cream, etc. Grain-based milk alternatives like barley milk and oat milk Sweetened non-dairy alternatives, even if the source is Paleo (e.g. sweetened almond milk) |
| Drinks | Any drink without milk, refined sugar, alcohol, caffeine, or artificial sweeteners | Those with milk, artificial sweeteners, or any type of refined sweetener (e.g. corn syrup, sucrose, etc) Alcohol in any form Caffeine in any form |
| Desserts | Most types of desserts unless made with Paleo-friendly ingredients | Most desserts including dairy-based desserts, cakes, pies, muffins, etc. made with non-Paleo ingredients |
| Sweeteners | Unrefined sweeteners like honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc. | Refined sweeteners, sugar alcohols (though some Paleo dieters include erythritol), and artificial sweeteners |
FAQs:
You can eat meat, eggs, fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and oils like coconut oil, olive oil, and avocado oil on a Paleo diet.
Cheese is made from cow’s milk, so it’s not allowed on Paleo.
Popcorn is made from corn, which is considered a grain and is NOT allowed on Paleo.
Pseudo-grains are things that aren’t grains but have a similar nutritional composition as grains. Examples of pseudo-grains include amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat.
Gluten-free bread is often made with ingredients that aren’t Paleo-friendly like rice flour, so you’ll need to look for Paleo-friendly bread made with approved Paleo ingredients.
Leave a Comment