The Neanderthal sounding Paleo or Caveman diet is reported to have been behind Liz Hurley’s shaping-up prior to her 2007 wedding to Arun Nayar. Incredibly, some even suggest that what little belly she had was completely eliminated within a week of starting the regime. And more recently it has been reputed that Hollywood outcast Megan Fox employed the diet as part of her fitness regime to assist with her super-flat tummy for the Transformers movies, and whilst few would claim to similarly covet the physique of sausage-fingered crooner Sir Tom Jones, his recent endorsement of the Caveman diet is proving popular. The perma-tanned 71-year-old claims to have lost two stone in five months with the diet, which eschews any food that was unlikely to have been on the menu of our Stone Age ancestors. We reveal all you need to know about by ‘going Paleo’ ...
The Paleolithic era ended around 10,000 years ago when agriculture began. Therefore grains and many crops we take for granted are off the Caveman menu. Beans, dairy products, sugar, salt and even potatoes were not to be found at the Flintstones’ table. Sadly, neither were Fred and Wilma known for being connoisseurs of pasta dishes and it’s unlikely they were big Chardonnay quaffers either.
However, plenty remains available: fish, meat, eggs, berries and many root vegetables – such as carrots and swedes – are all in play, as are most nuts, with the exceptions of the humble peanut and cashew. And if the veggies are as close their raw state as possible, so much the better – cavemen didn’t own George Foreman grills. Megan Fox reportedly tucked into an ounce of almonds, a good number of eggs and avoided grains during her preparations for Transformers.
Although the diet shares much in common with the Atkins Diet – low carbs, high protein – Atkins allows some dairy and grains and includes phases where certain foods are re-introduced. Since the Caveman diet aims to persuade your metabolism towards burning animal fat instead of carbs for energy, this is not going to be the choice of veggies wanting to shift a few pounds.
A typical day might look like this:
Breakfast of two poached eggs with lots of steamed spinach.
Lunch of tuna in seaweed wrap with various thin-cut veggies such as carrot, plus apple and almonds
Dinner of chicken or fish with broccoli, cucmber, carrots, mushrooms and tomatoes, with balsamic dressing.
Dessert of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and more almonds for good measure.
What The Expert Says:
Dieticians and nutritionists who compiled the report, which evaluated a number of other celeb diets, said the Caveman diet (also known as the Paleo diet) would “likely disappoint…and was least effective for weight loss.” Their findings, however, seemed to be very much at odds with the views of the readers who had road-tested the various plans and deemed it successful.
Healthy Fact:
In terms of how healthy the diet is, well, the news appears to be good. Any diet which aims to remove processed foods, full of salt, sugar and various additives would seem to be a winner. In fact, many Caveman diet fans have claimed that their appetite for sugar and salt was noticeably diminished after a couple of weeks. Some dieters have reported feelings of lethargy as the body gets used to coping without carbs, but that energy levels are eventually higher than ever. Loren Cordain, professor of health and exercise at Colorado State University cited five clinical studies which suggest the Caveman diet lowers blood pressure, cholesterol and improved insulin resistance – potentially great news for diabetics and women battling polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Although we’re not keen to emulate the body shape of any Welsh septuagenarians any time soon, we have to admit that we’ve always thought Wilma Flintstone’s body was way out of Fred’s league. Perhaps, like Megan Fox, her secret’s now out.
The Paleolithic era ended around 10,000 years ago when agriculture began. Therefore grains and many crops we take for granted are off the Caveman menu. Beans, dairy products, sugar, salt and even potatoes were not to be found at the Flintstones’ table. Sadly, neither were Fred and Wilma known for being connoisseurs of pasta dishes and it’s unlikely they were big Chardonnay quaffers either.
However, plenty remains available: fish, meat, eggs, berries and many root vegetables – such as carrots and swedes – are all in play, as are most nuts, with the exceptions of the humble peanut and cashew. And if the veggies are as close their raw state as possible, so much the better – cavemen didn’t own George Foreman grills. Megan Fox reportedly tucked into an ounce of almonds, a good number of eggs and avoided grains during her preparations for Transformers.
Although the diet shares much in common with the Atkins Diet – low carbs, high protein – Atkins allows some dairy and grains and includes phases where certain foods are re-introduced. Since the Caveman diet aims to persuade your metabolism towards burning animal fat instead of carbs for energy, this is not going to be the choice of veggies wanting to shift a few pounds.
A typical day might look like this:
Breakfast of two poached eggs with lots of steamed spinach.
Lunch of tuna in seaweed wrap with various thin-cut veggies such as carrot, plus apple and almonds
Dinner of chicken or fish with broccoli, cucmber, carrots, mushrooms and tomatoes, with balsamic dressing.
Dessert of strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and more almonds for good measure.
What The Expert Says:
Dieticians and nutritionists who compiled the report, which evaluated a number of other celeb diets, said the Caveman diet (also known as the Paleo diet) would “likely disappoint…and was least effective for weight loss.” Their findings, however, seemed to be very much at odds with the views of the readers who had road-tested the various plans and deemed it successful.
Healthy Fact:
In terms of how healthy the diet is, well, the news appears to be good. Any diet which aims to remove processed foods, full of salt, sugar and various additives would seem to be a winner. In fact, many Caveman diet fans have claimed that their appetite for sugar and salt was noticeably diminished after a couple of weeks. Some dieters have reported feelings of lethargy as the body gets used to coping without carbs, but that energy levels are eventually higher than ever. Loren Cordain, professor of health and exercise at Colorado State University cited five clinical studies which suggest the Caveman diet lowers blood pressure, cholesterol and improved insulin resistance – potentially great news for diabetics and women battling polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). Although we’re not keen to emulate the body shape of any Welsh septuagenarians any time soon, we have to admit that we’ve always thought Wilma Flintstone’s body was way out of Fred’s league. Perhaps, like Megan Fox, her secret’s now out.
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