At the center of the paleo diet is the philosophy that eating minimally processed, whole foods is the key to good health. Taking inspiration from our Paleolithic-era, hunter-gatherer ancestors, the modern paleo template centers around eating plenty of meat and vegetables while avoiding dairy, grains, refined sugar, alcohol, and more—processed foods that, as a result of organized agriculture, were introduced to human diets after the Paleolithic period. Below we summarize the essence of the paleo diet.

Eating the Paleo Way

YES

• Meat (pasture-raised/grass-fed/wild)
• Seafood (wild-caught/sustainable)
• Eggs (from pasture-raised birds)
• Vegetables (organic)
• Fermented foods
• Spices
• Healthy fats (like animal fats, olive oil, coconut oil, nut oils, avocados and avocado oil)

NO

• Processed foods
• Sugar, artificial or processed sweeteners (including agave and stevia)
• Grains and cereals (like wheat, corn, rice, and oats)
• Legumes (including peanuts)
• Highly processed fats and oils (like vegetable oil, canola oil, safflower oil, and corn oil)
• Alcohol
• Dairy

IN MODERATION

• Fruit (organic)
• Nuts (like cashews, almonds, walnuts, pecans, macadamia nuts, and pine nuts)
• Seeds (like sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and sunflower seeds)
• Starches (like arrowroot or tapioca, which come from nutrient-dense plants)
• Natural sweeteners (like honey, coconut sugar, maple syrup, and maple sugar)