What is the Paleo Diet?
The paleo diet is a variation of the “high protein and low carbohydrate” diets that have been sweeping the nation. The creators of the paleo diet operate under a variety of unique assumptions about how the human digestive system works.
Essentially, they believe that since we were hunter and gatherers for a majority of our existence, the human digestive system is adapted specifically to these …show more content…
They claim these foods cause problems as diverse as obesity, diabetes, depression, anxiety, and even Alzheimer 's disease.
Foods you can eat on the paleo diet include:
Meat
Fish
Fruits
Vegetables
Nuts
Eggs
Anything else, including potatoes, grains, dairy, and processed food cannot be eaten. Extreme diets of this type often create a wide divergence in believers and non-believers: the paleo diet is no different.
What Happens When You Get on the Paleo Diet?
Proponents of this diet state that it will balance your blood sugar by eliminating what they claim is an “addiction” to carbohydrates. Ironically, cutting carbs from your diet can actually trigger a wide range of side effects that emulate drug withdrawal.
That 's right: complete carbohydrate elimination can throw your body into a tail-spin of withdrawal that is very dangerous for someone in a drug rehabilitation program. These side effects are often painful and include:
Fatigue
Nausea
Spinning head
Diarrhea
Increased urination
Low energy levels
Migraines
Cramps
Difficult to avoid …show more content…
If you are interested in starting a paleo diet after finishing rehabilitation, make sure to wait until after your cravings have disappeared. Also make sure to get tested for malnutrition to see how well your balanced diet has helped your body recover.
Once your cravings have disappeared and your body is at a safe nutritional level, you can start slowly phasing carbs out of your diet. Eliminate one carb a week from your diet and replace it with a protein.
This process may seem frustratingly slow, but it is important to help you avoid potential relapses. Remember: cravings and withdrawal symptoms of any kind can make the life of a person recovering from addiction miserable. Even carbohydrate cravings and withdrawal symptoms can interfere with your recovery process.
While the paleo diet may offer you some health benefits for your rehabilitation process, it offers a wide range of side effects that may make it more trouble than it is worth. If you want to find out more about this diet and how it can positively and negatively affect your recovery, contact us. We 're always ready to help steer people rehabilitating from addiction in the right direction towards