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Last Updated on December 16, 2023
Description: Nutrition for teenagers is overlooked due to belief that diet for youngsters shouldn’t be, let alone diets like the Paleo diet. Overwhelming evidence easily debunks that. The benefits and advantages of Paleo diet for young people are too good to miss.
Nutritional research continually yield overwhelming evidence that the majority of diseases afflicting 21st century humans come from processed food.
Greater awareness the past few decades has spurred a nutritional movement – Paleolithic or the Paleo diet, also known as caveman or Stone Age diet.
It revolves around fruits, nuts, vegetables, roots, and meat, and strictly avoids processed food like dairy products, oils, salt, coffee, and alcohol – indeed the menu of prehistoric humans. The Paleo diet is about eating natural, organic food only.
Growing in popularity due to its positive health effects, the benefits of Paleo diet cover all age groups, but due to obesity and diseases characteristically originating during teenage years, Paleo diet is one of the most recommended diets for teens who demonstrate risk factors for obesity and disease.
The advantages of Paleo diet for young people range from weight loss to boosted immune system; there are virtually no disadvantages especially if the diet is physician-recommended.
Once begun, eating Paleo should continue well into adulthood, barring any medical need to shift to another kind of diet. For optimum health benefits, it should not remain a teen diet plan scheme, but rather a lifestyle. The following are some of the proven Paleo diet benefits for teenagers:
- More satisfaction, less hunger. This is one of the most raved about advantages of Paleo diet. Contrary to belief that Paleo triggers frequent hunger, eating Paleo eradicates unnecessary cravings and ensures your body only listens to actual hunger. In actuality, the Paleo diet is a surefire way to curb binge eating and instant gratification tendencies present among teenagers.
- Diabetes prevention. This is because of the avoidance of processed food that contain high levels of carbohydrates which, in turn, negatively affect blood sugar levels. Due to the absence of excess carbohydrates, the pancreas is not forced to produce insulin. Excessive junk food or fast food consumption, one of the leading causes of diabetes, is neutralized by assimilation to eating Paleo.
- Improved heart condition. Heart diseases are frequently complications from diabetes. Since one of the more outstanding Paleo diet benefits is the prevention of diabetes, diminished susceptibility to heart diseases is therefore a secondary benefit.
- Healthy weight loss. Obesity in teens is most of the time attributed to unhealthy fast food and junk food diet. To illustrate the epidemic, twenty percent of American teenagers are overweight or obese because of fast food and junk food. Combined with rigid everyday activities teens are engaged to in school, one of the proven benefits of Paleo diet is the assurance of sustained weight loss and increased fitness. It is an effective weight loss plan for teens. As a result, the systematic shedding of unnecessary weight automatically translates to a significant decrease of vulnerability to disease.
- It does not compromise taste. Teenagers should be made to know that eating Paleo does not necessarily mean giving up food enjoyment. In fact, eating organically grown food is much more physically and psychologically satisfying. One of the lesser known benefits of Paleo diet is the assurance that there are always delicious and healthy meals for teens, owing to the wide array of healthy options. This is particularly beneficial to those who exhibit disease and obesity risk factors. For instance, Chinese chicken salad, lean pork or beef, free-range eggs, or roast salmon with salsa can substitute for the usual pizzas, burgers, burritos, and chips that are otherwise ever-present in the diet of teenagers.
- Lowers inflammation. Excessive inflammation in the body vastly increases chances of developing health risks. The Paleo diet, which involves the intake of low-carbohydrate food, along with healthy amounts of Omega-3, can help lower inflammatory processes. Recent studies show that while this benefit is not instantly evident in teenagers, Paleo diet is better than traditional Western diet in older adults when it comes to protecting against inflammation. It must be noted that despite this, from a health standpoint, it is still a lot wiser to start the Paleo diet while young.
- Healthier immune system. The aforementioned benefits and advantages of Paleo diet, when collated, effectively translate to a boosted immune system. With this come a variety of positive health effects – improved mental processes, reduced allergies, faster metabolism, and enhanced feeling of well-being.
The benefits and advantages of Paleo diet for young people are innumerable. While the pure enjoyment of food is essential to living, it’s even better when it is natural food. The saying “health is wealth” and its interpretations are true and not merely speech writing for dramatic purposes. Health is indeed wealth and it is an oft-ignored reality of life. Start ‘em young. Start them now.
