Paleo Diet
The Paleo diet emphasizes natural, unprocessed foods. Principles, food lists, sample menus, and whether the Paleo diet is right for you.
What Is the Paleo Diet?
The paleo (paleolithic) diet is inspired by the eating patterns of ancient humans — before agriculture and food factories existed. The principle is simple: eat food that's available in nature, avoid factory-processed food.
The idea is that the human body is genetically better "suited" to the foods our ancestors ate for millions of years — meat, fish, vegetables, fruit, and nuts — compared to modern foods like refined sugar, hydrogenated oil, and ultra-processed foods.
How the Paleo Diet Works
Paleo eliminates foods that only appeared after the agricultural and industrial revolutions: grains (including rice and wheat), dairy products, refined sugar, and all packaged foods. What's left is whole food that can be "hunted or gathered".
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By eliminating processed food and sugar, the body naturally gets denser nutrition, more stable blood sugar, and reduced internal inflammation.
Recommended Foods
- Meat: chicken, beef, goat — choose naturally raised animals when possible
- Fish & seafood: salmon, tuna, shrimp, squid
- Eggs
- Vegetables: all kinds — spinach, broccoli, kangkung (water spinach), carrots, squash, eggplant
- Fruits: all kinds, especially fresh fruit (not canned fruit)
- Nuts & seeds: almonds, walnuts, cashews, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds
- Healthy fats: olive oil, coconut oil, avocado
- Tubers: sweet potato, cassava, taro — as a rice substitute
- Natural spices: garlic, ginger, turmeric, pepper, sea salt
Foods to Avoid
- Grains: rice, wheat, bread, noodles, pasta, oats
- Dairy products: milk, cheese, yogurt (some paleo versions allow butter and ghee)
- Refined sugar: white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrup, candy, cakes
- Certain legumes: soybeans (including tempe (fermented soybean cake) and tofu in strict paleo)
- Refined oils: canola oil, soybean oil, corn oil, margarine
- Ultra-processed foods: all packaged foods, frozen foods, fast food
Benefits of the Paleo Diet
- Eliminating processed food — this alone already has a huge impact on health
- More stable blood sugar — without refined sugar and refined carbs, blood sugar spikes drop drastically
- Stays full longer — protein and fat from natural sources are very filling
- Reduced inflammation — many processed foods trigger chronic inflammation, which disappears once you stop consuming them
- Weight loss — without sugar and refined carbs, calorie intake usually drops naturally
- Denser nutrition — whole foods provide more vitamins and minerals per calorie
Things to Keep in Mind
- Eliminating rice entirely — this is a big challenge for Indonesians. Consider sweet potato, cassava, or potato as substitutes.
- No milk and dairy products — you need to make sure you get calcium from other sources (broccoli, sardines with bones, almonds).
- Can be more expensive — quality meat and premium nuts cost more. But you can work around this by shopping at traditional markets.
- Too restrictive for some people — banning grains, dairy, and soy all at once can feel very limiting.
- "Strict" vs "loose" paleo — many paleo followers modify it: still eating brown rice occasionally, or still drinking milk. This is fine — take the principle and adjust it to your needs.
Sample One-Day Menu
| Time | Menu |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | Scrambled eggs + avocado + banana + black coffee |
| Lunch | Grilled chicken + stir-fried vegetables (broccoli, carrot, bell pepper) + roasted sweet potato |
| Snack | A handful of almonds + apple |
| Dinner | Grilled salmon + vegetable salad with olive oil dressing + lemon |
Tips for Starting the Paleo Diet
- Start by eliminating processed food — this is the most important principle of paleo and already has a big impact.
- Replace rice with tubers — boiled sweet potato, steamed cassava, or roasted potato can be a delicious substitute.
- Cook your own food — when eating out, it's hard to avoid processed ingredients. Cooking at home gives you full control.
- Shop at traditional markets — fresh vegetables, free-range eggs, fresh fish — everything is cheaper and more "paleo" than the supermarket.
- Don't be too rigid — paleo isn't a religion. If you feel better with a little brown rice occasionally, it's OK.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are tempe and tofu allowed?
What's the difference between paleo and keto?
Can it work for vegetarians?
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