The Caveman (Paleo) diet

The Caveman diet, also called the Paleolithic (or Paleo), Stone Age, Hunter Gatherer or Warrior Diet, is a plan based on eating plants (but not cereals) with meat, eggs and fish, thought to be similar to the diet cavemen may have eaten around 10,000 years ago.

How it works

Weight loss is common with this diet due to its arbitrary food choices. Supporters claim people are genetically programmed to eat like cavemen, and argue that today's typical Western diet is responsible for the epidemic levels of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and other health problems.

However, some nutrition experts say humans have adapted to a broader diet, including cereals and grains, dairy products and legumes, and question the evidence for the diet's evolutionary logic.

The Paleo Diet is defined differently by different groups, but in general is based on eating sporadically, with periods of intermittent fasting as cavemen would have done. The remainder of the day involves grazing on foods such as nuts and dried fruit.

The Caveman diet approach also encourages physical activity on a regular basis. After all, hunter-gathers had active daily lives seeking food, water and shelter.

What you can eat

The diet is based on the foods that could be hunted, fished and gathered during the Paleolithic era - meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, tree nuts, vegetables, roots, fruits and berries.

However, a true Paleolithic diet is impossible to mimic because wild game is not readily available and most modern plant food is cultivated rather than wild.

At best, you can eat a modified version of the original diet that's gluten-free and includes lean meat, organ meats, fish, poultry, eggs, vegetables, fruit and nuts. Supporters suggest eating organic plant foods, wild-caught fish and grass-fed meats because they're closer to the nutritional quality of the foods of our ancestors. For some, cooked foods are excluded as fire was not developed as a cooking aid until later in the period. For others, cooked food is permitted.

You won't find any dairy, grains, sugar, legumes, cereals and grains, potatoes, processed oils or any foods that were grown after agriculture started.

This diet excludes salt and any drinks other than water, coconut water or organic green tea.

You can satisfy your sweet tooth with raw honey or coconut palm sugar, but only in limited quantities.

Some plans allow a little flexibility, like adding some processed oils from fruits and nuts, such as olive and flaxseed oil.