Cracking the Paleo Diet Code: Lose Weight Fast With Primal Eating & Intermittent Fasting (How to Lose Weight Your Way) (3 page)

What to include:

Fish eggs with or without their encasing sacs are referred to as fish roe. These contain high levels of Omega 3 fatty acids and micro-nutrients like folate, protein, selenium, and thiamine which are all beneficial to one's health. Consuming raw or cooked fish roe can also give you a boost of Vitamin B12, C, D and E.

Plus, fish roe, particularly fresh salmon eggs
, are very flavorful. These make great additions to your meals.

The best
types to add to your Paleo diet are fresh roe from:

What not to include:

Always buy fresh roe for your Paleo diet. You can consume some raw (like salmon roe), but most should be cooked. You should avoid consuming brined, dried or pickled fish eggs; these are treated with high levels of salt to prevent spoilage.

Examples of cured fish roe you should avoid are:

● Avgotaraho is dry-salted fish roe sacs from the flathead mullet.

●
Botargo or Bottargo is salted fish roe sacs usually harvested from gray mullet, tuna, swordfish or other large ocean-dwelling fishes.

●
Caviar. It does not matter if it is real (from sturgeons) or imitation caviar (from other fishes.) The main preserving ingredient here is sea salt and lots of it.

●
Myeongran jeot is salted and fermented Pollock roe.

●
Tarama is salted cured carp or cod roe.

You can organically acquire good levels of Omega-3 rich fish oil by simply eating more fatty fish such as salmon and tuna; fish eggs also have high levels of Omega 3, which you can easily incorporate into your diet. There is some concern over eating too much fish due to potential toxins contained in the meat.

You can always supplement you
r diet with fish oil capsules, but if you are eating right, you may not need to. If you decide you are going to supplement with fish oil make sure you use pure, highly refined, pharmaceutical-grade fish oil.

Krill oil is becoming a popular sou
rce for Omega 3 supplementation. People claim that it doesn’t give you that fishy breath smell regular fish oils do and contains less toxins than fish. Since this supplement is fairly new you will need to decide for yourself.

What to include:

Seaweed
or sea vegetables are considered one of the superfoods of the world, and when possible should be included in your daily meals. These have high amounts of nutrients, zero fat and only about 5 to 10 calories in 1 cup of fresh seaweed or ½ cup of dried seaweed.

Th
is aquatic vegetation contains:

●
Calcium, essential amino acids, fiber, iodine, iron, magnesium, potassium, vitamin A, vitamin B 12 and vitamin C

Other potential health benefits of seaweed are:

● Stabilizes sodium level in the bloodstream, lessening the risks of acquiring cardiac problems, high blood pressure, and stroke.

●
The high fiber content can help regulate blood sugar levels. This can also make bowel movements easier, which is a valuable aid in digestion and weight loss.

●
High iodine content promotes healthier thyroid functions.

●
Some seaweeds have anti-cancer properties. They can help regulate estradiol and estrogen levels – both of which are responsible for breast, cervical and ovarian cancer.

●
Some seaweeds also have anti-inflammatory properties.

Fresh seaweeds are usually available in seafood wet markets or with your local fishmongers. However, the selections and quantities are rather limited. Dried (dehydrated) and processed seaweeds are more readily available in supermarkets these days, as well as in stores that offer Asian and Greek dried goods.

If you are planning on using seaweed for your dishes, always opt for the fresh kinds whenever possible. You can substitute in dried seaweed, but processed seaweed should only be used when there are no other available options.

This is a partial list of edible seaweeds that you can include in your Paleo diet:

What not to include:

Powdered seaweed is as nutritious as paper confetti – and basically tastes worse than that. You should also avoid using seaweed extracts, as these are artificially-made and contain absolutely no seaweed at all.

Seasoned or flavored seaweeds are overly processed. These are just 2 steps away from becoming inedible. Its natural flavors are masked by salt and soy sauce, and have no nutritional value whatsoever. 

Likewise, avoid products that contain processed seaweed. These are usually cooked with high levels of refined flours, sugar, salt, preservatives and all manner of food additives. Examples of which include:

● Seaweed flavored crackers, seaweed flavored instant noodles, seaweed pastes and jams, seaweed peanuts, seaweed sea salt, powdered seaweed-based soups and bouillons.

What to include:

Most of the shellfish varieties we have access to are either ocean-farmed or raised in enclosed pens that mimic their natural environs
; fortunately, they are highly resistant to heavy metal toxins. If you are planning on buying shellfish, always buy fresh ones. Limit the frozen food items and avoid using those that are already bottled, canned or pickled.

Some of the shellfish you can easily incorporate in your eating regimen are:

What not to include:

All processed food items t
hat contain shellfish. It doesn’t matter if they are bottled, pickled, canned or dried. Many of these have been soaked for days in brine and treated with all manners of food additives to improve their appearance.

Borderline:

Frozen shellfish (e.g. shrimps, squid rings, etc.) or shellfish meat (e.g. flaked crab or lobster meat). These are more convenient to use than fresh shellfish, particularly if you are pressed for time when preparing meals. But only use these as last minute options, and do so sparingly.

Also, you need to obsessively check for best
-before dates when buying frozen shellfish or shellfish meat. Using old, frozen seafood products increases your risk of acquiring botulism or food poisoning via bacterial contamination.

What to include:

When it comes to fruit
, they are all allowed on the Paleo diet. You can enjoy them in any way imaginable and yes, avocado is a fruit as are tomatoes.

Here is an
extensive list of fruits:

One thing to keep in mind is that fruits are high in sugar and should be consumed in moderation
, especially if weight loss is your goal. Limit apples, bananas, grapes, kiwi fruit, mangos, pears, pineapples and sweet cherries until you are at your ideal weight. Basically this means don’t eat 5 apples or 5 bananas a day, and have a variety of fruit in your day.

Here is a table you can use that
shows the sugar content of more common fruits. The grams of sugar are approximate for a 100 gram serving of the fruit.

What not to include:

Not everything that contains fruits is good for you. If you want to drastically cut down on your sugar intake, avoid dried fruits at all cost. Some are dried naturally, which removes a lot of the water content by air drying the fruits for days. But many are soaked in salt first (to drain out the fluids) then soaked in corn syrup for hours, before being dusted with either caster sugar or powdered sugar.

Also
, avoid all commercially produced fruit juices and beverages. These may contain trace elements of fruits, but their nutritional value has been stripped away. Many of these contain high levels of artificial sweeteners and preservatives.

What to include:

Vegeta
bles are one of the main staples in the Paleo diet. This is the one food you can eat almost as much of as you want without adding a lot of calories to your day. They are full of fiber and are very filling.

In this book I include tubers and gourds as part of the Paleo diet (except white potatoes)
, because they provide a low glycemic index source of carbs and are also a healthier alternative to processed starches. You will see mixed views on them, and you may want to be careful on how much you consume if you are trying to lose weight or in general to avoid unnecessary weight gain.

This is a partial list of vegetables you should try to incorporate in
to your diet. If you have other sources of locally grown produce, include these as well.