{"id":3414,"date":"2021-02-17T19:20:56","date_gmt":"2021-02-17T19:20:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/?post_type=food&p=3414"},"modified":"2021-02-17T19:20:56","modified_gmt":"2021-02-17T19:20:56","slug":"vegan-paleo-diet","status":"publish","type":"food","link":"https:\/\/www.veganfriendly.org.uk\/food-drink\/vegan-paleo-diet\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan Paleo Diet"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"VeganWe have said many times on this site that there is no such thing as a single vegan diet. Beyond meaning that a person does not consume animals, foods derived from animals, or substances that have in some way harmed or exploited them, a \u201cvegan diet\u201d can be anything. Someone could eat nothing but high-fat vegan ready meals and be following a vegan diet. Another person could live off vegan protein powder<\/a> and vegan chocolate (it would be a strange diet admittedly!). And yet another person might follow a raw vegan diet<\/a>, eating mainly simple, unprocessed plants.<\/p>\n

The point is that there are many different types of vegan diets. We have looked at a number of the major ones elsewhere on the site, including the vegan keto diet<\/a> and the aforementioned raw vegan eating regimen, as well as looking at vegan weight loss<\/a>. Now it is the turn of the vegan paleo diet, a concept that some have even questioned is possible.<\/p>\n

What Is Vegan Paleo?<\/h2>\n

\"Fruits<\/p>\n

If you are already familiar with the paleo diet and the concept of vegan paleo, you might want to skip below to the section Is Vegan Paleo Possible?<\/a>. On the other hand, if you want to start at the beginning, then here you are. So, what is vegan paleo?<\/p>\n

Well, unsurprisingly it is a vegan version of the paleo diet, the oldest new diet on the block. Or should that be the newest old diet? Either way, such an explanation begs the obvious question: what is a paleo diet?<\/p>\n

The History<\/h3>\n

A Palaeolithic (paleo is just the shortened version) diet takes its name from the Palaeolithic era, often spelt Paleolithic. Sometimes referred to as the Old Stone Age, this period ran from around two to three million years ago up until approximately 12,000 years ago, so a huge proportion of humanity\u2019s existence.<\/p>\n

The diet is said to broadly mimic what humans ate in that period, the simple logic being that such a diet is what humans evolved to eat. Of course, there was a large degree of variety in the diets eaten over a period of more than two million years in different parts of the world (not least because some plants simply don\u2019t grow in certain climates). However, as we are talking about a period of pre-history, it is safe to say the food underwent virtually no processing and that the diet of one person possessed far more aspects in common with another than there were things that made it different.<\/p>\n

Walter L. Voegtlin<\/h4>\n

Whilst the paleo diet has become far more popular in the last 10 years or so, it is not, like most things under the sun, truly new. The concept of basic diets akin to what our ancient ancestors consumed dates back to at least the 19th century. Moreover, what we now generally refer to as the paleo diet was first publicised as the stone age diet in a book of that name written by Walter L. Voegtlin and published in 1975.<\/p>\n

Voegtlin was born in 1904 and is also very well known for his role in developing aversion therapy as a treatment for alcohol addiction. He was trained as a gastroenterologist though and his work in this area led him to advocate a diet that eschewed foods that had been farmed. Some of his stranger claims included advocating the mass slaughter of dolphins, tigers and bears<\/a> but in general he suggested a diet of foods that could be hunted, gathered or fished.<\/p>\n

On that basis, it is quite easy to see why vegans may question how a plant-based paleo diet might work. Take away the hunting and fishing (which is nothing more than aquatic hunting really), and you are left with\u2026 gathering. On the face of it that doesn\u2019t sound like the metaphorical recipe for a tasty or nutritious diet. We\u2019ll return to that issue shortly but for now, let us explain more about the paleo diet and vegan paleo diet.<\/p>\n

Key Principles<\/h3>\n

The key principles of the paleo diet can be summarised thus:<\/p>\n