Lose belly fat by eating like your ancestors did

There are balloons that inflate in your stomach, devices that allow you to vomit “on demand,” risky surgical procedures, and dangerous pills — all approved by the FDA and all for losing weight.

But a new study finds that the most effective way to shed those unwanted pounds, especially if you’re a woman of a certain age, is to take a step back in time — over 10,000 years!

I’m talking about the Paleo diet, the “caveman” way of eating that you’ve probably been hearing about in bits and pieces for a while now.

But researchers have discovered that the Paleo diet, aside from being remarkably healthy all on its own, is also the best way to maintain a healthy weight.

The extra benefits of Paleo

There’s no doubt that there are big bucks to be made in weight-loss contraptions.

And regrettably, the things I’ve seen coming out of the FDA approval machine are terribly dangerous, with the worst being those gastric balloons.

After being shoved down your throat, these devices drop into your stomach and inflate, then they bounce around inside you for six months. When they’re finally removed, you’re expected to eat bird-like portions on the theory that you’ve trained yourself to do so!

That’s the good news. The bad news is that these balloons can spontaneously over-inflate, injure the pancreas, cause intense pain, abdominal swelling, trouble breathing, and in some cases… death.

Of course, there are plenty of weight-loss diets around, ranging from the odd grapefruit juice one (that’s been cropping up for over 70 years) to the cabbage-soup regimen.

But where the Paleo diet is concerned, there’s nothing faddish or bizarre about it. Especially when it comes to weight loss.

A Swedish research team followed a group of 70 women who had already gone through menopause and were, on average, close to being considered obese (a BMI of 30 or more crosses that line).

Half followed what’s considered standard fare for that part of the world — lots of bread, potatoes, cereals, fruits, and veggies — and the other group carefully followed a Paleo diet (more on what that means in a minute).

The researchers tracked their progress for two years, and although both groups lost weight, the women on the Paleo diet (who ate as much as they wanted!) did the best, shedding an average of 20 pounds that they didn’t gain back over the study period.

Now, while that may not sound like a lot, the women in the Paleo group were able to have a “significant reduction” from shedding belly fat — something which can seem nearly impossible to do — as well as reducing inflammation and levels of fat in their blood.

The lead author of this study called the results “remarkable,” but that’s exactly the way HSI advisory panel member Dr. Glenn Rothfeld has been referring to this way of eating for a long time — and not just where weight loss is concerned.

To follow the Paleo diet, you’ll need to limit grains, carbs, and (most definitely) sugar, and focus on upping your protein with fresh meats and, of course, plenty of veggies. Dr. Rothfeld describes “going Paleo” as eating “all the healthy fruits of the land” — and he’s not just talking about the ones that grow on trees, but many varieties of meat as well as fish.

Dr. Rothfeld also highly recommends “caveman” cuisine for conditions such as Parkinson’s disease (something he himself has been living with for over a dozen years).

And by cutting way back on carbs and sugars, you’ll be doing two very important things: preventing insulin spikes (which can also worsen Parkinson’s symptoms) and avoiding a lot of processed foods. That means that you’ll automatically be bypassing a witches’ brew of nasty additives and toxins.

And those are things that cavemen, with all the hazards they faced, never had to worry about!

“Paleolithic diet healthier for overweight women” Umea University, January 18, 2018, ScienceDaily, sciencedaily.com