The Paleo Diet is a diet that bases what you eat off of foods that were eaten during the Paleolithic era two million years ago. Paleo proponents state that our genetic make up has not changed much since the Stone Ages. Now, because people of this era didn't have the tools to cultivate and grow plants they hunted, fished and gathered wild plants for food. The Paleo Diet also known as the "Caveman" or the "Stone-Age" diet includes lots of lean meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. The goal of this diet is to eliminate modern day processed foods for health and/or weight loss.
Essentially the diet is a high protein, low-moderate in carbohydrates, moderate in fat, high in fiber, and low in refined sugars and sodium. Foods to avoid are: grains (such as wheat, barley, and oats), Legumes (such as beans, lentils, peanuts, and peas), diary products, refined sugar, salt, potatoes, alcohol, coffee, and highly processed foods. Since many of these foods where developed after the modern techniques of farming it is believed that our bodies are genetically mismatched to the modern diet. Farming introduced these new modern day foods into the human diet which caused a mismatch that outpaced the bodies' ability to adapt. Becoming a contributing factor to diabetes, heart disease, and obesity of today. This is known as discordance hypothesis.
This diet does have a lot of restrictions when it comes to modern day food and it is suggested to buy mostly grass-fed beef which has more Omega 3 fatty acids than other store bought beef. It has not been determined if the diet is effective for long term use but nothing suggest that it can't be. I have listed a few recipes below that may start you on your journey if you choose to try this diet.
Bon Appetit'