In my time studying health and nutrition, I have personally experimented with several different dietary approaches and have observed the effect that they have had on both my skin and overall health. Considering that I have found myself leaning towards a modified paleo approach as my long term plan, I figured that it was time that I write a post on why I think paleo is a great long term diet to follow. 

So, does the paleo diet heal psoriasis, eczema, and dermatitis? Although I don’t believe that there is a one size fits all diet that works for everyone, I do believe that a proper paleo or paleo-ish approach is one of the best long term options for people with autoimmune issues. By sticking to eating simple whole foods and avoiding anything else that may not be necessary as the paleo diet suggests, you are implementing a powerful gut/skin healing formula.

What is the paleo diet?

The Paleolithic diet, also know as the paleo diet is a diet that is based on eating foods that would have been available to humans during the Paleolithic era. The basic theory of the diet is that by only consuming these simple foods that have become staples in the human diet for millions of years, you will optimize the digestive capabilities of your body and in turn improve your overall health. 

With popular extreme diets such as the ketogenic diet and the vegan diet being especially restrictive in nature, many people find their pocket within the paleo approach as it generally embraces a wider range of nutritious whole foods. Although the diet that I follow and will be presenting in this blog post may not be a 100% classic portrait of what a typical paleo diet may look like, I have achieved long term skin clearance and have sustained great overall health by following my own take on a modified high fat paleo approach. 

Below I have listed the foods that you should eat and the foods you shouldn’t eat if you are interested in following a paleo type of diet. I have also provided a little commentary as to the modifications I have made in order to create the diet that I believe works best for me and my digestion long term. 

What to eat 

Meat, fish, & eggs

Meat, fish, or eggs are the focal point of most of my meals and I don’t shy away from eating as much of them as I want to. Other than my daily carb meal that I will touch on later, most of my meals consist of 1. Meat, fish, or eggs 2. Some other healthy fat source such as avocado and extra virgin olive oil and 3. Vegetables. 

I always make sure that I am buying organic meats (preferably grass fed) and eggs and wild caught fish. Although they may be a little more expensive than your typical farm raised animal products, the nutrition that they contain is undoubtedly superior. I would definitely suggest that anyone attempting to heal their skin or improve their health do the same. Also, I tend to gravitate more towards fattier meats as my diet is fat based. 

Grocery List 

• Grass fed Steaks
• Organic pasture raised eggs
• Wild caught salmon 
• Wild caught cod
• Organic chicken
• Grass fed bison
• Grass fed liver

Vegetables 

I believe that incorporating the right amount of vegetables in your diet is one of the most (if not the most) important aspects of natural healing. The wide range of vital micronutrients that many different types of vegetables contain are absolutely essential to not only maintaining good health but also ensuring efficient detoxification processes.

As I said before, I include some sort of vegetable in most of the meals that I consume on a daily basis. I love having a side salad with dinner or steaming up some broccoli, asparagus, or leafy greens. I also love putting some leafy greens or some broccoli stem in my smoothies. There is nothing complicated here. Just your typical veggies that most everyone is familiar with. 

I also am a big proponent of the positive benefits of incorporating fresh vegetable juice into your life. I drink celery juice or kind of green juice concoction several times throughout the week. In my opinion, this is the most efficient way to consume large amounts of the amazing micronutrients that vegetables contain. 

Grocery list

• Kale
• Spinach
• Celery
• Cucumber 
• Broccoli
• Asparagus

Healthy fats

Considering that I eat a fat based paleo diet, I love my healthy fat sources. Whether it’s adding an avocado to my eggs and beef, cooking with olive oil, or adding some nuts and seeds to my fruit bowls, I always make sure that I am eating enough fat throughout the day. 

Although I do get a lot of my fat from animal products, I don’t rely solely on meat, eggs, and fish. The sources of healthy fats that I have listed below are staples in my diet and are a perfect addition to just about any dietary approach (especially high fat/low carb). 

I also just want to note that many people do not do well with digesting nuts. Although I don’t feel as if nuts have had any sort of negative Impact on my digestion, I realize that this may not be the case for many people. If you don’t respond well to nuts (or any food for that matter) then don’t eat them. 

Grocery list

• Avocado
• Walnuts
• Almonds
• Pumpkin kernels
• Chia seeds
• Extra virgin olive oil

Fruit

Although many people are turning their back on fruit as they enter into a ketogenic approach, I personally cant picture a long term diet for myself that does not include a range of fruits. While I do think that keto can work great for many people, I’m not quite sure what to make of such a restrictive outlook on fruit. 

There are so many nutrient dense fruits out there and I’m not so sure that putting a strict cap on what fruits and how much of them you consume appeals to my logic personally. If you are thriving on keto, then keep it up. I would not steer anyone away from something that is working for them. But if you love fruit, embrace it. Don’t be afraid of these amazing nutrient dense foods. 

As I stated earlier, I typically have one “carb meal” a day and that meal usually consists of fruit and some nuts or seeds. Fruit bowls, smoothies, or just a couple pieces of fruit and a small handful of nuts.. Just simple energizing snack-like meals that can really round out your approach and add some sweetness to your life. 

Grocery list 

• Bananas
• Apples
• Blueberries
• Strawberries
• Mangos
• Lemons/limes
• Dates

Healthy starches (moderate)

While potatoes were not originally a food that were accepted by the paleo community, they have taken on the reputation of being paleo-friendly in recent years. I personally think that sweet potatoes especially are extremely nutritious and can certainly be a part of a healthy diet for most people.

With that in mind, I am a believer in many of the principles of food combining and how they pertain to natural healing. While eating a potato with your eggs or chicken can be a tasty combination, this is not the simplest combo to digest as proteins and carbs require different digestive enzymes. Do I think this is ok sometimes? Yes. But in my opinion, you should separate your proteins and carbs for the most part. I will touch on this subject some more in a later section in this post. 

Also, I do eat some oats, quinoa, or sprouted whole grain bread occasionally. This is where I sort of fall out of the paleo category as grains are not considered to be paleo friendly. I’d say I am currently eating oats, quinoa, or sprouted grain bread 1-2 times a week. I believe them to be a good source of nutrition and I personally find that I respond well to them. If you are going for a more traditional paleo approach, avoid any oats or breads. 

Grocery list

• Sweet potatoes
• white potatoes
• Oats
• Sprouted whole grain bread

What not to eat

Refined carbs and sugar

As with any healthy diet, refined carbs and sugars are at the top of the list for foods that you should avoid eating at all costs. No matter what dietary approach you find yourself falling into, eliminating these unnatural gut damaging foods from your diet is one of the best things that you can possibly do for your health. 

This is especially true if you are following a fat based approach such as the one that I am proposing in this post. As I stated, I believe there is a lot to be said about food combining and how different foods interact with each other within the body. Combining animal fats in particular with refined carbs or sugars is probably the single worst food combination you can think of. 

Many American staple foods such as burgers and pizza are a prime example of this unhealthy food combination. Although it may be hard for some people to kick these food addictions, it is an essential part of natural healing. 

List to avoid

• Most bread and buns
• Pasta
• Pastries
• White flour
• White rice
• Breakfast cereals
• White sugar
• Sugary drinks 
• Pizza dough

Grains

As I mentioned earlier, I do include a small amount of oats and sprouted whole grains in my diet. With that said, I really do limit the amount that I eat and certainly don’t think that they are essential for everyone. Some people may even be better off without them. If you do decide to include some grains, I would suggest that you keep them far away from your meals that contain animal products. 

Whether you want to include these healthier grains in your diet or not is ultimately up to you. But I would definitely suggest that you avoid all other grains if you are following a paleo-like approach. Although things like rice or whole grain pasta may be a good option for someone following a high carb plant based approach, they really have no place in a paleo style diet. 

List to avoid 

• Bread
• Pasta
• Rice
• Barley 
• Millet

Dairy 

Although the nutrient content of dairy products make them seem like they can fit right into the framework of what a fat based diet should look like, the fact is that dairy products are very difficult to digest for many people and can really make it difficult to make any gut healing progress.

My opinion on dairy is that it just isn’t necessary. I believe that there’s a reason why so many people report to have digestive problems tied to dairy products and there is really no reason to mess around with it if you have gut and skin issues. Every nutrient that you can get from dairy, you can get from a different food source. If you’re interested in following the paleo diet, avoid dairy. 

List to avoid

• Milk
• Cream
• Cheese
• Cottage cheese
• Yogurt

Legumes and soy

Although I was big into plant based protein sources in my high carb plant based days, I no longer see much of a purpose for foods like beans and tofu in my diet. With that said, I do think that these are nutritious foods and I would not be apposed to possibly eating a chickpea salad or something of that sort for my carb meal one day. 

Natural healing is all about keeping things simple and if you are eating good amounts of animal protein, there really isn’t much of a reason to be eating beans and soy as well. It sort of pains me to put these foods on a “foods to avoid” list considering that I enjoy them and do believe in their nutritional value. The bottom line is that my diet is built around eating a combination of foods that are necessary in order for me to thrive. I simply just do not need these foods. 

In short, I think legumes and soy can work great in a plant based approach. But if you are eating a diet that includes a good amount of animal protein/fat, these foods aren’t really necessary and should probably be avoided or closely monitored to ensure that you are keeping your diet as simple as possible. 

List to avoid

• Beans
• Tofu
• Peas
• Lentils

Macro ratios and food combining for optimum digestion

It is very possible to eat only paleo-friendly foods but still be eating a diet that is not geared towards ideal digestion. What I mean by this is that it is not enough just to simply read a list of foods and then eat them. Although it is obviously important to consider what foods you are eating, it is equally as important to consider your macronutrient ratios and food combining principles if you are attempting to heal your gut and skin issues. 

Paleo is generally a moderately high fat/low carb approach. Although it does include some good sources of carbohydrates such as fruit and potatoes, I believe that paleo is most effective in terms of natural healing when carbohydrate consumption is kept to 25% of your daily calories or lower. I love fruits and potatoes and I do include both of them in my diet. With that said, I include them in moderation and I usually keep them as far away from my high fat meals as possible. 

Personally, my daily diet usually consists of two high fat/low carb keto-esque meals and then one carb meal that usually consists of fruit or occasionally some starches such as a sweet potato or oats (I know oats are not technically paleo but I do eat them occasionally). As you can see, I keep my carb meals and my high fat/protein meals separate as different macronutrients require different digestive enzymes.

I will occasionally break this rule when I mix a sweet potato in with a chicken breast, salmon, or some eggs. With that said, I don’t do this often. Maybe once a week or so. If you want to read some more on using proper food combining principles to heal your skin, click this link to read my blog post on food combining. 

Why not keto or vegan?

In the online natural healing community, there are two diets in particular that have become extremely popular in recent years for their healing proficiency. Those two diets are the ketogenic diet and the vegan diet. Ironically, these two diets are fundamentally different but both have demonstrated some great benefits at least in the short term. 

I personally ate a vegan diet for a year and experienced some great benefits in terms of healing. With that said, as time went on I realized that sustaining a vegan diet long term was not possible for me. I started to lose weight and become weak and it became clear to me that my body wasn’t receiving all of the nutrition it needed in order to thrive. So although I think a whole food vegan diet can be a great tool to use in the early stages of healing, I do not think that it is the best long term solution for most people.

I have also had some experience with following a ketogenic diet. In fact, many of the meals that are a part of my current diet are keto style meals. Similar to the vegan diet, I believe that keto is remarkable in terms of healing. I have experienced positive health benefits from eating keto and I think this is a great route to take for many people. On top of that, I believe that a keto diet is a much more traditional outlook on human nutrition and is a more sustainable long term solution than the vegan diet if done properly. 

So why don’t I choose to follow a full on ketogenic approach? The simple answer is because I don’t necessarily buy into the restrictive nature of the diet. I understand the benefits of ketosis and I realize that there needs to be a serious restriction of carbs in order to enter it. But I don’t think that ketosis is the end all be all of nutritional health. You don’t need to be in ketosis to be healthy. 

I believe that carbohydrate dense whole foods such as fruits, sweet potatoes, and oats can certainly be included in a healthy diet and I personally don’t see a reason to refrain from eating them. Another point I would like to make is that the longer you go without consuming certain foods and certain macronutrients, the less capable you become of digesting them. So by all but completely eliminating carbs from your diet for an extended period of time, you are inhibiting your bodies ability to digest them and must be cautious if you do decide to introduce them back into your diet at some point. 

My take here is that if you are having success following either a plant based or keto diet, then keep doing what you’re doing. While I do believe that being a macro and micronutrient-conscious eater is crucial in natural healing, I don’t necessarily believe that everyone who suffers from skin disease has to follow one of these extreme diets forever in order to maintain clear skin and optimum health. These diets have been proven to be effective healing tools and I am not advising against them in any way. I am just weary about putting any popular diet on a pedestal and making it out to be more than it really is.

The best possible long term diet for you can be found at the end of a long road of experimentation. I would suggest that you do the research for yourself and don’t be easily swayed by the opinions of Youtubers and bloggers such as myself. There are a lot of smart individuals out there spreading some good information. Although, you should certainly listen to what they have to say, it is ultimately up to you to determine what is right for you. I hope that you find this post useful in your quest to find your pocket within the mysterious subjects of nutrition and natural healing.