Have you ever wondered how alcohol fits into a healthy diet, especially when following the paleo diet? It's Friday night, and after a long workday, you want to relax with friends and a few drinks, but you don't want to ruin your paleo progress. This article explores the place of wine within the paleo framework, offering guidance for making informed choices.
What is the Paleo Diet?
The paleo diet is based on the eating habits of humans during the Paleolithic Age, which began approximately 2.5 million years ago. During this era, people relied on what they could gather from wild plants and hunt. The modern paleo lifestyle mirrors this ancient diet, emphasizing lean meats, fish, nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables while excluding grains, legumes, and dairy products. Proponents believe that by emulating the diets of our ancestors, we can optimize our health and reverse the damage caused by processed foods.
Foods to Include
The paleo diet plan includes:
- Unprocessed meats (beef, lamb, chicken, turkey, pork)
- Fish and seafood (salmon, trout, haddock, shrimp, shellfish, wild-caught when possible)
- Eggs (free-range, pastured, or omega-3 enriched)
- Vegetables (broccoli, kale, peppers, onions, carrots, tomatoes)
- Fruits (apples, bananas, oranges, pears, avocados, strawberries, blueberries)
- Nuts and seeds (almonds, macadamia nuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds)
- Healthy fats and oils (extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil)
- Herbs and spices (sea salt, garlic, turmeric, rosemary)
Foods to Avoid
The paleo diet discourages the consumption of:
- Sugar and high-fructose corn syrup (soft drinks, fruit juices, table sugar, candy, pastries, ice cream)
- Grains (bread, pasta, wheat, cereal, spelt, rye, barley)
- Legumes (beans, lentils)
- Dairy (most dairy, especially low-fat)
- Some vegetable oils (soybean oil, sunflower oil, cottonseed oil, corn oil, grapeseed oil, safflower oil)
- Artificial sweeteners (aspartame, sucralose, cyclamates, saccharin, acesulfame potassium)
- Highly processed foods (anything labeled "diet" or "low fat" or with many additives)
Is Alcohol Paleo?
Technically, alcohol is not paleo-approved. Our human ancestors didn't start drinking alcoholic or fermented beverages until the Neolithic period, about 9,000 years ago. However, flexibility is common, and many proponents and nutrition experts recognize that people may want an occasional glass of wine.
Read also: Drinking Wine on Carnivore
Jenny Giblin, a health, wellness, and nutrition expert, says that a moderate amount of alcohol is okay, as long as you are cautious about the type of alcohol you choose and how much you drink.
Wine and the Paleo Diet
Wine is often considered the closest thing to a paleo-friendly alcohol. It is generally accepted by paleo advocates, especially red wine, due to its antioxidant content, including resveratrol, which may have heart-healthy benefits.
Red vs. White Wine
Red wine may be a better choice than white wine due to its higher concentration of resveratrol.
Dry Farm Wines
For wine lovers seeking paleo-friendly options, Dry Farm Wines is a wine club focused on health, offering organic and natural wines.
Other Paleo-Friendly Alcohol Choices
Hard Cider
Hard cider, a fermented alcoholic beverage typically made from apples or pears, is another option. Most ciders are naturally gluten-free, but it's important to double-check the label for added sugars and preservatives like potassium sorbate and sodium benzoate, which can negatively affect immunity. When choosing a hard cider, opt for dry ciders, as they usually have lower sugar counts.
Read also: Best Wine for Keto
Tequila
Tequila is also considered somewhat paleo-friendly, as it is often minimally processed. Choosing tequila made with 100% agave can help reduce the amount of sugar you're drinking.
What to Avoid
Steer clear of beers, even gluten-free sorghum versions, as beer is mainly made from wheat, barley, and hops. Also, avoid margaritas due to their high sugar content.
Alcohol's Impact on Health and Diet
Potential Downsides
- Alcohol is toxic to the liver.
- It can be an addictive drug.
- Too much alcohol prioritizes detoxification, potentially hindering other metabolic processes.
- Alcohol can lower inhibitions, leading to poor food choices.
- The paleo diet eliminates several food groups that are highly nutritious, including legumes, dairy, and gluten-containing grains.
Tips for Moderate Consumption
- Limit your consumption to stick to your weight loss and health goals.
- Keep blood sugar stable by using more paleo-friendly spirits like tequila with soda water, ice, and lemon or lime.
- Opt for sparkling water, kombucha, or club soda if you want to stay alcohol-free.
- Be sure to stay hydrated when you’re drinking.
Low-Carb, Paleo, or Keto Diet Considerations
If you are on a Keto, Paleo, or Low-Carb diet, it might be better to avoid wine altogether. However, if you choose to indulge, be smart about it.
Choosing Low-Sugar Wines
Dry wines contain minimal sugars. Choosing red or white doesn’t matter as much as selecting dry over sweet. The amount of sugar varies greatly between varietals and can range between 0 to over 100 grams or more of sugar per liter (g/L). This will differ depending on the winery, blends, regional climate, growing conditions and process of fermentation. Low-sugar wines are inherently low in carbohydrates, as sugar is a type of carbohydrate.
Determining the amount of residual sugars in a particular wine can be challenging and typically is not listed on the label. Occasionally white and rosé wines may contain a higher level of residual sugar. If the winemaker stops the process early and the yeast does not finish the fermentation process, some sugar will be left in the wine. This is what’s known as residual sugar (RS) and halting the fermentation process will result in sweeter wines.
Read also: Wine on a Keto Diet
Natural Wines
“Natural” winemakers utilize older traditional production methods that avoid adding chemicals, GMO yeasts, or sulfites. Natural wine is more of a concept than a well-defined process. Most commercial winemakers use sulfites to kill the yeast early, which leaves residual sugar in the wine.
Sulfites in Wine
If you read your wine bottle labels carefully, you’ll likely find a note saying that it “Contains Sulfites.” Unfortunately, they don’t state the exact concentrations of sulfites in their wines, or advertise the adverse health effects may arise from ingestion of these chemicals. It should be noted that even wines produced without added sulfites actually maintain tiny amounts of these compounds, which result from the fermentation process itself.
What are Sulfites?
Sulfites also go by many different names. Sulfites can also produce sulfur dioxide and other compounds, which may form free sulfites that attach to your food or drink. They are added to prevent the growth and oxidation of undesired species of bacteria, yeast, and other microorganisms in wine and foods, but can still cause problems on their own.
The sulfite content of virtually all processed foods and beverages (including wine) is never reported on labels, simply because governmental agencies worldwide don’t require this information from manufacturers to be supplied to consumers.
Dietary Sources of Sulfites
Wine is a potent source of dietary sulfites. A number of studies have concluded that the two major dietary sources of sulfites for adults are wine and dried, processed fruit.
Symptoms of Sulfite Toxicity
Symptoms of sulfite toxicity are quite similar to being drunk or experiencing a hangover and include: flushing, fast heartbeat, stomach upset, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Further, excessive sulfite ingestion may cause hives, wheezing, dizziness, difficulty in swallowing, tingling in limbs and low blood pressure. The greatest threat to health from sulfites is their aggravating effect upon pulmonary function in asthmatics (be they children or adults).
Choosing Sulfite-Free Wine
If you would like to treat yourself a glass, check out a sulfite-free wine, or if you’ve noticed a reaction after drinking wine, see if swapping to a brand with lower amounts of sulfites makes the difference for you.
Sample Paleo Meal Plan
This sample menu contains a balanced amount of paleo-friendly foods. Adjust this menu based on your own preferences.
- Monday
- Breakfast: eggs and vegetables fried in olive oil, one piece of fruit
- Lunch: chicken salad with olive oil, a handful of nuts
- Dinner: burgers (no bun) fried in butter, vegetables, salsa
- Tuesday
- Breakfast: bacon, eggs, one piece of fruit
- Lunch: leftover burgers from the night before
- Dinner: baked salmon with vegetables
- Wednesday
- Breakfast: leftover salmon and vegetables from the night before
- Lunch: sandwich in a lettuce leaf, with meat and fresh vegetables
- Dinner: ground beef stir-fry with vegetables, berries
- Thursday
- Breakfast: eggs, one piece of fruit
- Lunch: leftover stir-fry from the night before, a handful of nuts
- Dinner: fried pork, vegetables
- Friday
- Breakfast: eggs and vegetables fried in olive oil, one piece of fruit
- Lunch: chicken salad with olive oil, a handful of nuts
- Dinner: steak, vegetables, sweet potatoes
- Saturday
- Breakfast: bacon, eggs, one piece of fruit
- Lunch: leftover steak and vegetables from the night before
- Dinner: baked tilapia, vegetables, avocado
- Sunday
- Breakfast: leftover salmon and vegetables from the night before
- Lunch: sandwich in a lettuce leaf, with meat and fresh vegetables
- Dinner: grilled chicken wings, vegetables, salsa
Simple Paleo Snacks
If you get hungry between meals, there are plenty of paleo snacks that are simple and easily portable:
- Toasted almonds or mixed nuts
- Hard-boiled eggs
- Fresh fruits and vegetables, including baby carrots, celery sticks, and sliced apples
- Dairy-free chia pudding
Making Restaurant Meals Paleo
Eating out while following the paleo diet doesn’t have to be hard. Simply select a meat or fish dish on the menu and swap in some extra veggies.
- Order a meat- or fish-based main dish.
- Get extra vegetables instead of bread or rice.
- Ask for your food to be cooked in olive oil or avocado oil.