UPG Mailbag: Your Questions Answered

Welcome to the first article in the Ultimate Paleo Guide Mailbag series. This series focuses on questions that are frequently asked by the UPG community. Have a lingering question? Email us here and we could feature you in future posts!

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“Is the Paleo diet good for clearing up skin issues?”

When discussing diets in a broad sense, we should always acknowledge that nutrition is incredibly individualized. What works definitively for one person won’t always work as well for someone else. It is important to experiment for yourself and find out what works best for your body.

That being said, many people report that skin issues, such as eczema, psoriasis, and acne, improve when following a Paleo diet.

Why is this?

It is generally thought that a Paleo diet is effective at clearing up skin problems because it addresses common issues that are at the root of skin conditions. First, the health of your gut greatly impacts your skin. If you haven’t heard by now, gut health is vital for good health. If you have leaky gut or other digestive issues, more than likely you are struggling with skin problems. Many of the foods that are eaten in a standard American diet damage the gut in one way or another. Paleo eliminates many of these foods – like gluten, dairy, and alcohol. A Paleo diet also includes many foods that help promote gut health. Things like bone broth and fermented foods are highly beneficial at keeping gut flora happy.

Eating Paleo also removes many sources of inflammation from your diet. One of the ways inflammation manifests within the body is through common skin conditions such as acne or eczema. Oils, like corn and canola, that are found in many processed foods are one of the biggest culprits of inflammation. Sugar and flour are two other ones. By removing these triggers, many people find that the skin problems that they’ve battled for years clear up in a matter of time.

While diet definitely affects the health of your skin, it is not the only factor that plays into the equation. You should always consult your doctor if you have any questions. That being said, if you’ve been struggling with problematic skin and nothing seems to work, adopting a Paleo diet is something to consider.

“Is Paleo the same as gluten free, soy free, dairy free and sugar free?”

To put it somewhat simply, yes. A strict Paleo diet eliminates gluten, soy, dairy, and refined or added sugars. The foundation of the Paleo diet is lean meats, fish/seafood, eggs, vegetables, some fruit (the lower in natural sugar the better), nuts, and natural oils (olive, coconut, avocado). That being said, some people who subscribe to the Paleo diet find that they can tolerate things like raw cheese and grass-fed butter and they include it in their diet. It also isn’t uncommon to see ingredients like honey and coconut sugar used in Paleo recipes as well.

It is important to remember that there is no one set of rules for a Paleo diet. Many people use it as a framework to figure out what foods work best for them. For a more in-depth look at the Paleo diet, check out our Paleo 101 Guide. And don’t forget to download the Paleo.io app, so you can always know what foods fall within the Paleo guidelines!

Do you know of any good Paleo salad dressings? We find many that are ALL NATURAL but not organic. Can you point us in the right direction?

Store bought salad dressings are usually chock-full of junk ingredients. Next time you’re grocery shopping, just check out the ingredients list for fun. More than likely, the list is a mile long with unpronounceable ingredients.

Gross.

Luckily, making your own salad dressings at home is SUPER easy. When you make it at home, not only can you customize it just to your liking, but you also know exactly everything that went into it. It’s a win-win. For a basic vinaigrette, you only need two ingredients – a vinegar and an oil. As a general rule of thumb, you want one part vinegar to three parts oil. Place your vinegar in a bowl and then slowly drizzle the oil into the vinegar while whisking. Or you can mix this in a blender or shake in a mason jar.

Once you’ve become a master at making a basic vinaigrette, it’s time to experiment. Add in  your favorite spices, lemon, herbs, or mustards. The combinations are practically endless. Here’s a great Rosemary Vinaigrette recipe to try your hand at next time you’re in the kitchen.

That being said, there are some Paleo-friendly salad dressing brands out there. TesseMae’s and Primal Kitchen are two popular choices.