Why a Minimally Processed Diet Is a Paleo Diet

You probably know that eating a lot of processed food—especially food classified as ultra-processed— isn’t the best choice for your health. These foods are related to inflammation¹ and oxidative stress in the body,² and are linked to obesity, cardio-metabolic disorders, cancer, type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, irritable bowel syndrome, depression,³ and accelerated biological aging.⁴ The science is clear—what you eat impacts your health and well-being.

When you’re eating The Paleo Diet®, you’re eating a diet mostly free of processed foods. This means that you are prioritizing whole, nutritionally dense foods including fruits, veggies, animal products, and some nuts, seeds, and high-quality oils.

Similarly, a minimally processed diet shares these same principles. Minimally processed foods are natural foods that have been altered in small ways, such as drying, crushing, grinding, fermenting, freezing, or pasteurizing.⁵ They have few (if any) additives, preservatives, or refined ingredients. Sauerkraut is a great example of a minimally processed food—and one that can be consumed when eating The Paleo Diet!

Learn more on how a minimally processed diet aligns with The Paleo Diet, as well as some tips on how to shift to this way of eating in a way that’s easy, sustainable, and good for the whole family.

The Core Principles of a Minimally Processed and Paleo Diet

Minimally processed diets and The Paleo Diet have a lot in common. Both ways of eating focus on avoiding ultra-processed foods and prioritizing foods as they are found in their natural state. Processed foods can include breakfast cereals, packaged bread, candy, crackers, pasta, cheese, prepared meats, and many others.

Research suggests that avoiding processed foods can support better health and even a lower risk of all-cause mortality.⁶ This is because greater exposure to these kinds of foods increases adverse health outcomes.⁷

Compounds in processed foods like gluten, lectin, seed oils, added sugars,⁸ emulsifiers,⁹ and more have been linked to inflammation and other adverse effects on health. Both The Paleo Diet and a minimally processed diet avoid these compounds and additives.

When you eat less processed food, you are eating in a way that’s optimal for your health. The Paleo Diet is anti-inflammatory and can support optimal blood sugar,¹⁰ optimal cardiovascular health,¹¹ and improved metabolic health overall (compared to other diets).¹² Eating a Paleo diet also increases the nutrient density of your overall diet.

Essentially, both diets focus on eating foods in their natural states as much as possible. If you’re eating a minimally processed diet, chances are you’re eating pretty close to Paleo, especially if you are avoiding added sugars, prepared breads, and other grains.

Eating this way does not have to be complicated—it’s all about whole ingredients, prepared simply. Think eggs with fruit, a steak with a side of sweet potatoes cooked in olive oil, or a snack of a banana with a few almonds.

How to Transition to a Minimally Processed Diet

It can feel challenging to avoid processed foods, especially in our busy world where convenience is king. Still, eating a Paleo or minimally processed diet is doable with a few practical strategies.

• Start Small: Start by prioritizing eating whole foods at one meal a day, such as breakfast. Or swap processed staples for whole-food alternatives, like replacing vegetable oil with coconut oil or potato chips with roasted nuts or seeds.
• Shop Smarter: Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store, where you’re more likely to find unprocessed meats, fruits, vegetables, herbs, and other minimally processed foods.
• Read labels when you’re shopping, including the ingredient list. Look for the fewest ingredients possible and aim to avoid refined sugars, grains, legumes, seed oils, and common additives like MSG or artificial colors.
• Prioritize quality protein as you transition. Whenever possible, choose pasture-raised eggs, and regeneratively raised or grass-fed beef, chicken, lamb, pork, and other proteins.
• Meal Prep: It’s hard to eat healthy if healthy foods are not readily available! Set aside some time each week to prep ingredients for meals, such as roasting a pan of mixed vegetables, grilling meat, or chopping fruit for snacks.
• Keep It Simple: You don’t have to dig through cookbooks or spend hours Googling Paleo recipes. Simply focus on naturally raised animal proteins, healthy fats, fruits, and vegetables for your meals. If you do want recipe options, we have hundreds of easy recipes on our website, so you’re bound to find some that fit your cooking style.
• Try 85/15: Finding it difficult to be 100% compliant with a minimally processed diet? Aim for eating Paleo 85% of the time, allowing the other 15% to be more flexible. This strategy reduces stress and is more sustainable overall, allowing for treats or convenience foods when needed.

Eating a Minimally Processed Diet with Kids

If you’re a parent who relies on convenience foods to feed your family, you’re not alone. Processed foods provide ease that can feel necessary in the hustle and bustle of balancing life, kids, work, and cooking. However, if you’d like to transition your family to a minimally processed diet, there are sustainable ways to shift together.

• Shift Gradually: You don’t have to switch your children from a diet of packaged crackers and frozen chicken nuggets to Paleo almond crackers and grass-fed steak today. Remember—the transition can be gradual, happening over a period of weeks, months, or even years.
• Add, Don’t Subtract: Start adding whole foods to your kids’ diets when you can, rather than taking away their favorite staples. Try adding greens to boxed mac and cheese or tossing fresh fruit into the pancake mix. This inclusive approach makes it easier for kids to develop a taste for whole foods while still enjoying their familiar favorites.
• Include Kids in Prep and Cooking: Kids are more likely to eat food they’ve helped prepare (seriously—it’s science).¹³ Pick out some fun Paleo recipes to prepare together—like Chocolate Covered Banana Bites or Apple Chips—and talk about how important it is to fuel the body with healthy foods that make you feel good.

References

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2. Martínez Leo, E. E., Peñafiel, A. M., Hernández Escalante, V. M., & Cabrera Araujo, Z. M. (2021). Ultra-processed diet, systemic oxidative stress, and breach of immunologic tolerance. Nutrition (Burbank, Los Angeles County, Calif.), 91-92, 111419. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34399404/
3. Elizabeth, L., Machado, P., Zinöcker, M., Baker, P., & Lawrence, M. (2020). Ultra-Processed Foods and Health Outcomes: A Narrative Review. Nutrients, 12(7), 1955. https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/12/7/1955
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