From the New York Times bestselling author of The Paleo Approach and The Healing Kitchen comes the most comprehensive resource to date for those seeking a scientifically founded nutritional approach to optimal health. In her signature approachable yet comprehensive style, Sarah Ballantyne, PhD, has laid a complete foundation for understanding the principles of the Paleo template in order to inform and empower people’s day-to-day choices. Combined with an unprecedented collection of practical strategies, tips, and visual guides, plus more than 200 delicious recipes and twenty meal plans for a variety of health goals, this book is a one-stop-shop for nutrition nerds, health nuts, and gourmands alike.

The Paleo diet is a nutrient-dense, anti-inflammatory whole-foods diet based on eating a variety of quality vegetables, meats, seafood, fruits, eggs, nuts, seeds, healthy fats, herbs, and spices. It is clinically proven to improve health by providing complete and balanced nutrition while omitting most processed and refined foods and empty calories. Far from being a historical re-enactment, the Paleo framework is derived from thousands of scientific studies that illuminate our understanding of which foods support health and which foods undermine it. Combined with attention to essential lifestyle factors like physical activity, sleep, and stress, the Paleo template is quite simply the most robust approach out there for optimal health, performance, and longevity!

With the perfect balance of detailed explanations, accessible summaries of actionable information, and visual guides, Paleo Principles provides everything readers need to achieve their best health. Beyond a set of rules, this book teaches precisely why some foods are better choices than others while providing indispensable resources like food lists, shopping guides, and cooking how-tos. Health comes from more than just the foods on our plates, however, which is why Dr. Ballantyne also incorporates a focus on lifestyle factors known to improve health, including being active, getting enough sleep, managing stress, and connecting with community.

People needn’t worry that following a Paleo-style diet will leave them feeling hungry or deprived. Healthy re-creations of family-friendly favorites, from pizza to pancakes, prove that you can regain your health and love every bite! Paleo Principles contains more than 200 nutritious Paleo recipes that are free of gluten, grain, dairy, legumes, and refined sugar—including kitchen basics, breakfasts, soups and salads, main dishes, side dishes, baked goods, and desserts—all labeled for the top eight allergen ingredients as well as other common food sensitivities, like FODMAPs and nightshades, and the Autoimmune Protocol.

Adapt the Paleo template to serve your specific needs and health goals by using Paleo Principles’ guides on customizing macronutrient ratios, navigating gray-area foods, troubleshooting chronic illnesses and food sensitivities, transitioning to a Paleo-style diet, understanding your body’s individual response to different foods, and balancing Paleo priorities with competing interests for lifelong success. Combine these resources with twenty meal plans reflecting the most common health objectives, and you have the know-how to personalize your plan to fit your life.

Join the millions of people taking back their health by following a Paleo lifestyle. Whether your goal is to lose weight, increase performance, reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors, prevent cancer, mitigate autoimmune disease, reverse diabetes, or simply achieve your best health, Paleo Principles gives you answers and a veritable toolkit to make lasting, positive change toward better health.

Sarah Ballantyne, PhD, earned her doctorate degree in medical biophysics from the University of Western Ontario at age 26. She spent the next four years doing research on innate immunity, inflammation, critical care medicine, gene therapy, and epithelial cell biology at St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, and at the University of Arizona before becoming a stay-at-home mom, a decision motivated largely by her poor health at the time.

After her second daughter was born, Dr. Ballantyne began to experiment with the Paleo lifestyle. It had an amazing effect on her health, contributing to her 120-pound weight loss. Over time, she healed herself of a laundry list of physical complaints, including irritable bowel syndrome, acid reflux, migraines, anxiety, asthma, allergies, psoriasis, and the autoimmune skin condition lichen planus.

Inspired by her success, Dr. Ballantyne created the popular and award-winning health blog www.ThePaleoMom.com and became co-host of a top-rated syndicated podcast, The Paleo View. Together, her passion for providing straightforward explanations of the science behind her diet and lifestyle recommendations for managing autoimmune disease and her conviction that healing your body does not have to come at the expense of enjoying food form the foundation of her books, The Paleo Approach and The Paleo Approach Cookbook.