Can the Paleo Diet work for Vegetarians or Vegans?

The paleo / ancestral / primal diet, inspired by our hunter-gatherer ancestors, primarily includes foods that can be hunted or gathered (or maybe grown/raised on a home-scale garden). While it might seem like this diet is only suited to meat eaters, people often question whether it can be followed by vegetarians or vegans. This post aims to address this concern.

The primal diet consists of fresh vegetables, fruit, nuts, seeds, fish, and meat (and maybe dairy). However, considering the vegetarian or vegan lifestyle, the question arises - can they follow the primal diet? The answer is a definitive yes for vegetarians, and it is also a yes for vegans, but with a few important caveats. 

Paleo Diet for Vegetarians

Vegetarians can adapt the primal diet with ease, as it already includes many plant-based foods. The challenge lies in getting enough protein without consuming meat or fish. Fortunately, there are top-draw vegetarian sources of protein such as eggs - which I advocate eating almost unbridled amounts of - and then there is high-protein dairy, (assuming that the veggie in question is ok on dairy - some may not be) there are more and more products coming to market making use of high protein diary such as Bulgarian Yoghurts alongside well-known supplements like whey based protein shakes. The primal diet also encourages the consumption of natural, unprocessed foods, which should align nicely with the vegetarian diet - although of course it is possible to do a ‘dirty’ vegetarian diet, filled with processed edible food-like substances… whoever you are, stay away from this nonsense!

Paleo Diet For Vegans

Vegans, on the other hand, may find it slightly more tricky to adopt the primal diet. This is primarily because the vegan diet excludes all animal products, including eggs and dairy, which are key sources of protein in the primal diet, especially when animals themselves are off the menu. While there are vegan sources of protein, like legumes and grains, these are generally discouraged in the primal diet due to their higher carb content and the potential negative interactions with the gut, leading to inflammation, weight gain and potentially increasing the risk on chronic diseases. The good news is that, more recently, we’ve seen a boom in protein packed vegan products that, while processed, are not junk food and certainly couldn’t be called ‘dirty vegan’. Some of my favourites out there are protein powders where the protein is mechanically extracted from peas, hemp and flax seed. Some people still experience gastro-intestinal issues when consuming these so they still might not be a great fit for everyone. 

Top Tips for Primal Vegetarians and Vegans 

Eat Real Food (mostly)

One thing we should all be able to agree on is that ultra-processed hyper-palletable edible substances are a nonsense and do not belong in the human diet (or any other creatures diet for that matter). One caveat to this is my very next point...

Meet your protein goal

Bend over backwards to get enough protein into your day. This is the one piece of advice I come back to again and again with all my clients. If that's from eggs, dairy, pea/hemp/flax supplements, wherever, just get it in. There may be some drawbacks to certain protein sources but your muscle and bone density are one of the best things for keeping you alive!

Avoid oxidised seed oils 

Ditch the veg oil, rapeseed, sunflower etc. These can play havoc with our hunger signalling and also leave us needing to fight more oxidation and inflammation. These are also massively inferior when you’ve got olive, avocado and macadamia nut oil on offer - stock up on these whatever your preferred eating style!

Make the most of all that fibre 

A diverse gut microbiome is fed by diverse fibres and if you’re eating a lot of vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds then you can make the most of those little critters inside you. Gently up the amount and diversity over time to allow the gut to re-model - going gung-ho can backfire when it comes to fibre. 

Go for pseudo-grains 

Opt for the less anti-nutrient dense grains and pseudo grains, think wild rice, quinoa and buckwheat over the conventional offerings, especially gluten containing wheat. 

Fermented Soy could be an option 

I’m no big fan of soy but if you feel the need to use it then opt for organic and fermented soy like Tempeh or Natto. These contain less anti-nutrients and the nutrients have greater bio-availability.

Supplement with some key elements 

When avoiding animal products there are a few things I would be considering supplementing with to cover over the bases of missing micronutrients. 

Protein powder

You really want to hit your daily protein goal!

Creatine

A metabolic miracle you’re missing out on if you’re not eating red meat or herring. Great for athletic endeavours and for brain energetics. Also an anti-inflammatory and antioxidant.

Taurine

Another brain energy boosting antioxidant and anti-inflammatory that has wide ranging benefits for metabolic health. Again, no meat, little taurine, pick up a supplement. 

Carnosine

Popular with body builders and athletes - another brain and muscle power meat-dwelling ingredient.

Omega 3 from Algae

You absolutely need this in your diet for metabolic health, brain health, reproductive health… you get the picture. If you’re not eating oily fish, regenerative meat or eggs then please get an algae based omega-3 supplement that is in triglyceride form. 

Vitamin B12

Found in much larger quantities in animal based foods so vegans especially should supplest with B12 but research also points to the benefits of supplementation for vegetarians.

Primal / Ancestral Lifestyle - More than a Diet

The Primal or ancestral lifestyle is much more than a diet, it really is a holistic framework for living life well. From our daily movement and time in nature through to slowing life down, switching off tech and nurturing our intimate circles; taking cues from our ancestors can really help us thrive in our modern, day-to-day life. The nutrition is a key component, for sure, but no matter what other dietary constraints you have in place, there is much that will serve you well, in adopting a primal/ancestral lifestyle that is advocated here at Whole Life Health in all of our coaching and community programmes. 

Health Coaching For Vegetarians and Vegans

At Whole Life Health, we have successfully helped numerous vegetarians adopt a primal lifestyle. However, we recommend that vegans seek health coaching elsewhere. This is not because you are not welcome, or because we cannot help you, but so much of our education can be quite jarring to a vegan. If you’re up for being challenged and being exposed to different ways of thinking, then let’s have a chat. If you’re totally opposed to eating animal based products and find this disturbing then please find a specialist health coach more aligned with your values; I’m very happy to point you in the direction of vegan health coaches who would love to work with you and who you’d really benefit from. 

Most of the changes we need to make, we know we need to make. The difficulty comes in actually making those changes and getting them to 'stick' long-term. That's where a health coach comes in.

Jake Mahal is a Primal Health Coach & Habit Change Expert here to guide you toward great health for you and your family. Book a free People and Planet Health Strategy Call today to see which Whole Life Health programme is right for your family and start your journey towards habitual hopeful living.