Your traditional cookie tends to be made with a base of wheat flour, some sort of fat and protein (usually eggs and butter), sugar, and various flavors. If you only cut one thing out of your diet, it should probably be wheat, and the refined flour used to make baked goods like cookies is even worse. Grains should be avoided because they are low in nutrients and high in carbohydrates and this is especially true of refined grains (such as wheat flour).
Paleo and Carbohydrates
The wheat is high enough in carbs to cause a substantial rise in blood sugar, which inevitably leads to a crash, resulting in an energy slump and a craving for more sugar. It also produces a rush of insulin, which promotes the storage of nutrients as fat and prevents the breakdown of fat for energy. As if that weren’t bad enough, wheat is extremely inflammatory and chronic inflammation is associated with a variety of mental and physical disorders. Mark Sisson has even more reasons to avoid wheat.
Sugar + Sugar
That’s just wheat. Sugar produces many of the same effects in our bodies, and compounding it with wheat is a recipe for disaster.
Healthy Alternatives
The good news is there are plenty of Paleo alternatives for the sweets you grew up with. Using nut flours and healthy sweeteners, you can still indulge in cookies every now and then, like these Paleo cookies, or these.
