Paleo means whole, unprocessed foods — but plenty of products that look clean still contain grains, refined sugar, legumes or industrial additives.
PickEat reads the label and flags non-paleo ingredients so you can shop to your standard with confidence.
Soy lecithin — a legume derivative — is one of the most common emulsifiers in chocolate and snacks, quietly making a 'clean' product non-paleo.
What paleo actually excludes
The paleo diet is built on a simple principle — eat whole, unprocessed foods and skip what modern food production added. In practice that rules out grains, legumes (including soy and peanuts), refined sugar, most dairy, industrial seed oils and artificial additives. It's less a list of banned items than a test of how processed something is.
That test is harder to apply than it sounds, because a product can look wholesome and still contain grain-derived starch, a sweetener or a legume-based emulsifier. The only way to know is to read the full ingredient list against paleo principles — repeatedly, for everything you buy.
The processed traps in 'clean' products
Many products marketed as natural or healthy quietly break paleo rules. Grain-derived starches and maltodextrin appear as thickeners and fillers; refined sugars and syrups hide under many names; and soy lecithin — a legume derivative — is one of the most common emulsifiers in chocolate, snacks and sauces.
Because none of these dominate the front of the pack, a paleo shopper who doesn't check carefully will regularly pick up products that technically aren't paleo. A scanner flags them instantly, so 'looks clean' and 'is clean' stop being a guess.
Seed oils and additives
Industrial seed oils — sunflower, soybean, canola and similar — are a core thing paleo avoids, and they're in a huge share of processed foods, dressings and snacks. Artificial preservatives, colours and flavour enhancers fall outside paleo's whole-food principle too.
These are exactly the ingredients that turn an otherwise simple product non-paleo. PickEat reads for them so you can hold a consistent standard without memorising every additive and oil.
Keeping paleo simple
The cleanest paleo shop leans on single-ingredient whole foods — meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, fruit, nuts and seeds — where there's barely a label to read. The complexity only appears with packaged products, and that's where a scan earns its keep.
Scan the packaged items, let PickEat flag grains, sugars, legumes, seed oils and additives, and you can shop to your standard with confidence — understanding exactly why something doesn't make the cut.
Non-paleo ingredients PickEat flags
- ✕Grains and grain-derived starches
- ✕Refined sugars and syrups
- ✕Legumes, soy and peanuts
- ✕Industrial seed oils
- ✕Artificial additives and preservatives
Paleo-friendly
- ✓Single-ingredient meat, fish, vegetables and fruit
- ✓Nuts and seeds (non-peanut)
- ✓Products with a short, whole-food ingredient list
How PickEat helps on paleo
- 1Set your profile to paleo when you set up the app.
- 2Scan the barcode or photograph the ingredient list.
- 3PickEat flags grains, refined sugar, legumes, seed oils and additives — and names them.
- 4Stick to whole-food choices without reading every label yourself.
Frequently asked questions
Can PickEat tell me if a food is paleo?+
PickEat scans the ingredient list and flags non-paleo items such as grains, refined sugar, legumes and industrial additives, helping you stick to whole-food choices.
Does it flag industrial seed oils?+
Yes — refined seed oils and artificial additives are surfaced.
Does it catch soy lecithin and other legume derivatives?+
Yes. Soy lecithin is one of the most common non-paleo emulsifiers, and PickEat flags it along with other legume-derived ingredients.
Does it spot hidden grain-derived fillers?+
Yes — grain starches and maltodextrin used as thickeners and fillers are flagged, even in products that look clean.
Is it free?+
Yes, scanning is free on iOS and Android.
Sources & further reading
We check our content against guidance from recognised health and nutrition organisations.