The average age of death for cavemen was 25, old age was 30 or 35 – which is great if you want to live on an all meat diet. Just because cavemen did it does not mean it is good for you. They didn’t live long enough to develop the medical conditions we associate with long-term consumption of large quantities of animal protein.
There is a tiny kernel of science inside these money-grubbing diet scams, but it’s very tiny. We are fundamentally omnivores — our teeth, digestive tracts, and other traits testify to that — and it is probably one source of our reproductive success as a species.
But we have developed many small gene pools adapting to local foods — hence some developed the ability to drink milk (whereas many have lactose intolerance), some process grain better than others (and a few have gluten intolerance), etc. There isn’t one best diet for anyone. There might be a best diet for a given individual, but if you have any kind of diverse national background, you can’t count on any one diet being obviously suited to you.
It is correct that we really don’t know what a “caveman” ate, but looking at indigenous tribes it is evident that man will eat whatever is in their environment; the term Paleo diet is a misnomer. That said, if I am working with a seriously ill patient, I will have them eat an anti-inflammatory Paleo Diet; and yes there is substantial scientific literature that supports that.
For 300,000 years, plus or minus, we were hunter-gatherers. About 10,000 years ago, we developed agriculture. The species saw an immediate decline in stature (from an average of over six feet tall to five feet tall, plus or minus). Hunter gatherer teeth and bones were far healthier than modern peoples’. Of course, being an invasive species, we also killed off creatures like the twelve foot high sloth that lived in Australia as well as the wooly mammoth population.
Grain has the benefit of producing more calories per unit of land, enabling the species to multiply rapidly and migrate across the globe. But it has anti-nutritious aspects, especially when it comes to binding minerals for, among other things, uptake into connective tissue and bone.
The omnivorous diet is likely the one we are best adapted to evolutionarily. Allele mutations have conferred benefits to some populations (e.g. lactose tolerance is about 7,000 years old), but we still have a quarter million years of evolution to deal with. Fruits, vegetables, grass-fed meats (lower in Omega 6 fatty acids, higher in Omega 3’s), and minimal grain are probably optimal.
Refined carbs are definitely bad. So, too, would be an all meat diet, obviously. There are darned few real, double blind studies on this topic. It’s really hard to experiment with humans. Of course, there were some very nice Nazis who liked to do just that…
Several years ago I heard a paleontologist interviewed state that fossilized caveman poop contained intact rodent skeletons indicating they ate whole and possibly live vermin. Bon appetit!
Haha! This was a surprise for me today….. I am used to Jen’s very erudite political commentary…. but this more sociological commentary….. ALSO BRILLIANT!!!!
The “Paleo Diet” as well as most other fads drives me nuts. I like
For me, I used to be very heavy and how I was able to move to a normal body weight was by reshaping my omnivorous diet to be more moderate in some ways…. mostly in lowering my overall consumption of fats, lowering my overall consumption of processed foods (higher caloric density), and eating more “whole” foods in general. When I look at what I ended up gravitating towards due to food preferences in general…. I have basically adopted what is somewhat like a lower fat version of a Medeteranian style food plan.
Motivemagus (above) stated the idea very eloquently…. moderation tends to be best.
I used to work with people on the Paleo diet. It doesn’t ban all grains, only certain grains such as wheat. Also, heart disease and associated chronic aliments may be associated with the consumption of animal fat, but over consumption of sugar is a far larger risk factor.
As she points out, the actual diets of our paleo ancestors varied drastically depending on what was locally available. Islanders and peoples living near the ocean typically had a diet heavy in seafood. Inland, they were much more likely to harvest local flora and fauna from the forest, and so forth.
Mr. Blawt about 6 years ago
The average age of death for cavemen was 25, old age was 30 or 35 – which is great if you want to live on an all meat diet. Just because cavemen did it does not mean it is good for you. They didn’t live long enough to develop the medical conditions we associate with long-term consumption of large quantities of animal protein.
Zev about 6 years ago
I think we already have caveman healthcare. At least that’s what Congress wants for us.
Masterskrain Premium Member about 6 years ago
Gee, you don’t $uppo$e that thi$ i$ ju$t ANOTHER fad to $eperate a$ many gullible idiot$ from a$ much of their ca$h as quickly a$ possible, do you??
Remember, “Eat Well, Stay Fit, DIE ANYWAY!!”
Motivemagus about 6 years ago
There is a tiny kernel of science inside these money-grubbing diet scams, but it’s very tiny. We are fundamentally omnivores — our teeth, digestive tracts, and other traits testify to that — and it is probably one source of our reproductive success as a species.
But we have developed many small gene pools adapting to local foods — hence some developed the ability to drink milk (whereas many have lactose intolerance), some process grain better than others (and a few have gluten intolerance), etc. There isn’t one best diet for anyone. There might be a best diet for a given individual, but if you have any kind of diverse national background, you can’t count on any one diet being obviously suited to you.
Moderation in all things…
WestNYC Premium Member about 6 years ago
Real paleos ate bugs, lots of them.
fusilier about 6 years ago
Lower left panel – look up Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, aka Mad Cow Disease.
fusilier
James 2:24
mail Premium Member about 6 years ago
It is correct that we really don’t know what a “caveman” ate, but looking at indigenous tribes it is evident that man will eat whatever is in their environment; the term Paleo diet is a misnomer. That said, if I am working with a seriously ill patient, I will have them eat an anti-inflammatory Paleo Diet; and yes there is substantial scientific literature that supports that.
twclix about 6 years ago
For 300,000 years, plus or minus, we were hunter-gatherers. About 10,000 years ago, we developed agriculture. The species saw an immediate decline in stature (from an average of over six feet tall to five feet tall, plus or minus). Hunter gatherer teeth and bones were far healthier than modern peoples’. Of course, being an invasive species, we also killed off creatures like the twelve foot high sloth that lived in Australia as well as the wooly mammoth population.
Grain has the benefit of producing more calories per unit of land, enabling the species to multiply rapidly and migrate across the globe. But it has anti-nutritious aspects, especially when it comes to binding minerals for, among other things, uptake into connective tissue and bone.
The omnivorous diet is likely the one we are best adapted to evolutionarily. Allele mutations have conferred benefits to some populations (e.g. lactose tolerance is about 7,000 years old), but we still have a quarter million years of evolution to deal with. Fruits, vegetables, grass-fed meats (lower in Omega 6 fatty acids, higher in Omega 3’s), and minimal grain are probably optimal.
Refined carbs are definitely bad. So, too, would be an all meat diet, obviously. There are darned few real, double blind studies on this topic. It’s really hard to experiment with humans. Of course, there were some very nice Nazis who liked to do just that…
SandShark Premium Member about 6 years ago
Several years ago I heard a paleontologist interviewed state that fossilized caveman poop contained intact rodent skeletons indicating they ate whole and possibly live vermin. Bon appetit!
Pipe Tobacco Premium Member about 6 years ago
Haha! This was a surprise for me today….. I am used to Jen’s very erudite political commentary…. but this more sociological commentary….. ALSO BRILLIANT!!!!
The “Paleo Diet” as well as most other fads drives me nuts. I like
For me, I used to be very heavy and how I was able to move to a normal body weight was by reshaping my omnivorous diet to be more moderate in some ways…. mostly in lowering my overall consumption of fats, lowering my overall consumption of processed foods (higher caloric density), and eating more “whole” foods in general. When I look at what I ended up gravitating towards due to food preferences in general…. I have basically adopted what is somewhat like a lower fat version of a Medeteranian style food plan.
Motivemagus (above) stated the idea very eloquently…. moderation tends to be best.
Jason Allen about 6 years ago
I used to work with people on the Paleo diet. It doesn’t ban all grains, only certain grains such as wheat. Also, heart disease and associated chronic aliments may be associated with the consumption of animal fat, but over consumption of sugar is a far larger risk factor.
Retired engineer about 6 years ago
As she points out, the actual diets of our paleo ancestors varied drastically depending on what was locally available. Islanders and peoples living near the ocean typically had a diet heavy in seafood. Inland, they were much more likely to harvest local flora and fauna from the forest, and so forth.