The Paleolithic diet, also known as the caveman diet, paleodiet, Stone Age diet, the preagricultural diet, or hunter-gatherer diet, is the diet of wild plants and animals that various human species (see Homo (genus)) habitually consumed during the Paleolithic period (the Old Stone Age), a period of about 2 million years duration, ending about 10,000 years ago, when our species, Homo sapiens sapiens, invented agriculture. The modern version of this diet, the Paleolithic Diet, uses domesticated sources in lieu of the wild sources the original hunter-gatherer diet.
Those who advocate that contemporary humans should regularly consume a Paleolithic diet base their advocacy on the premise that natural selection had 2 million or more years to genetically adapt the metabolism and physiology of the various human species to such a diet, and that in the 10,000 years since the invention of agriculture and its consequent major change in the human diet, natural selection has had too little time to make the optimal genetic adaptations to the new diet. According to those advocates, physiological and metabolic maladaptations result from those suboptimal genetic adaptations, which in turn contribute to many of the so-called diseases of civilization.[1]
Those considerations give rise to a simple theme for adhering to a Paleolithic-type diet in modern times: if a food item resembles one that can be found in the wild, obtained with bare hands or simple tools, and ingested immediately without cooking, processing, and by simple preparation (i.e., peeling, cracking, washing, etc.), and cause the consumer no ill effects either during or after consumption, then it can be considered edible, and therefore permissible to eat. Any food meeting this standard can then be cooked and prepared by the simplest means as practical and consumed in modest quantities. Food exclusions comprise those introduced in the human food supply late in the course of human evolution, in particular after the invention of agriculture about 10,000 years ago: cereal grains, legumes and dairy products.
Foods in the diet
Foods which are included in the diet are ones that can be obtained by using Paleolithic tools and practices, like meat (preferably game, though many followers of the diet eat farmed meat for practical reasons), fish, and gathered or foraged fruits, leaves, and roots of plants, mushrooms, nuts, eggs, and honey.
Some practitioners allow the use of oils derived from those foods which can be obtained and produced through Paleolithic means and are edible in their natural, uncooked state. Examples could include sesame oil and safflower oil, olive oil, but not oils derived from beans (for example, peanut oil) or grains (for example, corn oil). Others avoid the use of any oil, as it is a processed food.
The non-animal foods available in the diet are the same as those available in raw veganism. However, there are two fundamental differences between raw veganism and the Paleolithic diet: Firstly, practitioners consume meat and other animal products (in fact usually more is consumed than on a standard modern diet, in some cases substantially more). Secondly, any and all food may be cooked if desired.
Foods not in the diet
Vegetable foods which are not edible raw and unprocessed are excluded from the diet. The foods falling into this category are mainly grains (wheat, corn, rice, etc.), starchy vegetables (i.e., beans, and potatoes), certain fruits and nuts (e.g. cashews), and refined sugars. Alcoholic beverages are generally excluded because fermentation is also a form of processing, although some Paleolithic eaters allow certain exceptions (i.e., wine, since fermented (over-ripe) fruit can be found and consumed in small quantities with little ill effect). Dairy products are excluded despite being edible raw, since they cannot be found or consumed easily in nature, at least in any considerable quantity, and are consequently a post-agricultural food.
Intake
The generally prescribed proportions of protein, fat, and carbohydrate are approximately 20-35%, 30-60%, and 20-35% respectively by calories. By calories the diet is commonly around 45-65% animal products and 35-55% plant products. Alternatively, because of the large amount of water in fruits and vegetables, the diet is, by weight, roughly 2/3 plant products and 1/3 animal products.
Consequently, because of the high water content of fruits and vegetables, it is generally accepted that slightly less non-food water is required for optimal health. This is also supported by the fact that fresh water is not always readily available in the wild and that humans must rely on other sources for their water needs. This is not a reduction in need for water, but a shift in where water can be obtained.
The vitamin and mineral content of the diet is very high compared to a standard diet, in many cases a multiple of the RDA.
Food sources and preparation
For many practitioners of Paleolithic nutrition, the foods' source is just as important as the kind of foods being consumed. It is common practice to obtain Paleolithic foods from as natural a source as possible. Farmed meats, especially those organically farmed, are available from many natural sources, from free range poultry to grass fed beef, with many proponents preferring, thought not as practical, wild game meats like quail, rabbit, and venison.
It is common practice among Paleolithic eaters that when cooking, unconventional cooking means should be avoided, such as the use of microwave ovens, and that foods are cooked just enough to kill any harmful bacteria that may be present.
Modern-day practitioners of the Paleolithic diet must be careful to get necessary nutrients found in foods that are not on the diet. For example, milk and other dairy products are a major source of calcium and vitamin D for most people following the conventional Western diet. Late Paleolithic people probably got sufficient calcium from wild vegetables and from gnawing the bones of animals they ate.[4] Vitamin D can be synthesized by the body upon sufficient exposure to sunlight, and can be obtained from cod liver oil, and from oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, and tuna.[7] Since cultivated vegetables have less calcium than their wild counterparts, since excessive exposure to sunlight has been linked to skin cancer, and since it can be expensive to eat fish several times a week, many followers of the diet may choose to take calcium and vitamin D supplements to be sure they get enough of these nutrients.
Benefits
The benefits of a Paleolithic diet are, as with most dietetic theories, widely debated.
There are however a number of medically diagnosed conditions whose sufferers have been shown to benefit directly from specific components of the diet. Some examples of this include:
* Coeliac disease, a gastrointestinal disorder whose sufferers are unable to digest the proteins gluten and casein, found in wheat and milk respectively.[8]
* Dermatitis herpetiformis, a skin disorder linked also to digestability issues related to gluten.
* Gluten ataxia, a common neurological manifestation of gluten sensitivity.[9]
* Other conditions linked anecdotally,[10] albeit unproven, to gluten and/or casein proteins include
o Multiple sclerosis
o Parkinson's disease
o Schizophrenia
o Tourette syndrome
o Chronic fatigue syndrome
o Attention deficit disorder
o Autism
Other key health benefits commonly associated with and supported by this theory include:
* Reduction or elimination of grains, dairy, and refined sugars in the human diet has shown to lower glycemic load. This is thought to lower risk of diabetes and other related syndrome X diseases by placing less stress on the pancreas to produce insulin, and preventing insulin sensitivity.
* Increasing intake of fruits and vegetables induces a net base load, as opposed to the net acidic load on the body when eating a grain based diet. This is believed to prevent osteoporosis by passing less calcium salts through the kidneys.
* Animals that have been fed a pastural diet (free-range beef and chicken) instead of grain fed animals tend to have higher ratios of omega-3 fatty acids and other nutrients.
By reducing the intake of processed foods the sodium/potassium ratios in the body are more balanced. |
