Paleolithic Studies and Eating Styles
Topics:
Development
of Human Brain, Nutritional aspects
Westernized Australian Aborigines
with Diabetes put back on a H-G Diet.
Introduction and Guidelines:
This statement summarizes the essential point of our physiology. That is, we as a species have developed and grown over thousands of years based on a common diet. It is only with the advent of agriculture and particularly, the engineering of foods that serious difficulties have emerged. A short presentation is given here:
Our Genetic Heritage Dates Back 7 Million Years.
The
seminal work on the recent interest in the paleontological
studies was a paper presented by Eaton et. al. at
The information in this text has
been revised slightly as more information came to bear, however, is largely
well supported by the current literature. A Meta-Analysis published recently
searched over 200 journals for dietary studies with the intent of finding
common agreement. The findings were published in the Journal of Nutritional and
Environmental Medicine. An article published in the Mayo Clinic Proceedings
summarizes this and other commensurate information in a very readable article. Responses
to the philosophies are interesting and include criticisms with regard to
conclusions based on the causes of chronic disease, lifespan and such. For
example, the argument frequently made is that we live longer now and therefore
suffer the fate of diseases that the ancient hunter never lived long enough to
face.
A response
to the common criticisms was recently published in Preventative Medicine. It is
short and worth reading. In essence, conditions have changed with regard to
causes of premature death from being eaten, accidents, sanitation and more.
Yet, evidence shows that even at comparable ages, there is significant evidence
that the progression of chronic disease processes, which begin at an early age,
are not seen. This and other rebuttal is provided. See:
Preventative Medicine 34 119 (2002)
Ultimately,
there are several issues that need to be addressed when drawing recommendations
with regard to an eating and living style. This page deals with many and I’ve
attempted to provide a modicum of research support. One problem that arises is
the fact that we no longer live among wild, lean animals, unadulterated fruits
and vegetables. We live in concentrated energy food environments meant to
appeal to our tastes, not our nutritional needs. A comparison of contemporary
foods and ancient foods is made here and a dietary nutritional analysis of
currently available foods has been done and recommendations provided that
allows a nutrient content comparable (and compatible) to our genetic history.
See:
(See also, Modern Foods for more.) However, in the
original book, recommendations are made as to what can be done in the here and
now. As a follow-up, a VERY large number of cutting edge researcher
in the field have collaborated on a paper making specific recommendations. See:
Evolutionary Health Promotion, Preventative Medicine 34 109 (2002)
Grains or No Grains?
It has
been established that the inclusion of cereal grains in the diet provides too
much by way of nutrients than can be ignored. Some have argued, notably Barry
Sears and Loren Cordain, that grains and agriculture
are so recent in the evolutionary design, that they should NOT be a natural
part of our diet.
What did our ancestors eat?
The grasses and grains that
likely were present at during the extended time of our evolutionary history were
likely very different than what exists by selectivity and cross breeding. Most
likely they were much tougher, having far less starch content and were largely
inedible without some element of processing. The first records
of milling of grains was only about 15,000 years ago. The advent of
agriculture is thought to be about 10,000 years ago.
What’s wrong with grains? The first thing to do is to completely disregard
corn. This is a product completely dependent on man for its existence. However, wheat, rye, barley, etc., merit discussion. Loren Cordain, paleo researcher in the
Department of Exercise and Sport Science at Colorado State
University
Simopoulos AP (ed): Evolutionary Aspects of
Nutrition and Health.
Diet,
Exercise, Genetics and Chronic Disease.
World Rev Nutr
Diet.
Simopoulos is
a hearty supporter and researcher of the Mediterranean dietary philosophy,
which typically emphasizes whole grains.
In summary, Dr. Cordain presents
extensive research support for adverse properties of grains, including:
Cereal grains are high on the list of
common allergenic foods.
Grains have been associated with autoimmune
disorders.
Grain products possess substances referred to
as anti-nutrients: Toxins, substances that overstimulate
the immune system due to similarity in certain amino acid sequences and enzyme
(protease) inhibitors.
Cereal grains are in and of themselves
incomplete by way of protein and other micronutrients and displacement of other
food sources by grains can lead to deficiency disorders.
As a paleo historian, Dr. Cordain documents the anthropometric changes associated with the advent of agriculture, namely, a “reduction in stature, an increase in infant mortality, a reduction in lifespan, an increased incidence of infectious diseases, an increase in iron deficiency anemia, an increased incidence of osteomalacia, porotic hyperostosis and other bone mineral disorders and an increase in the number of dental caries and enamel defects.”
BUT!!!
The article readily recognizes that these occurrences and the adverse affects cites become significant when the diet becomes predominantly grain based, a limit which is set at about 70% of energy intake. With exception to those individuals that are particularly susceptible to certain grain elements, such as gluten sensitivity, as a minor part of an omnivorous diet, grains can be very beneficial. Others recognize that, although grains were probably not a staple of our ancestors, their nutritional value can not be ignored.
But, as to breads and grains being the base of the food pyramid ?????????????
A
thought: At the 1976
When the chimp came out of the trees
3 to 5 million years ago and started to chase, he was running
on a diet of raw meat, and that was for 5 million years; and about 10 thousand years ago we learned how to cook and started to eat
those cereal grains that started to sweep across the Middle East after the Ice Age. It is hard for me to see how an animal,
and man is still an animal, that adapted to a very low
carbohydrate, high meat, and high-fat burner for 5 million years suddenly in 10,000 years becomes a great glucose burner. I still
am in the direction of thinking that we should
be using nutritional strategies that favor fatty acid oxidation during long exhaustive work,
and my thinking in that direction comes from studies
of comparative nutrition.
Protein and Animal Meats:
The role
of proteins in the paleo diet is certainly debated.
Until recently, there was a general agreement among paleontologists that plant
foods provided the bulk of the ancient diet. Recent studies, based on a
re-examination of the expansive Ethnographic Analysis, Murdock, GP
Ethnographic atlas: a summary Ethnology 6 109 (1967) revisited this idea. More
adjustments based on the inclusion of fishing and the conversion of data from
weight percentages to energy content has since revised this estimation. The
study can be read here:
Plant-animal substistence
ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in worldwide hunter-gatherer diets
Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 71 682 (2000)
There is plenty to argue concerning the amount and type of protein
intake, however, most arguments as you will see are relatively unbalanced. In
the light of Western eating patterns, much is missing with regard to protein
and animal meat intake. Interestingly enough, the Atkins, Eades,
etc., low carb groups
frustrate the conventional medical community because the long accepted
notion that high fat/high protein diets cause heart disease is just not
established. The controversy has brewed significantly. Arguments can be seen in
the Controversy page.
The articles discussed, indicate that the types
of fats, rather than total fat and protein and the consumption of alkaline
foods, namely fruits and vegetables. This is extremely important and is reflected
in a very interesting article on the apparent paradox between all these
studies. Again, from the Paleo standpoint, it is
observed that there is virtually ZERO cardiovascular disease in hunter-gatherer
populations. This, even though the nutrient intake among them varies widely,
from the Nanamiut Alaskans and Greenland Eskimos at
98% to 99% animal food to the !Kung and Gwi of
These seminal authors have estimated that although there is a wide variety of macronutrient distributions among the hunter-gatherer populations, there are some common underlying components, principally:
Protein, itself is hypolipidemic.
The QUALITY
and TYPES of fats make the difference, particularly the inclusion of
monosaturated and high omega-3 to omega-6 ratios.
Lifestyle differences
from Western culture with the inclusion of considerably more exercise, no
smoking, less stress.
The inclusion of additional elements, particularly high
fiber, antioxidants, phytonutrients, low salt and the
alkalizing quality of whole plant foods.
Here is a group of high level researchers that set out to establish the relationship between dietary protein and heart disease. Their study involved 80 thousand women in the health study. Their hypothesis was NOT confirmed. They found the opposite!
Am J Clin Nutr 1999 Aug;70(2):221-7
Dietary protein and risk of
ischemic heart disease in women.
Hu FB, Stampfer
MJ, Manson JE, Rimm E, Colditz
GA, Speizer FE, Hennekens
CH, Willett WC.
Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard
BACKGROUND: Ingestion of animal protein raises
serum cholesterol in some experimental models but not in others, and ecologic
studies have suggested a positive association between animal protein intake and
risk of ischemic heart disease. Prospective data on the relation of protein
intake to risk of ischemic heart disease are sparse. OBJECTIVE: The objective
was to examine the relation between protein intake and risk of ischemic heart
disease. DESIGN: The study was a prospective cohort study. RESULTS: We examined
the association between dietary protein intake and incidence of ischemic heart
disease in a cohort of 80082 women aged 34-59 y and without a previous
diagnosis of ischemic heart disease, stroke, cancer, hypercholesterolemia, or
diabetes in 1980. Intakes of protein and other nutrients were assessed with
validated dietary questionnaires. We documented 939 major instances of ischemic
heart disease during 14 y of follow-up. After age, smoking, total energy
intake, percentages of energy from specific types of fat, and other ischemic
heart disease risk factors were controlled for, high protein intakes were
associated with a low risk of ischemic heart disease; when extreme quintiles of
total protein intake were compared, the relative risk was 0.74 (95% CI: 0.59,
0.94). Both animal and vegetable proteins contributed to the lower risk. This
inverse association was similar in women with low- or high-fat diets.
CONCLUSIONS: Our data do not support the
hypothesis that a high protein intake increases the risk of ischemic heart
disease. In contrast, our findings suggest that replacing carbohydrates with
protein may be associated with a lower risk of ischemic heart disease. Because a high dietary protein intake is often
accompanied by increases in saturated fat and cholesterol intakes, application
of these findings to public dietary advice should be cautious.
I point out that, although
cultures such as the INUIT (whale blubber eaters waaay
up in the North) are relatively free of CVD, osteoporosis is more common. Two
reasons can be cited and the particular cause has yet to be determined.
1.) The high fat/high protein
diet is acidic and contributes to hypercalcinuria in
the absence of alkalizing vegetables.
2.) The
lack of light and thus, Vitamin D
Conclusion: Hominids have a high tolerance for varied multi-source diets provided
the essentials are there. Protein is tolerated well at high doses as long as
essential fats and a good omega 3/omega 6 ratio is present. (See Essential Fats) Plenty
of alkalizing foods that provide phytochemical and antioxidants. Vitamins
and minerals and exercise.
Human Brain Development:
The human
brain underwent a very rapid growth period. Some have claimed that it was
correlated with the migration to areas of high levels of fish, shellfish and
algae, providing a source of the main growth fats needed, DHA and AA. Some
argue that the consumption of terrestrial animal parts high in these fats are
responsible, most notably the brain of the animals. A discussion of the
implications is made here:
Fatty Acid
Composition and Energy Density of Foods Available to African Hominids
Evolutionary Implications for Human Brain Development
Paleo Exercise
As is seen by the presentation
above, traditional communities eating in the ways they were brought up results
in vital energy and strength. It’s not only diet, but exercise. Here is a review of an article published
in the Journal of Physiology. The entire article can be seen here. Booth et. al. J. Phys. 543 (2) 399
(2002).
The article indicates that genetic
expression is influenced by the quantity and intensity of exercise.
Specifically, the absence leads to the loss of gene expression that is
responsible for protective processes in the human body. Moreover, the growth of skeletal muscle, bone strength, cardiovascular
fitness that we identify in high level athletes is the genetic normal!
What the public has become by way of the soft sedentary osteoporotic,
sickly couch potatoes is the abnormal gene expression.
Many good things happen to the body when exercise is
employed. This article goes to evidence of the genetic roots.
Westernized Australian Aborigines with Diabetes put back on a H-G Diet.
As in many
areas of the world, some ancient cultures have become westernized and have
ended up with the western diseases. Examples include some of the INUIT,
Diabetes 1984 Jun;33(6):596-603
Marked improvement in carbohydrate and lipid
metabolism in diabetic Australian aborigines after temporary reversion to
traditional lifestyle.
O'Dea K.
The rationale for the present study was that
temporarily reversing the urbanization process in diabetic Aborigines should
improve all aspects of their carbohydrate and lipid metabolism that are linked
to insulin resistance. Ten full-blood, diabetic
Aborigines from the Mowanjum Community (
Can one eat like a caveman?
This is
exactly the question asked at the
J. Amer. Nutr. Assoc. 5(3) 15 (2002)
The proposed diet was analyzed for nutrient content,
fiber, protein, fat types etc. The proposed 1-day menu and macro-nutritional
content are listed as follows:
Note that 38% of energy is from protein and 23% from carbohydrate. This definitely qualifies as a high protein diet by USDA standards. Read the article for a complete discussion.