Best Health from Paleolicic Eating ……..Natures Diet

Eating in a way that best emulates what our Hunter/Gatherer ancestors ate has proven to be very effective in achieving ideal body weight, optimal health and overall peak performance. Other terms used are “Caveman” or “Paleo” Diet.

The recommendations include foods provided by mother nature.   In reference to the 3 macronutrients, the diet includes a healthy blend of whole, high fiber, (1) complex carbohydrates in the form of fresh local fruits and vegetables, (2) lean protein in the form of seafood and lean meats from more natural/wild raised methods that are free of pharmaceuticals and chemicals and (3) healthy fats that are from sources like nuts and seeds. 

These foods are basic to our biology and digestive system, promote positive health outcomes such as healthy body composition, increased energy and sex drive, healthy skin, stronger immune systems, lower total blood cholesterol and blood pressure, recovery from insulin sensitivity, a decrease in fracture rates  & healthier bone mass. These are some comparative health markers that indicate our hunter-gatherer ancestors were lean, healthy, fit, and free of the signs and symptoms of most diseases seen in modern civilization.

You and I are designed to eat and live off the land, which does include wild animals. Vegetarianism is a personal choice.  My experience with it is that few people understand the importance of healthy and adequate amounts of protein as well as the healthy choices of carbohydrates, and fats. Every diet needs to be a thought out process to some degree.  And one should do nutritional monitoring of their body to ensure they are getting what they need in order to avoid any illness.

One food group not included in the Paleolithic diet plan is the grain group, which only a few years ago was recommended as the priority group to eat in the government designed Food Guide Pyramid.  
The current USDA food pyramid promotes eating at least 3 ounces of whole grain versions of breads, cereals, rice and pasta per day.  Still not the best recommendation for a culture that has high rates of many chronic conditions such as hypercholesterolemia, health disease, obesity, diabetes, and cancer secondary to several factors, one significant one being processed foods, like these simple carbohydrate foods.

Both the fossil record and ethnological studies of hunter-gatherers (the closest surrogates we have to stone age humans) indicate that humans rarely ate cereal grains nor did they eat diets high in carbohydrates. Because cereal grains are virtually indigestible by the human gastrointestinal tract without milling (grinding) and cooking, the appearance of grinding stones in the fossil record generally heralds the inclusion of grains in the diet. The first appearance of milling stones was in the Middle East roughly 10-15,000 years ago.

It was likely used to grind wild wheat, which grew naturally in certain areas of the Middle East. Wheat was first domesticated in the Middle East about 10,000 years ago and spread to Europe by about 5,000 years ago. Rice was domesticated approximately 7,000 years ago in southeast Asia, India and China. Maize (corn) was domesticated in Mexico and Central America roughly 7,000 years ago.

Diets high in carbohydrate derived from simple sugars and cereal grains were not part of the human evolutionary experience until recent times. Because the human genome has changed relatively little in the past 40,000 years since the appearance of behaviorally modern humans, our nutritional requirements remain almost identical to those requirements, which were originally selected for Stone Age humans living before the start of agriculture.

Vegetable Cabbage Soup

soup bone
1/2 pound stewing beef
3 quarts water
1-2 bay leaves
1 small head of cabbage
4 med to lg carrots
4-6 stalks of celery
1 medium-large onion
1 can tomatoes, cut up
6 oz. tomato juice

Put a soup bone and 1/2 lb. stewing beef in a large pot and fill with 3
quarts water.  Add bay leaves. Simmer 2-3 hours, Skim top from time to time. Chop cabbage, carrots, celery and onion to a course texture.  Remove bone from
soup and add vegetables. Cook 30 minutes. Add tomatoes and tomato juice.
Bring to a boil again and serve.