According to an article titled Origins and Evolution of the Western Diet: Health Implications for the 21st Century that appeared in the Journal of Clinical Nutrition in February of 2005, civilization is the reason the world is on an ever increasingly destructive course of diabetes and other chronic conditions of insulin resistance. The primary component of the metabolic syndrome is insulin resistance. "Diseases of civilization" such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease didn't appear to plague our paleolithic ancestors.
Cave men and women ate only what they could find or catch. There were no Oreos or Krispy Kremes hiding in the bushes, that's for sure. But, what was their diet really like?
- Everything was free-range, because there were no domesticated animals. And the range was very very large. Animals had very little fat and there was a whole lot of chasing going on.
- There were no refined grains. Even though there were grinding tools that were used to make a rough kind of flour, the whole grain was used. Today, much of the important nutrients are discarded.
- There was no sugar, except from fruits and the occasional beehive. The average cave person ate maybe 5 pounds of sugar a year. In 1970, the average was 50 pounds per year per person, and today it's climbed even higher for every man, woman and child in the United States.
- Dairy products weren't available in Stone Age times. Some animals were domesticated early on, but milking didn't seem to be a high priority until much later. And I'm willing to bet that trying to milk a wild animal was something to be avoided at all cost.
- Salt was hard to come by.
- Vegetable oils and hydrogenated fats didn't exist.
Would returning to a Stone Age diet help reverse type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and other ills of the industrialized era? There is a clinical trial in progress right now in Sweden that will test that theory. In the meantime, you don't have to chew on brontosaurus ribs like Fred Flintstone, to reap the benefits of a cave man diet. It might be wise to just cut down on processed and refined carbohydrates, sugars and oils, and keep our diets simple with lots of vegetables, fruits, meats and fish.
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I went on this low carb except fresh fruit (paleolithic) diet two years ago. I am trying not to get diabetes which all my family had/has and now my nieces and nephews are getting. My blood tests are now excellent for cholestrol, triglycerides, and sugar. I believe that it is the same diet that my ancestors lived long and healthy lives on so though I can lose no more weight, I will stay on it. I believe that too many carbohydrates are the cause of diabetes and high cholestrol levels, at least for some people like me.
I am 5′8″ tall and weighed in at 303 pounds. I found out I was a bad diabetic. So I lost 134 pounds over a 2 1/2 year course, and I ate nothing but meats, vegetables, nuts and fish. I have not touched any sugar whatsoever, I rarely eat fruit, bread and pasta. My blood sugar actually runs lower than normal. Maybe I should have been in that study because it has been over 4 yrs now and my blood sugar levels are great (and I hardly exercise). So I know this ancient diet works!
Isn’t this what those of us in the “healthcare” business have been saying all along?
Until the food industry stops providing unhealthy foods, obesity, diabetes and all other forms of food-intake-related diseases/illnesses will continue world-wide. It is the rare person who takes responsibility for his own behaviour.
If it is true, that a meat-based diet helps prevent or manage symptoms of type 2 diabetes (I think it does), how do you provide all that non-domesticated meat to the world’s population, which is expected to grow by 2.6 billion in the next 44 years alone? And how does the world’s population afford to eat meat daily? The urban population in developing countries is experiencing a terrible rise in diabetes. Does this preclude sending food aid in the form of grain to these countries? It makes me wonder about the ethical and environmental considerations in recommending this diet. Unfortunately, I do think the diet, as Debra outlined beautifully above, and as the previous commenters supported with their experiences, works.
Truly paleolithic people didn’t eat grains, period. Grains came about during the Neolithic era (and subsequently diseases like obesity and dental carries). Whole grain, half grain, whatever, they’re not part of the paleo diet.