By Susan E. Fekety, RN, MSN, CNM
On a recent vacation in a tropical paradise, which involved little clothing or shelter (but plenty of food,) I pondered the nature of life in the days before 7-11’s or spa cuisine -- before the Zone Diet, even.* Not just idle entertainment, turns out this thought experiment offers guidance for anyone wishing to be healthy in the 21st century.
Dr. Loren Cordain from Colorado State University is the most vocal of the growing number of thought leaders in the food world who suggest that in order to reverse our epidemic of lifestyle diseases (diabetes, heart disease, cancer, obesity, etc.,) we should emulate those who lived before we got too civilized. The dawn of the agricultural age was a human turning point – nutritionally, in the wrong direction. Academic articles (with footnotes, even!) indicate that because we evolved before the advent of animal husbandry and farming, we are genetically un-adapted for the sorts of foods we’ve been consuming since those things developed oh, ten thousand years ago. (Just because you can chew and swallow something does not make it “food.” I mean, look at Twinkies.)
Based on the fossil record and observation of the few remaining hunter-gatherer societies on the planet, a modern hominid eating like a Paleo would be eating lots of protein: animal flesh foods mostly – like 55% of your calories. The rest would be vegetable/plant foods (excluding beans and grains, both of which require cultivation) in season – greens, roots, fruits. Throw in some nuts for healthy fat, and there you are pretty much.
According to Dr. Cordain, “due to the inherent difficulties in capturing and milking wild mammals,” (I get a great visual on this) dairy food would not have been present in a Paleo diet. Based on the presence of dairy fats on pottery shards, dairying dates only to 6000 years ago. This resonates -- I must say, taking dairy food out of the diet is often a powerful step for people with digestive problems and allergies. Lactose intolerance reflects this genetic foundation -- many people get gas when they drink milk because they’re not genetically designed for it.
You probably will not be surprised to hear that there is no sugar in the Paleo diet except for the stuff that naturally occurs in fruits – which are only available year-round in tropical paradises (paradii??). Paleos would eat small amounts of honey, in season – and it would probably have been a big thrill. As a clinician, this aspect of the Paleo concept rocks my world. The genetic underpinning for diabetes -- sometimes referred to as the “thrifty gene” and which protects one against death by starvation -- when combined with any refined sugar nets you the dia-besity epidemic and everything that goes with it. Sugar is a dietary element that just does not fit with our genetic adaptation.
There’s a spiritual aspect of the Paleo model which is important not to miss, too, involving the integrity of your relationship with food. I remember an herbalism workshop I attended years ago where the last experience of each day was to go “pick salad.” Like, in the meadow and around the farmyard. No plastic bag from California: these salads included flowers and “weeds” and they were gorgeous. Colorful, rich and vibrant, I still feel them singing inside me.
Besides being simpler and comfortingly ancient, and sometimes even free, a more “dawn of time” or “close to the earth” nutritional gestalt will eliminate a lot of industrial food processing, reduce your carbon footprint, and kick up the nutrients available from your food. Consider taking a look at Cordain’s book The Paleo Diet (2002), or visit www.paleodiet.com for more details. Start with observing: what’s the “civilization level” of your eating style? Would your ancestors even recognize what’s on your plate? Could you learn to eat with the seasons rather than importing strawberries in the middle of winter? And when delicious things start to sprout in your yard (unsprayed of course) could you consider going backwards, in order to move ahead?
*One thing I thought about was beds. I mean, really, a pile of leaves covered with animal skins? No room service? Come ON.
©2008 Susan E. Fekety
SUSAN FEKETY, RN, MSN, CNM is a Yale-educated advanced practice nurse with special expertise in nutrition and dietary therapies. She provides comprehensive women’s health care at True North Health Center in Falmouth, and coordinates True North’s First Line Therapy program (a clinically-proven, user-friendly program for improving health, weight, mood, and energy in men and women.) Her book of affirmations for pregnant women can be found at www.pocketmidwife.com.
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