The Paleo Diet

The paleo diet is one of the most intriguing diets that have come out in

recent years. Its revelations may seem new, but the formulation is actually

based on the eating patterns of our most ancient hunter gatherer ancestors

— the early humans of the paleolithic (stone age) period, who roamed the

earth millions of years ago.

Over the course of human evolution (until around 10,000 years ago), all

hunter gatherers had the same dietary approach – they consumed only

those foods provided and available by nature. They obtained their food from

hunting wild game and gathering diverse fruits, vegetables, plants, nuts,

and seeds available over the seasons of the year.

The foods our ancestors consumed remain to be the foods best adapted to

our metabolisms today. Human genes have not changed enough over the

last few thousand years to adapt to our new agriculture-based diet. In fact,

our present genes are still 99.99% identical in makeup to those of our

paleolithic ancestors.

Research findings provide ample indications that hunter gatherers were very

healthy. They were taller, had better builds and bigger brains. Although

their life expectancy was shorter, deaths were often caused by outside

factors such as extreme weather conditions, accidents, infections, and

predatory animals. They did not suffer from chronic or degenerative

diseases such as diabetes, cancer or heart disease. These diseases emerged

only when we shifted to agriculture - modern diseases are the consequence

of civilization, the result of a mismatch of our genetic makeup and our

lifestyle.

Our ancestors were always physically active – hunting and gathering for

food. Their physical challenges were extreme, as they raced to hunt wild

game. Some hunter gatherers would walk approximately 19km (12 miles) a

day on average looking for prey, including bursts of quick activity and

running speeds when game was spotted.

Humans have evolved to meet the challenges and opportunities of our

natural environment. Our ancestors bodies where fueled by healthy primal

foods which allowed their bodies to work at peak efficiency all the time.

Their bodies were perfectly adapted to the food they ate, not for the foods

modern technology brings.

The dietary habits of our ancient ancestors have been thoroughly studied in

recent years. The phenomenal abilities of our ancestors are rooted in the

diet they consumed and the lifestyle they lived.

The paleo diet can be further characterized by the following:

•

Caloric intake (around 65%), came from eating all the edible parts of

vertebrate animals (wild game and fish).

•

A significant part of our ancestors diet consisted of fresh fruits, plants,

nuts, seeds, flowers, leaves, and bulbs. These were all consumed raw,

which maximized the retention of nutrient rich content and disease-

preventing compounds.

•

Grains where never present in any significant quantity. Even though they

where around, the grains and small seeds were never milled or ground

into fine particles and cooked in order to be consumed safely.

•

Sodium salt, when present, was in very minimal amounts.
 <a href="http://cormier.paleo123.hop.clickbank.net/" target="_top"><img src="http://www.paleocookbooks.com/images/medium-rectangle2.jpg" alt="Paleo Cookbooks - Recipes for the Paleo Diet"></a>