What Is The Stone Age Diet?

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Main Category: Nutrition / Diet
Also Included In: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness;  Endocrinology;  Sports Medicine / Fitness
Article Date: 09 Jan 2008 - 11:00 PDT

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The Stone Age Diet has many names - the Paleolithic Diet, The Paleo Diet, the Prehistoric Diet, The Caveman diet, or the Hunter-Gatherer Diet. The theory goes that modern human genes are the result of life conditions that for over a million years before the introduction of agriculture.

Farming did not exist until about 10,000 years ago. Humans have been around for over one million years. The Paleolithic era ended about 20,000 years ago - before the advent of agriculture. It takes hundreds of thousands of years to about two million years for an animal's genes to adapt it metabolism and physiology to changing lifestyles - this process of change is called "natural selection".

In other words, we are nearly genetically identical to humans before the advent of agriculture. During the last 10,000 years there has not been enough time for natural selection to make genetic changes to our relatively new farm-based diet. Farming includes grains, legumes and dairy product. Our hunter-gather genetic make-up is designed for the consumption of wild plants, animals and seafood. We are even less genetically suited for modern processed foods, such as sugar, refined fat, etc.

As we are designed to consume hunter-gatherer foods, we should be consuming:

-- Meat
-- Eggs
-- Insects (and larva)
-- Seafood (fish and shellfish)
-- Root vegetables that can be eaten raw
-- Fruits
-- Nuts
-- Seeds
-- Herbs and spices
-- Vegetables
-- Honey, maple sugar, date sugar (natural sugars)

We are NOT designed to eat:

-- Grains
-- Peanuts, beans, peas, cashews, tofu, soy milk, flour (legumes)
-- Root vegetables that cannot be eaten raw (potato, tapioca, parsnips, sweet potato, yam)
-- Refined sugars
-- Separated fats and oils
-- Foods that contain yeast
-- Juices, sodas, coffee
-- Alcohol
-- Dairy products
-- Processed meats
-- Salt

Some scientists are swayed by the arguments behind this diet. Others believe the theory is too simplified. At Medical News Today I have received feedback from many people who have used, and still use this diet. Generally, the feedback is positive. The most common comment is that the person managed both to lose weight, and continue with the diet after he/she reached his/her target weight.

A useful web site for further reading on this subject:
http://www.paleodiet.com

Written by - Christian Nordqvist
Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today