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The Diet Wars #1 The Caveman Diet

THE DIET WARS by JR Tillotson These days everyone we know seems to be on a diet. Every few weeks another "miracle diet" appears--attended by inflated claims and nonsense prose. In The Diet Wars, we hope to cut through the fog and help our readers separate the useful from the silly. The Caveman Diet Also known as the Paleo-lithic or Stone Age Diet or Hunter-Gatherer Diet, the Caveman Diet includes only foods that were on the table during our early evolution, discarding the rest. The last 84 tribes of hunter-gatherers in the world, who, of necessity eat what cavemen did, are stronger and faster than we are, have near-perfect eyesight, straight teeth and almost total absence of allergies, depression, schizophrenia and such chronic diseases as obesity, arthritis, diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, stroke and cancer. For at least 2 million years, humans ate only meat from lean wild game, fish, eggs, fruits, nuts, leafy and root vegetables. They avoided beans, grains and potatoes which, when raw are inedible--even toxic. [See note on plant toxins below.] Caveman Diet advocates say humans evolved along with this basic diet and that it's coded in our genes. About 10,000 years ago, a blink of the eye in evolutionary terms, Neolithic (New Stone Age) people discovered the cook-pot. Heat destroyed enough of the toxins in raw beans, grains and potatoes to render them edible. Dense in calories, these new foods were easily stored without refrigeration. The Neolithics invented farming, which led to raising animals for meat and dairy, resulting for the first time in a food surplus, freeing up some of the hunter-gatherers to become builders, artisans, soldiers and politicians--setting us on the course to modern day civilization. But, in spite of presumed social and political advantages, our genes were not attuned to grains, beans and potatoes and still are not. According to Dr. Loren Cordain, Prof. of Health at the University of Colorado, "Our genetic makeup is identical to that of the Paleolithics. We know from mitochondrial DNA evidence, looking at diverse ethnic groups, that our genetic makeup is identical to the people who lived over forty thousand years ago. So, those people were optimally adapted to the types of foods they could gather or hunt, and there's no evidence to suggest that modern humans are any different." THOSE WHO ADOPT THE CAVEMAN DIET, EAT THESE FOODS-- lean meat, seafood, especially oily fish rich in the omega-3 fatty acids, eggs, fruit including strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc; vegetables, especially root vegetables such as carrots, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas but excluding potatoes & sweet potatoes; nuts--walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamias, almonds, but not peanuts, which are not nuts, but members of the bean clan AND AVOID THESE--grains, including bread, pasta, noodles; beans, including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, soy beans, snow peas and peas, potatoes, dairy products, sugar, salt. According to James Neel, a geneticist at Michigan University, "We could more efficiently get rid of chronic diseases by changing our diet to fit our genes than by using sophisticated gene therapy." Proponents caution that it takes time for your body to adjust to the changes but, on the Caveman Diet, there will be a huge surge in vitamin intake and a huge decrease in your toxin intake. ---A note on plant toxins--. Beans, grains & potatoes are quite toxic if eaten raw. According to Ben Balzer, MD, an Australian physician who writes extensively on the Paleolithic Diet, "Enzyme blockers are abundant in all seeds including grains and beans, and also in potatoes, serving to hold them in suspended animation and also acting as pesticides to discourage bacteria, insects, worms, rodents and other predators, including humans." These enzyme blockers are only partially removed by cooking; people who eat a lot of them may experience gastroenteritis and other digestive disorders. Dr. Balzer adds, "You may be surprised to learn that uncooked flour is very toxic; please don't try eating it as you will become very sick. I don't recommend al dente pasta (if one must eat pasta at all)." For more info log onto the following www.PaleoFood.com    or   www.vitaminb17.org/paleo_diet.htm NEXT TIME: Dean Ornish MD's "Eat More Weigh Less" diet. The opinions expressed herein are those of the columnist and are meant for informational purposes only. If you have questions about your health, you should consult your physician. J.R. Tillotson, a writer, illustrator and long time river villager, welcomes comments and food questions from our readers.

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