Going Paleo or going nuts!

Upfront warning! Prepare for a Scooter Rant!

Definition from Paleodiet Site

“Paleo is a simple dietary lifestyle that is based on foods being either in or out. In are the Paleolithic Era foods that we ate prior to agriculture and animal husbandry (meat, fish, shellfish, eggs, tree nuts, vegetables, roots, fruit, berries, mushrooms, etc.). Out are Neolithic Era foods that result from agriculture or animal husbandry (grains, dairy, beans/legumes, potatoes, sugar and fake foods). “

I can certainly see where most grains may be out but seriously, grains are seeds and my guess is that monkey man ate anything he could get in his mouth that didn’t kill him/her. If the Paleo Man found a potato does anyone really think he would toss it because it wasn’t on his list of approved foods? Sugars are out but there are literally hundreds of sugary foods this early man would have eaten. Sugar cane, Banana stocks, Coconuts etc. and would this pre modern human turn down a nice wild sweet pea? Seriously? They would have ate it for the energy value in a split second. I’d bet my life on it. I mean seriously, and in a joking manor, these people watched a white hard thing come out of a birds butt and they ate it. They would eat anything that didn’t kill them. I am not sure what the difference is between meats pre animal husbandry and post animal husbandry but my guess is that if you’re eating beef of any kind the rules are violated. However, beef came from someplace so somewhere some place Paleolithic hunter-gatherers ate a cow.

Second, anyone have a clue what the life expectancy of the Paleo man was? It was short probably from injury and just plain hardship i suppose. Paleolithic hunter-gatherers would, in my estimation, do anything to make life easier. That is why we evolved. If they had the option of smashing open a walnut or getting into an almond vs. the simplicity of eating a pea pod or a potato, I can almost guess where they would go for food.

I can see excluding foods that are created that didn’t exist in nature, they are unnatural. And I can see eliminating grains to some extent but tender green wheat might have been valid food item. If I were a paleo era dude and I found a corn stock, which we know existed back then, I’d eat it raw right off the stock. I can’t imagine a world where they wouldn’t eat it and any scientist that says they wouldn’t is blinded by his own research. The oldest South American cultures ate roots and corn. There are several roots that are all over the world that are genetically traced back to South America. If they had it available, they would eat it.

These fad diets never cease to amaze me. Paleo is really the next generation of Atkins and South beach, just a slightly healthier version.

And now I see people talking on the Google Groups about how to take a bath Paleo style. How do I shave my legs, what do I use in place of soap. OK people, throw out the houses, clothes, toilet paper, toothbrushes and grow some balls. Go Paleo full out! I really hope they don’t come over my house after a run if they go on a soap strike. Enough of my rant but everywhere I go I see some post on this diet.

Paleolithic Mammoth Farmer

1 Comment

• 

  By JohnO, September 1, 2010 @ 7:02 pm

  Hey, just to clarify, I think that you are missing some of the points of the paleo diet.

  I am not strict paleo per se (I like ice cream and occasional bagel/muffin/donut), but mostly.
  The easiest way of thinking of whether hunter gatherers would have eaten a fruit or veggie is: can you eat it raw?

  When you mention the “simplicity of a potato” I don’t think it’s that simple. Can you eat one or two whole potatoes raw? I tried when I was a kid at camp and puked…

  I’m sure there are a few people who can eat a potato or corn or wheat stalk raw, but for the vast majority of us, we cannot.

  Also when you are talking about “sugary foods” there were fruit. And no where does it say they shouldn’t be eaten. It’s only refined sugar that is added to food that should be avoided. Don’t throw out the baby with the bath water.

  If you are interested, read The Paleo Diet by Dr. Loren Cordain. It explains the reasoning behind Paleo.

  Lastly I agree with you about some people taking the whole Paleo concept too far! They are fanatics, but at least they don’t hurt anyone.

Other Links to this Post

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a comment