Though it may be fun to eat with your hands, eating like a caveman isn't about forgoing the use of modern utensils. Instead, it's about improving your health by avoiding processed foods. The actual name of the program is the Paleolithic Diet, or Paleo Diet, and it was popularized by Walter L. Voegtlin in the 1970s. Championed today by Dr. Loren Cordain of Colorado State University, the diet seeks to mimic the eating habits of hunter-gatherers from the Paleolithic period, which ended approximately 12,500 years ago.
Premise
The basic premise of the Paleo diet is that prior to the advent of agriculture, human beings ate a healthy diet high in soluble fiber, antioxidant vitamins, phytochemicals, omega-3 fats, monounsaturated fats and low-glycemic carbohydrates. These are precisely the nutrients recommended today for a healthy diet. At the same, paleolithic people ate virtually no refined sugars, grains, saturated or trans fats, salt, high-glycemic carbohydrates or processed foods. Eating like a caveman, then, is precisely what modern nutritional science seems to suggest, according to ThePaleoDiet.com.
Weight Loss
Though the Paleo Diet is designed to promote overall health, it can also produce weight loss. This is because, unlike low-calorie, high carbohydrate diets, the Paleo Diet allows you to eat foods that give you a feeling of fullness so you avoid cravings. And, unlike low-carb, high-fat diets, the Paleo Diet does not risk your long-term health by relying on excessive consumption of fatty meats and cheeses. Instead, the Paleo Diet focuses on lean protein, which naturally boosts your metabolism while satiating hunger, according to ThePaleoDiet.com.
Foods
The Paleo Diet consists entirely of lean meat, seafood and unlimited consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables. Eating shrimp and fish as the primary source of protein, as humans would have done thousands of years ago, creates a diet high in omega-3 fatty acids. Beef and other meats are generally low in omega-3 fatty acids. Of course, eating raw or lightly cooked vegetables not only boosts the fiber content of your diet; it also provides valuable antioxidants, phytonutrients, vitamins and minerals. The logic behind the diet is that because the human body evolved under conditions where these nutrients were available in the diet, the body is genetically wired to digest and use these particular types of foods.
Long Term Benefits
In an article titled "Biological and Clinical Potential of a Paleolithic Diet," published in the Journal of Nutrition, Dr. Cordain and the Paleo Diet Team summarize the evidence that the Paleo Diet may prevent age-related degenerative disease. The study was primarily a survey of scholarly nutritional literature published between 1985 and 2002. The results of the research indicated a diet exclusively of lean meat, fish, vegetables and fruit and specifically excluding dairy products, refined sugar and cereals is effective in the prevention of cardiovascular disease and diabetes.
Criticism
Much of the criticism of the Paleo Diet is leveled at the supposed mechanism explaining why human health is best served by a diet mimicking ancient conditions. Critics argue that genetic adaptation to diet is not necessary, but that physical adaptation of the body to changes in diet can sufficiently occur within the time since the Paleolithic Era. Others dispute the content of paleolithic man's diet. Proponents nevertheless suggest modern science supports the health benefits of the diet regime, according to the article, "Human Diet: Its Origin and Evolution."
