Call it the Paleolithic Diet, the Stone Age Diet, the Hunter/Gatherer Diet or the Caveman Diet. Experts on it believe that the code calling for these foods is in our genes. We were never meant to ingest refined sugar, a serious shakerful of salt at every meal, or all of the preservatives we've discovered since the advent of agriculture (about 10,000 years ago).
What to Look for
First, the things that will not go on your shopping list: Grains (including bread and pasta, beans (string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, snow-peas and peas), potatoes, dairy products, sugar or salt. Unsweetened almond or coconut milk can be substituted for dairy.
That leaves the staples of your diet, including: meat, chicken and fish; eggs; fruit; vegetables (especially root vegetables, but not potatoes or sweet potatoes); nuts, including walnuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts and almonds (but not eat peanuts or cashews; berries (including strawberries, blueberries and raspberries).
Meat should be organic, free-range and wild. Animals in Paleolithic times certainly were!
A word about fruits and vegetables: Variety really is the spice of life! Hunters and gatherers in pre-agricultural times, where the roots of this diet can be traced, "typically consumed more than 100 different species of fruits and vegetables," Jack Challam writes in The Nutrition Reporter. So look on the produce section of your market as uncharted territory and try some new tastes.
The hunter-gatherer ate his food very soon after felling the animal or foraging for gifts from the earth. So look for fresh foods that are devoid of preservatives. Make friends with some of the unsung heroes of the supermarket: root vegetables such as turnips and parsnips, carrots (an easy one for most people), rutabagas and (hold onto your hat) organ meats such as liver and kidneys.
Common Pitfalls
Some discrepancies exist in recommended foods between the two main authors of Caveman Diet books, Loren Cordain ("The Paleo Diet") and Ray Audette ("Neanderthin"). Audette endorses limited quantities of fruit juice; Cordain does not. Cordain makes allowances for coffee, tea and alcohol occasionally, in moderation; Audette does not. You'll have to determine which author to follow and stick with it.
Quitting all the processed foods cold turkey that modern man has created may not be as easy. The truth is, it may be difficult for the Homo Sapiens of the 21st century to reframe what he thinks about food. But look at the choices you have!
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