The assumption on which the modern fad of the Paleolithic diet is based has been disproved. Research on the bones of a Peruvian people from 9,000 years ago shows that the percentage of vegetables ingested ranged from 70 to 95% of the total
There «paleo diet» of our ancestors did not understand so much meat as the supporters of this diet based on the supposed “return to origins” have always believed.
The “principles” of the paleo diet
There
«Paleolithic diet»
invented in our century is a food philosophy that excludes from the table the foods that man has known after prehistory: therefore the foods made available thanks to agriculture, breeding and food preservation. It therefore favors meat, eggs, berries, nuts and excludes dairy products, legumes, cereals (in their entirety) and sugar (except that of fruit). The beliefs that led to the formulation of this diet are not based on rigorous studies, however, and have attracted numerous criticisms, beyond the merit of the nutritional value of a similar diet (see below).
Especially tubers
Now a search just published on Plos One by the University of Wyoming demonstrated, by studying the bones of some of our ancestors, that the diet was mainly composed of plant.
Scientists examined the remains of ancient people buried in the Andean plateau of Peru about 9,000 years ago and realized that their diet was composed on average of 80% plant matter and 20% meat. They were a group of hunter-gatherers who lived between 9,000 and 6,500 years ago. The tubers, cousins of modern potatoes, probably made up the majority of their meals. Obviously there were differences between individuals, but the percentage of plant matter ranged from 70 to 95% of the total ingested.
We are omnivores
Paleo diets are therefore “wrong” in the system: the anthropological and scientific evidence of prevalence of meat coming from game there are no and other research suggests that prehistoric diets were already incredibly varied, from those rich in meat to those low in meat. Humans are omnivores. Prehistoric populations were looking for everything they had at their disposal around them, almost always relying on the variety of products of hunting and gathering. In particular, early Australian and South American populations appear to have eaten primarily plants, but diets changed with the seasons or with food depletion due to environmental conditions.
Not recommended as a diet
And as regards the Paleolithic diet as a dietary regime, if decreasing the intake of sugars and sodium can be considered a positive choice, the total elimination of cereals and legumes and the increased consumption of red meat are harmful eating habits. Excess nitrogen waste and the effect pro-inflammatory of an excess of animal proteins in fact, they lead to a reduction in quality, as well as length of life. Furthermore, it is not necessarily a useful diet for losing weight: some research says the opposite (we wrote about it HERE
) and in any case low-carbohydrate diets can make you lose weight quickly, but subsequently lead to you regaining the lost weight in a short time, perhaps with “interest”.
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February 1, 2024 (changed February 1, 2024 | 07:17)
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