The study of the diets of our ancestors from 50,000 to 100,000 years ago is believed to be relevant for us today, because our genes were naturally selected at that time. There has been some evolution of humans over time, but our basic chemical and physiologic functioning is unchanged.
Our early Paleolithic ancestors came from East Africa. Plants and animal products each provided 50% of the food, with fish and shellfish being a large component of the animal products. As people migrated around the world, there were many dietary changes due to various climate conditions. As human diets changed from Paleolithic diets, degenerative disorders developed, such as atherosclerosis, cancer, hypertension, obesity and diabetes. These complications are said to be “largely attributed to our unholy (and unpaleolithic) alliance of *sedentism and hypernutrition”.
The Inuit Native Americans had evidence of prevalent osteoporosis from the earliest contact with Europeans. In their diets, plants are not plentiful because they live so far north. Their diets would be primarily acidic, whereas man’s original diet would have been more alkaline because of much higher plant intake. The animal-dependent, acidic diet would promote osteoporosis.
CONCLUSION: Groups of people who tend to follow the Stone Age pattern of diet with equal parts of animal and plant foods tend to have fewer chronic degenerative diseases. An article in “Nature” (magazine) reported “It is difficult to refute the assertion that if modern populations returned to a hunter-gatherer state then obesity and diabetes would not be the major public health threats that they are now.”
NOTE: *They are saying we don’t get enough physical exercise, and we eat too much for the energy we burn.
An acidic diet promotes osteoporosis with the body’s removing calcium from bones to buffer the blood to keep it at a stable pH. Once the calcium is removed from bone itis hard to replace and bone weakening results.
Read about insulin and diseases of civilization.
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PMDI: 20042522.
Summary #526.
