The Paleolithic diet[A] (or Paleolithic
nutrition), also popularly known as the paleo diet (var.: paleodiet), caveman
diet, Stone Age diet and hunter-gatherer diet, is a dietary regimen which seeks
to mimic the diet of wild plants and animals that humans[B] habitually consumed
during the Paleolithic, a period of about 2.5 million years duration that ended
around 10,000 years ago with the development of agriculture. Based upon commonly
available modern foods, the Paleolithic diet consists mainly of lean meat, fish,
vegetables, fruit, roots and nuts, and excludes grains, legumes, dairy products,
salt, refined sugar and processed oils.
First popularized in the mid 1970s by a gastroenterologist named Walter L.
Voegtlin, this nutritional concept has been expounded and adapted by a number of
authors and researchers in several books and academic journals. Building upon
the principles of evolutionary medicine,[9] it is based on the premise that
modern humans are genetically adapted to the diet of their Paleolithic ancestors
and that human genetics have scarcely changed since the dawn of agriculture, and
therefore that an ideal diet for human health and well-being is one that
resembles this ancestral diet.
This dietary approach is a controversial topic amongst nutritionists and
anthropologists. Advocates argue that modern human populations subsisting on
traditional diets similar to those of Paleolithic hunter-gatherers are largely
free of diseases of affluence, and that such diets produce beneficial health
outcomes in controlled medical studies. Supporters point to several potentially
therapeutic nutritional characteristics of preagricultural diets. Critics of
this nutritional approach have taken issue with its underlying evolutionary
logic, and have disputed certain dietary prescriptions on the grounds that they
pose health risks and may not reflect the features of ancient Paleolithic diets.
It has also been argued that such diets are not a realistic alternative for
everyone, and that meat-based diets are not environmentally sustainable.
Paleolithic Diet Bookss
