plant paleo part 1 the gatherer hunter diet, by angelo coppola

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On March 18, 2015

Plant Paleo Part 1: The Gatherer-Hunter Diet

In order for the Paleo approach tomake any sense at all, iitt ccaanntt bbee aaddiieett. Not just oonnee diet.

A fundamental feature of human diets during the Paleolithic era was that there wereseveral of them. The eating patterns of humans were spread across Africa and

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eventually most of the globe. Dietary variances hinged on the unique characteristics of

local ecosystems, the dance between organisms and environmentsinnumerable

variables all at play and changing over millennia.

The diets eaten by people in the grasslands, the forest highlands, the deserts, thetundra, and the various islands were all different from each other in the Paleolithicera. Clearly, they are still different today among remaining indigenous populations.

Prior to the corporatization of food, neolithic societies showed vast culinary diversity,

too. Thankfully, some of this still survives to this day, even in the face of the leveling,

homogenizing forces of GloboMcDunkinNuggets.

Dr. S. Boyd Eaton is often referred to as the grandfather of the modern Paleo

movement. One of his premises is that our genus, homo, spent more time in EastAfrica than anywhere else on earth. So he suspects we are best adapted to the diet

that was available to humans in that area during much of the Paleolithic period.

In his book The Paleolithic Prescription, he does note, though, the large variance incontemporary hunter-gatherer diets. The following table appears on page 74 of thepaperback:


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Plant-to-animal ratios in the diets of modern hunter-gatherers, ca 1988

As you can see, there is a wide variance in the ratios of plant-to-animal foods among

these hunter-gatherer peoples. Aborigines in the desert climates of Australia subsisted

on as much as 90% plant-based foods, while Eskimos of the North American Arctic

subsisted on 90% animal foods. And its safe to say human groups have eaten nearly

every ratio in between.

Ultimately, in The Paleolithic Prescription Eaton recommended a diet that is 60%carbohydrate (whole plant-based, small amounts of grain), 20% protein, and 20% fat.

Twenty-five years later, Eaton raised the upper limit of his dietary fat recommendation

to a range of 20-35%.

In 2000, Loren Cordain published a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutritioncalled, Plant-animal subsistence ratios and macronutrient energy estimations inworldwide hunter-gatherer diets. Data from George Murdocks Ethnographic Atlas wasused to determine what percentage of hunter-gatherer groups relied more heavily on

animal foods than plant foods. The data was also used to determine what the

consumption ranges were for protein, carbohydrate, and fat within the groups.


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The results were as follows for relatively modern hunter-gatherer tribes:

73% received >50% of their subsistence from animal-based foods.

13.5% received >50% of their subsistence from plant-based foods.

Dietary protein ranged from 19-35%.

Dietary carbohydrate ranged from 22-40%

Dietary fat ranged from 28-58%

Importantly, in the Limitations of the Model section of Cordains paper, its noted thatthese calculations are heavily based on some big assumptions. For instance, virtually

all of their conclusions are hitched to the veracity of the data they used from the

Ethnographic Atlas and the validity of the mathematical estimates they ran the datathrough in order to calculate plant- and animal-based contributions to the diet.

The methodology was outlined nicely in the paper, and its clear that small errorsor

worse, several small compounded errorscould have yielded results that were not a

good reflection of reality.

While Cordains paper is oft-cited in Paleo circles, there was another paper published

in the very same issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition titled, Hunter-gatherer dietsa different perspective. It was written by Katharine Milton, whospecializes in the dietary ecology of primates at UC Berkeley.

In her article, she underscores Cordains questionable source data, walks us through

other evidence we might consider, and concludes (bold emphasis mine):

[[II]]tt iiss lliikkeellyy tthhaatt nnoo hhuunntteerr--ggaatthheerreerr ssoocciieettyy,, rreeggaarrddlleessss ooff tthheepprrooppoorrttiioonn ooff mmaaccrroonnuuttrriieennttss ccoonnssuummeedd,, ssuuffffeerreedd ffrroommddiisseeaasseess ooff cciivviilliizzaattiioonn.. Most wwiilldd ffooooddss llaacckk hhiigghh aammoouunnttss ooffeenneerrggyy and this feature, in combination with the ssllooww ttrraannssiitt ooffffoooodd ppaarrttiicclleess through the human digestive tract, would haveserved as a natural check to obesity and certain other diseasesof civilization. Yet today, all non-Western populations appear todevelop diseases of civilization if they consume Western foodsand have sedentary lifestyles. Given these facts, in combination


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with the strongly plant-based diet of human ancestors, it seemsprudent for modern-day humans to remember their longevolutionary heritage as anthropoid primates and heed currentrecommendations to iinnccrreeaassee tthhee nnuummbbeerr aanndd vvaarriieettyy ooffffrreesshh ffrruuiitt aanndd vveeggeettaabblleess iinn tthheeiirr diets rather than to increasetheir intakes of domesticated animal fat and protein.

In this conclusion, Milton brings up some very interesting topics worthy of

consideration: nutritional and caloric density, transit speed through the digestive tract,

and pre-Paleolithic ancestral clues.

The main takeaway, though, as far as Im concerned, is right there in the first sentence.

Again:

[I]t is likely that no hunter-gatherer society, regardless of theproportion of macronutrients consumed, suffered fromdiseases of civilization.

I have come to see this as the hallmark of Paleolithic diets, whereas todays

mainstream version of the Paleo diet is narrowly defined as one that is low in

carbohydrates and high in fat and/or protein, as if Inuit-Paleo is representative of all

Paleolithic dietsit is not. Increasingly, mainstream Paleo is also loaded with rich,

processed Paleo foods that are often calorie dense and nutritionally sparsejustlike the SAD diet! Even Paleo beverages are following this trend.

Yet, the Paleolithic example remains:

simple, whole foods with minimal processing (if any)

nutritionally dense, calorically sparse staples

omnivorous with widely varying plant-animal and macronutrient ratios

high fiber consumption (most groups)

rich foods reserved for celebrations

For nearly 5 years, I have personally been following the Paleo diet Paleo-like diets

influenced by evolutionary clues and scientific evidence. I started off on the low-carb


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end of the spectrum, and I have slowly expanded my food choices to include more

whole foods, especially whole plant foods that are predominantly made of

carbohydrates. At each milestone where I increased these real-food carbohydrates in

my diet, I consistently made improvements in how I felt and with body composition.

Most recently, I have greatly increased the amount of plant food in my diet (more real,whole carbs and fiber), while virtually eliminating the final huge source ofprocessed-food calories in my diet: the added fats, eessppeecciiaallllyy ooiill. Replacing three toseven tablespoons of oil per day frees up 360 to 840 caloriesaanndd tthhaattss aa lloott ooffnnuuttrriieenntt--rriicchh ppllaanntt ffooooddss,, bbrrootthhss,, eeggggss,, oorrggaann aanndd ootthheerr nnaattuurraallllyy rraaiisseedd oorr wwiilldd

mmeeaattss.

In terms of macronutrients, my diet now resembles Eatons original 60:20:20

prescription. In fact, it may even range between there and 80:10:10 on some days. But

reductionist macronutrient jargon asideand far more importantlymy diet consists

of simple, whole foods, mostly plants with lots of fiber, and with an emphasis on

high-quality animal-based foods when I eat them (which is a few times per week +bone-based broths and stocks an additional several times per week).

I should note that these most recent changes led to an effortless and spontaneous

20-lb weight loss. Totally surprising. I didnt realize I had 20 lbs to lose, and I was

mostly comfortable with my body composition. Now, I like the leaner version of me farmore than I thought I would have. I stand 6 tall (1.83 m) and I went from about 185lbs to 165 lbs (84 kg to 75 kg). This brings my total weight loss over the last 5 years to

80-85 lbs (36-38.5 kg), as my starting weight was 245-250 lbs (111-113.4 kg).

Having eaten Plant Paleo for several months nowthats what Ive been calling it andhere are the detailsI feel my diet is moving closer to several Paleolithic models ofdiet, and its been healthier than ever, too. This also means my diet has been

becoming less mainstream Paleo.

To be clear, Im not totally knocking the principles of mainstream, low-carb Paleo. The

low-carb Paleo approach, even gimmicky versions, are huge improvements over thestandard Western diet. I also believe Ive benefited from it myself, for a period of time.

The diet eliminates the worst processed foods, while acclimating adherents to the

subtle flavors of natural foods. And, at its best, it also encourages supporting local,

small-scale food growers and ranchers. This is why I love the Paleo movement, even if

it is frustratingly commercial, marketing-driven, tribal, and myopically reductionist attimes.


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However, with that said, Low-Carb-Paleo is one of many, many ancestral templates forhealthy, real-food dietsand the Paleo movement would be far stronger and more

reality-based as an umbrella for a multitude of whole-food diets, aligning the Paleo

movement more tightly with the latest science and evolutionary clues.

I will be following up this article with at least 3 more.

Plant Paleo Part 2: Fiber, Grains, & Legumes

Plant Paleo Part 3: Pros & Cons

Plant Paleo Part 4: Practical Implementation

If you would like to be notified when these and other articles are published on this

blog, please subscribe to the RSS feed. If you use Feedly, heres the link. You can also

receive updates via Twitter or Facebook.

In the meantime, if you havent clicked through to the links embedded in the text

throughout the article, there is some excellent reading material and food for thought

to be found. Check them out! And here are the details to my Plant Paleo approach to

diet.

Also, here are a few resources you might enjoy on YouTube. First is Dr. S. Boyd Eatons

presentation at the 2012 Ancestral Health Symposium called, Long-term Paleo:Following an ancestral approach for 30 years. Yes, the grandfather of Paleo eats wholewheat toast for breakfast, and the cardiologists ticker appears to be ticking strongly.


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After that, check out Denise Mingers presentation at the 2013 Ancestral Health

Symposium called, Lessons from the Vegans.

And finally, this is me talking about how my own diet has evolved, along with my

thoughts on the current state of the Paleo movement (should start at the 55:15 mark):

So what do you think? Would you like to start eating more vegetables and plant-basedfoods in general? Have you ever tried a whole food, plant based diet that was low-to-moderate in grains and included high quality animal foods? Feel free to share yourcomments, experiences, and opinions!


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54 Comments Humans Are Not Broken Angelo Coppola!

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Stephan Guyenet, PhD 3 months agoOne interesting fact that I've gleaned from researching HGs and speaking withanthropologists lately: HGs rarely eat vegetables, that is, low-calorie plant foods.They eat fruit, tubers, and other plant foods, but they are generally foods thatprovide significant calories. For example, there are many edible greens inHadzaland, but the Hadza rarely eat them except as fallback foods. They prioritizeforaging eort based on energy gain, and low-calorie plant foods provide a poorenergy return for eort. The !Kung do eat greens sometimes, but they aren't a majorpart of the diet.

That said, both cultures eat a large amount of unrefined, fibrous plant matter in theform of fruit, tubers, and nuts. So they probably have little nutritional incentive to eatmore plant matter because they're already getting a lot of it. Vegetables as we knowthem are largely an agricultural creation and IMO they mostly serve to fill thenutritional gaps in a grain-heavy diet and reduce the energy density of the diet toreduce overeating. I do believe they play a positive role in the modern diet but it'sinteresting that they seem to be an agricultural invention that solves an agriculturalproblem.4

Angelo Coppola 3 months agoMod > Stephan Guyenet, PhDExcellent points; thank you, Stephan. I don't think I would be able to eat theway I've been eating without tubers and other roots and starches providingsucient energy.

I still consider most of these foods calorically sparse, though, in the contextof the Standard Western DIet. A pound of russet potatoes has about 360calories; a lb of sweet potatoes has about 400 calories; red potatoes, about320; purple potatoes, about 380. Yams are higher at about 530 calories/lb.

By contrast, a lb of Big Macs has about 1100 calories and a lb of FrootLoops has about 1700 calories.

But your comment got me thinking about wild tubers. Data on these is a littlemore dicult to come by, however I found that Cassava have about 720calories per lbroughly twice the caloric density of the tubers we commonly

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plant paleo part 1 the gatherer hunter diet, by angelo coppola

Documents

plant foods

ratios of plant

plantbased foods

animal ratios

gathererhunter diet

onanimal foods

paleolithic prescription

paleolithic period