Dr. Christina Warinner refrences archaeological studies to discern three key points of paleolitic nutrition.
Dr. Christina Warinner has excavated around the world, from the Maya jungles of Belize to the Himalayan mountains of Nepal, and she is pioneering the biomolecular investigation of archaeological dental calculus (tartar) to study long-term trends in human health and diet. She is a 2012 TED Fellow, and her work has been featured in Wired UK, the Observer, CNN.com, Der Freitag, and Sveriges TV. She obtained her Ph.D. from Harvard University in 2010, specializing in ancient DNA analysis and paleodietary reconstruction.
TAKEAWAY:
1. We evolved to ‘eat a diet high in species diversity’.
BECAUSE: We lack the ability to synthize many of the nutrients that we require for life.
REALITY: Increasingly there’s only three species in almost everything we eat — corn, soy and wheat.
2. We evolved to ‘eat fresh foods in season’
BECAUSE: When they are ripe is when they have their highest nutritional content.
BUT: Some foods like seeds and nuts preserve naturally well, and this is why they have traditionally been so important to agricultural populations. We can’t always eat fresh — ‘but we can preserve food in other ways’ through sugar, salt, smoking and additives which work by inhibiting bacteria growth.
REALITY: We don’t yet know how this effects our own ‘good bacteria’.
3. We evolved to ‘eat whole foods’ in their complete package, with their fibre and their roughage intact.
BECAUSE: Your foods are not just the sum of your calories, and vitamins. The fibre that you eat regulates the speed at which the food travels through your gut. It modulates metabolism, slows down the release of sugars and feeds the good bacteria.
REALITY: We are losing our connection with whole foods and eating reconstituted, concentrated foods that inhibit our bodies ability to signal fullness and satiation.
SIDE NOTE: The Primal Blueprint is highlighted in this video and used to illustrate a limited view of evolutionary nutrition but the scope covered in the book and website Mark’s Daily Apple encompasses a diverse subject matter beyond nutrition.
It also, encourages personalization of core principles as opposed to rigid adherence of a restrictive diet.
BUT: Don’t take my word for it, investigate the site for yourself!
