Caveman Did Not Have a Long Life Span - Why Eat Like One?
Camille0502
Posts: 311 Member
So this is something I've been curious about. I think I need to just read the book. Some people swear by the paleo diet. However, the lifespan back then was about one-third of the lifespan today. So why is it a good idea to emulate that diet?
Plus, another thing I wonder is - people lived all over the world with very varied diets - depending on where they lived and the climate and what was abundant there. Why is a certain supposedly "paleo" diet chosen?
The whole idea just does not pass the common sense test to me. Ok, have at me all you paleo lovers!
Plus, another thing I wonder is - people lived all over the world with very varied diets - depending on where they lived and the climate and what was abundant there. Why is a certain supposedly "paleo" diet chosen?
The whole idea just does not pass the common sense test to me. Ok, have at me all you paleo lovers!
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Replies
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Yep. Just eat in moderation, and you will be ok.0
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Think of all the things we have now that are increasing our life span: modern medicine, plumbing, dental care, law enforcement, etc. THESE are the reasons we live longer than the cavemen. It's certainly not our superior modern diet.0
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Then don't do it. But it works for millions of others.0
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Life span then was due more to environmental hazards, predators, lack of medicince, infant mortality etc - But, health problems such as obesity, diabetes, etc were not as prevelant.
The premise of the plan is that physiologically we are not much different in our nutritional needs than then and most of our issues area result of our overprocessed non-natural GMO food supply.
In terms of diet, the focus is eating whole natural foods such as meat, fish, eggs, vegetables, and fruit. How is that not healthy?0 -
it's just another fad diet, right? they come, they go. there's always another one around the corner that somebody is going to get rich from with their book, once they can get on TV to promote it.
i've never in my life followed a diet. i've always known that fitness was a result of eating right and exercising. i just didn't have a way of quantifying "eating right" until i discovered the BMR equation.
also, i'm pretty sure cavemen ate bugs. that negates the paleo diet concept if you ask me.
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Think of all the things we have now that are increasing our life span: modern medicine, plumbing, dental care, law enforcement, etc. THESE are the reasons we live longer than the cavemen. It's certainly not our superior modern diet.
Exactly, from what I've read Cavemen died from diseases caused by bacteria and viruses, or trauma.
I also found this:
www.cavementimes.com/health-a-lifestyle/207-cavemen-lived-longer-than-you-think
which suggests that if it wasn't for the above factors cavemen could and did live much longer.0 -
Think of all the things we have now that are increasing our life span: modern medicine, plumbing, dental care, law enforcement, etc. THESE are the reasons we live longer than the cavemen. It's certainly not our superior modern diet.
Exactly. Our modern diet isn't what has helped. People have been getting more health problems in modern life. Like gall bladder needing to be removed.... a know a guy at 17 who needs surgery and my mom also might... years ago people didnt need this, it has to be diet related...so much processed food now days
Paleo... I think its a bit crazy, I mean... you have to limit a lot of carbs and you cant eat oatmeal or anything... lol.0 -
We live longer on average now than even 100 years ago. I don't think it's diet that makes the difference.
There's nothing wrong with eating as close to nature as possible. The more processed the food, the less nutrition: that's a fact.
I think that's what we need to remember.0 -
We live longer on average now than even 100 years ago. I don't think it's diet that makes the difference.
There's nothing wrong with eating as close to nature as possible. The more processed the food, the less nutrition: that's a fact.
I think that's what we need to remember.
*Drum Roll* This^0 -
I think the more important variable is that humans evolved from a varied diet, including eating grains and legumes. The modern human body, from our teeth to our digestive system, is very different from the paleolithic human.0
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the way i see it , its still better than 50% of other peoples diets. i don't eat that diet unless i need to loose weight fast, but don't eat that diet if you can't go 2 weeks without a cookie.0
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We live longer on average now than even 100 years ago. I don't think it's diet that makes the difference.
There's nothing wrong with eating as close to nature as possible. The more processed the food, the less nutrition: that's a fact.
I think that's what we need to remember.
*Drum Roll* This^
Agreed! And I also agree that you don't have to embrace paleo to eat as close to nature as possible.0 -
Brontosaurus burger?0
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For me, not eating modern, chemically-laden, crap-in-a-box makes me feel good. I could really care less how cavemen or anyone else eats. I just try to eat in the way that makes me feel best.0
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Diets = restriction. If you don't NEED to restrict anything from your diet, why do it? Like the whole no beans/peanuts/whatever thing about the paleo diet.. wtf? Beans and peanuts are delicious and filling and packed with protein!
I'd rather eat like a 2012 human being instead of a Neanderthal. There's a reason we evolved 0 -
Paleo... I think its a bit crazy, I mean... you have to limit a lot of carbs and you cant eat oatmeal or anything... lol.
OH MY GOD! You can't eat OATMEAL??? That is *kitten* CRAZY!!!0 -
So this is something I've been curious about. I think I need to just read the book. Some people swear by the paleo diet. However, the lifespan back then was about one-third of the lifespan today. So why is it a good idea to emulate that diet?
Plus, another thing I wonder is - people lived all over the world with very varied diets - depending on where they lived and the climate and what was abundant there. Why is a certain supposedly "paleo" diet chosen?
The whole idea just does not pass the common sense test to me. Ok, have at me all you paleo lovers!
I am not Paleo, but I understand what they are doing. They want the best of both worlds and to eat healthier. However I find it too much of a combination of my 100% organic days and Atkins days. I now like to cherry pick from various diets, I might have a Paleo meal and then a normal meal (by just adding some carbs or whatever)
I've found that all diets that label some foods as good and some as bad can possibly set you up for failure later on down the road and leads to some weird eating issues bordering on emotionally disturbed (speaking from one who is reformed from this trend in modern society diets).
I did all these diets in the last 15 years: Low fat high carb, Slim-Fast, Weight Watchers, Atkins, Organic, Weston Price Diet, The Schwarzbein Principle, Eat Fat Lose Fat, The Ultimate PH Solution, The Makers Diet, A friends diet from a personal trainer/dietician. I yo-yo'd for 15 years beating my head against the wall, and all the while ran marathon after marathon, lifting weights, hiking, biking, martial arts, you name it, thinking I could exercise away the fat (you can't out exercise too many calories and the smaller you are (hint: shorter) the less calories you need compared to bigger/taller people).
I finally just got sick of it all and made up my own diet with healthy foods I enjoy and smaller portions.
I ate my meals from small desert plates and bowls. I stopped eating in the evenings. I started calling what I did mini-meals and mini-fasts and I lost 40 lbs. Then I found intermittent fasting which Paleo also promotes this. The version I use is called Eat Stop Eat because of the wealth of research done in the paper and that I was able to take it to my doctor to get an opinion on the research backing it.
So the bottom line for me is I will never follow any of these diets again because I believe they are not sustainable, but I will cherry pick from them for very short periods of time if I feel like it, and I will glean out from them lessons/research.0 -
cave men also didnt have alot of the modern day medicine and skills that we have today. i bet millions of cavemen died from hang nails and crap like that. lol. just not knowing about infections or how to treat simple illnesses etc. hygene was probly not on theur top 10 list of things to do every day.0
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Paleo... I think its a bit crazy, I mean... you have to limit a lot of carbs and you cant eat oatmeal or anything... lol.
OH MY GOD! You can't eat OATMEAL??? That is *kitten* CRAZY!!!
Whoa, Karincakes! If that is you in the profile pic, I'll have whatever it is you're having....0 -
I follow it loosely. I do it because I'm diabetic. Eating veggies and lean protein and not potatoes, pasta, and such keeps my blood sugars down and I've gotten off one of the insulin's I had to take. For me, that's enough right there. I'm not fanatical about it and I don't believe you need to be. I use it as a guide. If I want something like a cookie or a piece of cobbler, I have it. But not 2 or 5. And not all the time. It's something I will do for the rest of my life. That's my thoughts on the subject!!
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Paleo... I think its a bit crazy, I mean... you have to limit a lot of carbs and you cant eat oatmeal or anything... lol.
OH MY GOD! You can't eat OATMEAL??? That is *kitten* CRAZY!!!
:laugh: :noway:0 -
Caveman died because he ate that way? I don't think I've ever read that in the science books.
I don't eat "paleo". I do eat clean. Caveman didn't have an epidemic of diabetes if memory serves. We do.
Paleo is pretty clean.:glasses:0 -
Paleo... I think its a bit crazy, I mean... you have to limit a lot of carbs and you cant eat oatmeal or anything... lol.
OH MY GOD! You can't eat OATMEAL??? That is *kitten* CRAZY!!!
Whoa, Karincakes! If that is you in the profile pic, I'll have whatever it is you're having....
Thank you! Yep, that's me! I'll tell you what I don't eat... oatmeal!0 -
So this is something I've been curious about. I think I need to just read the book. Some people swear by the paleo diet. However, the lifespan back then was about one-third of the lifespan today. So why is it a good idea to emulate that diet?
Plus, another thing I wonder is - people lived all over the world with very varied diets - depending on where they lived and the climate and what was abundant there. Why is a certain supposedly "paleo" diet chosen?
The whole idea just does not pass the common sense test to me. Ok, have at me all you paleo lovers!
This is totally just my opinion and speculation. I think the reason the paleo diet/lifestyle (or any diet that involves more whole foods/less processed foods) is so popular is because sadly, the typical modern diet makes it so easy to gain weight. It includes tons of processed (and tasty) foods that are calorie dense and lower on nutritional value, which then leave you feeling hungry and reaching for more because those foods don't always provide all of the nutrients your body is craving. Not to mention the fact that they're quick, convenient and easy. The paleo and any other similar diet forces you to pay more attention to what you eat since you "can't have this but should have that instead". You are more likely to create a caloric deficit that way. Of course, even with the typical modern diet you can still lose weight if you pay closer attention to what you're putting in your body and how much of it. The reality is, however, the average person is probably not as aware of the calorie content in most foods and/or how many calories they burn in a day. They are probably misinformed about what is considered a "healthy" (nutrient dense) meal. The media doesn't do anything to help either. Example: "Hungry? Why wait. Grab a Snickers".
Of course, paying more attention to what you eat and making sure it's below a certain number of calories is bound to make you lose weight. Of course certain foods are bound to have better impact on your health than others. That is the general idea of most diets/lifestyles, etc. Some people see great results and think everybody should live that way. Others, try the same approach, it doesn't work for them and they want to shoot it down as a myth. It happens with everything. Bottom line? Pay attention to what you eat and how much of it and how good for you it is and you'll see results.
ETA: Holy long post Batman! Sorry folks!0 -
Everyone also ignores the fact that nutritionally, that's all the food they had available. Add to that, they didn't know anything about nutrition at all. So, it's just a huge cluster fu*k to emulate a non-sensical pile of dung. It's hilarious. Why do you drive a car? A Paleo person didn't drive cars. I mean, come on, it's so silly that I can barely contain myself with this nonsense. If I hear another person going Paleo wearing designer jeans in a heated modern home, I am going to completely come unglued. Lol.
Ridiculous!0 -
We live longer on average now than even 100 years ago. I don't think it's diet that makes the difference.
There's nothing wrong with eating as close to nature as possible. The more processed the food, the less nutrition: that's a fact.
I think that's what we need to remember.
Yet, due to the skyrocketing rates of obesity, we might be the first generation that won't outlive our parents... And THAT has a lot to do with diet...0 -
Brontosaurus burger?
I'll take 2 please. No bun.0 -
The paleo diet isn't meant to make you like a caveman; it's based around the idea that our food sources have changed rapidly and drastically in the last ten thousand years while our digestive systems have not evolved to adapt to those changes. Anatomically modern humans have been around for about two hundred thousand years. Agriculture first appeared only ten thousand years ago. And industrialization of food has been only a couple hundred years. Our diets today do not resemble the ones we evolved to eat.
Paleo came from this idea that we'd be healthier if we ate what we evolved to eat, rather than what has very recently become available. Unfortunately, it's become somewhat of a misnomer in this regard and is simply a meat-heavy, grain-free diet. Realistically, the first humans would have subsisted mostly on flowers, fruits, leaves, and roots but eaten meat in large quantities whenever available. They also went days without eating anything at all until something became available.
At its simplest, paleo is really a no-brainer. It makes perfect sense to give the body what it has adapted to need. As to the vehement paleo-diet advocates, there's often more anecdotal than scientific evidence (as with most diets).0 -
Brontosaurus burger?
more like Saber-tooth tiger burger, or mammoth burger...dinosaurs were long gone...0 -
If I hear another person going Paleo wearing designer jeans
I don't understand how not eating crap has anything to do with what you wear?
I don't follow the Paleo diet, although I do try to minimise refined carbs, but the majority of the diet makes sense from a biological point of view as far as I can see.0
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