Correlation does not equal causation.

Different paleolithic people ate different foods according to what was available. One thing they all have in common as that they went for the fat!

Some people did not "gather" hardly at all and had a diet based almost totally on animals. I'm speaking specifically of the Inuit, whom I know best because I live with them. (And my child is Inuit too; I'm so proud!) Even Inuit diets varied according to region. All Inuit ate whales, seal/walrus, caribou, bears, fish, ducks, geese, etc. Some groups also ate shellfish, sea urchins and sea vegetables. There was only access to berries for a tiny portion of the year, but the Inuit definitely took advantage of those as well. However, most plants, and even Arctic hares (too lean), were of little interest because they were not nutritious enough to bother with. Getting food takes energy so it doesn't make sense to expend more energy than the food provides.

I eat lots of coconut oil. Totally not culturally appropriate for me or my daughter. However, phsysiological differences between humans are very minimal. I think that most foods that benefited paleolithic people, no matter where they were from, will also benefit me. I actually believe that I would do best on an almost all animal fat and meat diet but since it's not a reality to achieve that I am more than willing to adopt an Inuit/Polynesian eating plan. lol Hey, they're both sea-going, right?

I'm glad you looked further into those studies. I've clued in long ago to the problems within the "science" of nutrition and how the scientific research is affected by politics, personal bias/pride, profits, etc. It's frustrating, and heart-breaking to continue to hear people regurgitating all these accepted truths without being able to think critically. Most people have great difficulty believing that the food industry, government, pharmaceutical companies, whatever, would ever lie to us or actually harm our health. Well, healthy people aren't good for profits, so what kind of advice are we likely to get from those kinds of powerful organizations?

Different paleolithic people ate different foods according to what was available. One thing they all have in common as that they went for the fat!

Some people did not "gather" hardly at all and had a diet based almost totally on animals. I'm speaking specifically of the Inuit, whom I know best because I live with them. (And my child is Inuit too; I'm so proud!) Even Inuit diets varied according to region. All Inuit ate whales, seal/walrus, caribou, bears, fish, ducks, geese, etc. Some groups also ate shellfish, sea urchins and sea vegetables. There was only access to berries for a tiny portion of the year, but the Inuit definitely took advantage of those as well. However, most plants, and even Arctic hares (too lean), were of little interest because they were not nutritious enough to bother with. Getting food takes energy so it doesn't make sense to expend more energy than the food provides.

I eat lots of coconut oil. Totally not culturally appropriate for me or my daughter. However, phsysiological differences between humans are very minimal. I think that most foods that benefited paleolithic people, no matter where they were from, will also benefit me. I actually believe that I would do best on an almost all animal fat and meat diet but since it's not a reality to achieve that I am more than willing to adopt an Inuit/Polynesian eating plan. lol Hey, they're both sea-going, right?

I'm glad you looked further into those studies. I've clued in long ago to the problems within the "science" of nutrition and how the scientific research is affected by politics, personal bias/pride, profits, etc. It's frustrating, and heart-breaking to continue to hear people regurgitating all these accepted truths without being able to think critically. Most people have great difficulty believing that the food industry, government, pharmaceutical companies, whatever, would ever lie to us or actually harm our health. Well, healthy people aren't good for profits, so what kind of advice are we likely to get from those kinds of powerful organizations?

Beautifully written, Akima!

Do we see any giant carrots painted on the walls of caves decorated by our ancestors? Me thinks not!
My background is in anthropology with a loosely woven thread drawing together interest fields in food and eating, Pacific peoples (pre contact Pacific art and peopling of the Pacific)and a bit of cave art on the side. Not a vegetarian or vegan amongst them that I've ever come across in the anthropological record.
When we think about our paleolothic ancestors and what they ate we tend to think of the big game that can take days to track and kill and requires a community effort to do so with accompanying community feasting and celebration as rite of passage. Small game is easily obtained on a regular basis by a skilled hunter using snares, slingshots and other devices. Fish, mussels,clams and similar protein sources like eggs can also be easily obtained by the less skilled.
It is also possible that what we fashionably call 'intermittent fasting' was a regular occurrence according to the seasons and abundance of game. I think many of us can identify with how we tend to need far less food once we start eating this way and how hunger is no longer an issue.
Preservation of meat is also a possibility - I have seen evidence of birds etc stuffed into giant kelp bladders then filled with fat to seal and preserve, same with other meats and bamboo etc. Done this way the longevity is remarkable. Drying is another possibility for meat.
Bear in mind that not all seeds and nuts are that easy to get to. Ever tried cracking a macadamia or hulling sunflower seeds one by one between your teeth? It starts to make hunting look appealing!

While your friend is entitled to her opinions I truly hope she is not using her role in the health food business to push mis-information and her opinions onto others.

I personally don't agree that 'meat' is the cause of cancer. It is the corn fed, hormone filled meat from the store shelves that may play a part in illness and disease. I have crohn's disease and find that I can eat all the clean, grass fed, wild game meat I want without any troubles with my crohn's but the moment I eat corn fed commercial meat products i am sick. There are a lot of documentaries out there proving that corn feed animals in feed lots are fed nothing but toxins and are so unhealthy and i believe we are what we eat.

I haven't watched fork over knives but my sister did, I did watch "Fat Head" and though i personally wouldn't have taken the challenge he took to prove the movie Supersize Me wrong, the doctors and experts he has in the video are very informative. They don't use the term Paleo or Primal but that is the diet they talk about and the history of mankind and the types of food they ate.

I also agree with others and would say that our 'caveman' ancestors ate alot of meat. They didn't just rely on the large game they caught but on the small ones as well. And they were very efficent at drying and storing their food as well and could store large game to have throughout the winter months when the meat they needed would have been a little more scarce to find.

We actually know, unequivocally, that hunter-gatherers ate plenty of meat...

How?

Because they still do. Look up the San Bushmen and Inuit tribes.

Some of them still do. Some of them do not. I just watched a program about tribes in New Guinea, and actually getting meat is pretty rare. They survive off of starchy roots like manioc.

caveman/woman didn't have very long lifespans either. obviously due to a number of reasons, many of which we have overcome in our current society. but still....

i'm not into eating a lot of meat for personal reasons (and not all rational reasons i can admit). i don't feel good eating a lot of meat (physically, mentally, emotionally).

Very interesting conversation. Thanks for starting and to all contributors. I will be watching this discussion as I have nothing to add that wasn't already stated.