This post stems from certain groups, like CrossFit, who state phrases to the tune of,
“Eat like a caveman! If a caveman couldn’t kill it or pick it, then we shouldn’t eat it! We weren’t designed to eat man made foods! Sugar is the devil!”
The advent of agriculture is essentially shunned and blamed for all our current health issues.
At first glance you may think,
“Hmm, that makes sense. I mean, you can’t kill a Big Mac, and Big Macs are unhealthy.”
Then you start to apply this logic to other areas…
-Well, were we designed to drive cars?
-Surely cavemen never looked into a computer screen
-Cavemen didn’t wear clothing. If they did, it was minimal.
-Antibiotics weren’t around for cavemen. I probably shouldn’t take them, right?
-When the hell did a caveman use as a toothbrush?
-A caveman probably didn’t have access to a sink so he could clean his hands before he ate
So, following this “logic,” you should also
-start walking to work, even if it’s 20 miles
-never look at a computer screen, even if that’s how you make a living
-This should all be done naked, unless you have access to wild animal hide to cover you up (buffalo is preferable)
-Antibiotics are a huge no-no, even if they’ll save your life
-You should take pride in missing a few rotted out teeth, and eating with dirty hands is healthy
Sound ridiculous yet?
Next, the advent of agriculture took place 10,000 years ago. Up until the last 40 years or so, the world had issues with a lack of food. Shit, plenty of the world still has this issue. It’s only recently abundance has been a big health concern.
So, we have had refined food for let’s say over 9 thousand years. We’ve had health issues for 40 years. Somehow refined foods are just now the culprit for all of our health issues? Why weren’t they “causing” obesity a 100 or 200 years ago?
Also, agriculture is what allowed us to generate an abundance of food. Take away agriculture and how the hell are you going to feed everyone? With hopes and dreams?
You know what, I’m sure if you went out and hunted all your food, stopped driving and walked everywhere, you would lose weight. You’d also hate your life and probably be dead at 40. Hey, that’s the caveman lifestyle.
The point is when it comes to nutrition, and probably life in general, people love to argue with only the points convenient for their argument. Neglecting to mention all the other horrible, asinine aspects. Make sure you take these into account the next time someone tells you how to eat.
Ben Bachmann
February 6, 2012
Reddy- I’ve been a close follower of the “paleo” diet for nearly 2 years now. I’d love to chat with you sometime about your views and how they differ from what the actual diet is about. Do you have gchat?
-Ben
reddyb
February 6, 2012
What’s up Ben?
Good to hear from you.
I don’t have gchat but you’re more than welcome to comment here or on Facebook messenger.
Hope you’re doing well back east.
Sarah
February 6, 2012
I’m so amused by this. Best line? “Hopes and dreams?”
Ben Bachmann
February 7, 2012
Reddy,
A few points on this article.
-The term ‘caveman diet’ can be deceiving and misleading. What paleo is truly about is food quality. Not about low carb vs. high carb. Its about getting the most nutrition per calorie. And by nutrition per calorie, I don’t mean eating a twinkie and then taking a multivitamin and considering it a nutritious meal (this is often done with grain-based cereals…vitamins/minerals are sprayed on top of the nutrient deplete grains). What we need to be concerned with her is ABSORPTION. How much of that multivitamin is getting absorbed? It is WELL documented that grains (such as oats, wheat, brown rice) contain ‘anti-nutrients’ which BLOCK the absorption of vital vitamins and minerals. They also damage the gut (digestive tract), resulting in a condition known as ‘leaky gut’, also well documented and supported by science and explained citing the mechanisms that cause it. This is not some historic reenactment of what cavemen did, but rather paying homage to the foods that we were designed to eat, and did for 99.7% of our evolutionary history.
-The reason we are obese has less to do with total calorie consumption and more to do with hormones. Food – as I’m sure you’re aware of – can drive the bodies hormone levels. When you consume sugar and grains they spike your Blood Glucose levels and result in the secretion of insulin which has been clinically shown as ‘the fat storage hormone’ (rats injected with insulin became fat). Insulin is also an powerful growth stimulator that can be used to our advantage in athletic training, but it must be moderated. Hormones are plainly and obviously powerful – simply look at the dramatic effects of anabolic steroids are – can we really deny that this same mechanism doesn’t work in reverse? Where cortisol and insulin drive our body composition towards that of a standard American obese person?
-Finally, why are we sick? Heart disease, Alzheimer’s, birth defects, cancer…..these are the diseases that plague us and the facts show that these have spiked in the past decade. While many point to environmental toxins, pollution and chemicals as the trigger of this (and they certainly play a role) – research points to the sole best indicator of disease being inflammation. This is what we are trying to fight when we pound vitamin C and (god forbid) Vitamin Water with Acai Berry and B12. Anti-oxidants are important, but what is MORE important is not subjecting our bodies to oxidization in the first place. Where does Oxidization come from? Soybean Oil, Vegetable Oil, Canola Oil, Safflower Oil….the list goes on. These are known as PUFAs, partially unsaturated fatty acids (omega 3, 6 and 9) and they are by far the most easily oxidized fat sources (monounsaturated coming up second, and the heart-HEALTHY saturated fats coming up dead last [yes I eat these by the BOATLOAD]). These oils were introduced in the past 100 years – BOOM, you have your rise in disease. Inflammation drives disease….and we are finally beginning to understand this. If you get a bloodtest have your C-reactive Protein measured – this is a great indicator of systematic inflammation in the body. Mine was .21…..anything below 2.00 is considered Very Low.
So in conclusion, I think you probably agree a lot more with “paleo” than you initially think. It isn’t a diet of cutting out entire macronutrients, but that of eating the single best foods we can. Can we feed the world on a paleo diet? Who knows….that is a very complex question. But what I do know is that since starting paleo 2 years ago, I have cleared up my skin, cut my bodyfat in half (while eating MORE calories….I tracked this), experienced more energy, and have not been sick ONCE…not ONCE.
Let me know your thoughts…
reddyb
February 8, 2012
Regarding antinutrients and vitamin deficiencies: How many people do you know walking around with Scurvy? Rickets? Probably none.
The last time I checked grains might affect nutrient absorption by 2%. This is really worth worrying about?
To state we have a ton of people with vitamin and mineral deficiencies walking around is absurd. We are the most over-nutritioned group in the history of the world.
Leaky gut syndrome isn’t even a scientifically accepted disorder: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leaky_gut_syndrome and those who do accept it as one consider it “extremely rare.” Obesity isn’t so rare…
Insulin levels: Protein foods (highly recommended for paleo eaters) have an insulin response too. Often, to the same extent as grains do (look up the insulin index). So, we’re supposed to stop eating protein foods too? After all, protein drives insulin, so protein makes us fat, right?
If insulin is only a fat promoting hormone then why do pro bodybuilders take enormous amounts of it? They don’t look too fat.
Next, if hormones are so crucial, how do you explain the fact that a fast food meal has the same hormonal response as organic beef? http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/research-review/hormonal-responses-fast-food-meal.html/
There is NO difference between the two hormonally. So how does one group become obese and another doesn’t? It’s not calories (you say), and it’s not hormones…so what is it? 40 years of research shows it’s calories, and no research says it’s hormones…
And if carbs and grains are so bad then why does Loren Cordain, THE AUTHOR OF THE PALEO DIET, recommend eating them in large quantities for athletic performance (see the Paleo Diet For Athletes). He states they will help improve recovery and performance? Grains are so bad for body composition yet if you’re an athlete they are all of a sudden good for body composition? In fact, if you’re active (lifting weights, working out, etc.) and you aren’t eating many grains or carbs, the author of the paleo diet (!!!) would say you are doing yourself a disservice.
Look up obesity and inflammation in pubmed. You’ll get about a million hits. Inflammation is caused by a lot more things than by the type of food you eat.
You can’t say Alezheimer’s disease has spiked in the last decade because of how we eat. Maybe that plays a role, but you can’t say it’s the cause. Maybe Alzehimer’s has spiked because we’re better at diagnosing it? The same thing with heart disease and cancer. A 100 years ago people weren’t living long enough to get these issues. They were more concerned with not dying from the flu. If things are so bad why do we live like 40 years longer now than back then? Our food is killing us so well that we live 40 years longer than we used to?
Lastly, I never said I don’t agree with eating “paleo.” I don’t agree with their logic. You can’t say we were designed to eat this way, but not that way. But then say, “Oh, no it’s ok for me to respond to this blog, I mean I suppose I wasn’t designed to do that, but that’s ok.” You’re using your logic when it’s convenient and ignoring it when it’s not. I highly doubt if you had a family member in a hospital bed you would say to the doctor “Excuse me, you cannot insert that catheter, so-and-so’s body was not designed for that.” Who cares??? Just because we weren’t “designed” for something doesn’t mean it’s not beneficial.
Finally, I started drinking Starbucks in January, and I’ve been busier than normal training people this month. So, all people who want business to get busier for them should start drinking Starbucks then, right?
…Then why, because you haven’t been sick in two years, should all people eat “paleo?”
I’m curious how the French and Chinese feel. They’re healthier and skinnier than us, and all they do is crap rice, butter, cream, and danishes out their asses.
Ben Bachmann
February 8, 2012
Ahh where do I start??
You are correct – we are the most over MACROnutritioned group in history. Emphasis on Macro here (proteins, carbs and fat) – however miconutrient quality and quantity has been washed away over the past 100+ years. I’m sure you’re aware that processing of food has dramatic effects on the micronutrient bio-availability and content of foods – this is why the FDA requires flours be “enriched” etc.. and why many conventional supermarket foods almost always contain added vitamins and minerals. This is comparable to iodized salt – which has iodine added (iodine deficiency effecting some 2 billion people worldwide)………So while we don’t have widespread scurvy or rickets anymore – this isn’t a reason to say “hey, I guess we’re getting enough of this stuff absorbed in our systems!”.
I’d like to see the data stating that 2% absorption figure – it sounds like an extremely difficult thing to test accurately.
As for leaky gut – I am no expert. It makes a good deal of sense to me personally and I have seen some of my own personal Auto-Immune type issues vanish with the deletion of wheat from my diet. (By the way – please read the book ‘Wheat Belly’ if you get a chance, you will be amazed as to how much our wheat crop has changed (due to genetic engineering) even in the past 100 years). I have also heard tons of testimonial about how the removal of wheat clearing up everything from Thyroid issues to fatigue to eczema to Alzheimer’s – yes testimonials are one person/one experience…but when you hear them in droves, its worth considering.
Protein does drive insulin, I still use whey personally to get an insulin hike post workout – as it also acts to promote growth (powerfully so) – this is the part where you’re beliefs in total calorie consumption and Martin Berkham’s views on LeanGains are spot on. I never said insulin is solely a fat storage hormone. Also, as I stated – its not solely insulin but, in my view, the cocktail of hormones in your body. High Testosterone and High insulin (and HGH) results in freakish mass as seen in pro bodybuilding. Do you really think low test, high estrogen, high cortisol and high estrogen wouldn’t affect body composition??
I think you were confused in regard to hormones in food – I’m not referring to trace amounts of growth hormones, rBGH etc. that may be found in meat, but rather how hormones after eating a meal drive body composition (eating protein/carbs can spike insulin, eating soy can drive estrogen etc..). I think bodybuilding is an excellent example of this. Test, HGH, Insulin up – cocktail for mass and lean. Estrogen, Cortisol and Insulin up – cocktail for standard american Gut. You must admit that the body is more complicated than to rely on one single hormone to drive any one result, clearly there are MANY different forces at play (including genetics)…..Also, in the link you posted – the organic beef group was still consuming wheat, sugar and pufas…all the same crap in every meal in my opinion.
As for the Cordain comments – I guess I didn’t stress this enough….Paleo is Carb Agnostic, as in you can be paleo and consume 200g carbs a day, or 50. I personally (and many other people in the paleo community) will eat potatoes, sweet potatoes, squash, and even some corn and white rice (as the antinutrient and phytic acid content of these grains aren’t too high). At the end of the day, I think you view it as much more strict than it actually is. I would advocate for some starch consumption for athletes, while choosing those starches that contain the least possible anti-nutrients.
Inflammation is cause by a lot – systematic inflammation is a bit more specific. Stress, pufas, wheat (and other grains), dairy can all push this up (depending on how it plays with an individuals genetics etc…). Systematic Inflammation is a low-level immune response by every cell in the body – this is something that even Dr Oz is picking up on….its beginning to enter the mainstream: http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/dr-oz-s-disease-detectives-pt-1
It definitely makes sense that living longer would expose oneself to a higher likelyhood of disease – but we are getting sicker, younger. I think this really boils down to a belief that
A) The human body is broken by default, we are born with mental disorders, thyroid issues, ADD, Cancer, heart disease, arthritis, skin conditions (acne, eczema) etc..
B) Evolution has made man (like all other animals on this amazing planet) very strong and stable, and the introduction and advent of agriculture has slowly chipped away at us.
The timing matches up. The common sense matches up. The science matches up.
This is not some “fad” diet. It **IS** what we are supposed to eat.
Can we bend the rules…eat some butter, white rice, corn tortillas, ice cream with minimal harm? YES.
This is not a religion. I take foods on a case by case basis and decided which are worth consuming and which aren’t. Wheat, processed oils and sugar are by FAR the biggest problem foods in my eyes.
Ben Bachmann
February 8, 2012
also – can you explain the French and Chinese joke? Do they really eat butter and danishes?? lol