tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post8992741092592127599..comments2024-03-28T11:29:46.845-07:00Comments on Whole Health Source: Composition of the Hunter-Gatherer DietStephan Guyenethttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09218114625524777250noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-20025224417753337342011-10-18T14:38:41.210-07:002011-10-18T14:38:41.210-07:00The only problem I see with this is that our lifes...The only problem I see with this is that our lifestyle has changed dramatically. We eat wheat-based foods as a major portion of our meals today, work in offices, and drive vehicles. We cannot base our health today on what humans ate when we lived as nomads.<br /><br />It just doesn't work.Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00485736364814624757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-50119216962030402932009-02-05T10:28:00.000-08:002009-02-05T10:28:00.000-08:00Great comments, especially the link to the whale h...Great comments, especially the link to the whale hunters. I think with all of this it is important to remember that the diets of hunter-gatherers undergo tremendous seasonal variation, and of course the ratio of plant to animal foods varies tremendously according to climate. To me it makes sense that in certain colder climates, saturated fat intake during the winter might be very high as hunters utilize the fattest cuts from animals killed and then preserved during their fattest season (the fall).<BR/><BR/>Identifying a Paleolithic or Hunter-Gatherer Diet with restrictive macronutrient or animal to vegetable ratios seems unrealistic given these seasonal and regional variations. More importantly for us is to recognize that what almost all hunter-gatherer diets have in common is a low consumption of carbs (especially from grain), higher consumption of meat, and an active lifestyle.<BR/>I write extensively about the ways diet and nutrition can influence creativity at my website, http://creativesubstances.com/, and I recently wrote an article about the Paleolithic diet and how its energizing effects can heighten creativity.Ryan Gregory Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00809255689874722303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-80612467590441167092009-02-05T10:26:00.000-08:002009-02-05T10:26:00.000-08:00Great comments, especially the link to the whale h...Great comments, especially the link to the whale hunters. I think with all of this it is important to remember that the diets of hunter-gatherers undergo tremendous seasonal variation, and of course the ratio of plant to animal foods varies tremendously according to climate. To me it makes sense that in certain colder climates, saturated fat intake during the winter might be very high as hunters utilize the fattest cuts from animals killed and then preserved during their fattest season (the fall).<BR/><BR/>Identifying a Paleolithic or Hunter-Gatherer Diet with restrictive macronutrient or animal to vegetable ratios seems unrealistic given these seasonal and regional variations. More importantly for us is to recognize that what almost all hunter-gatherer diets have in common is a low consumption of carbs (especially from grain), higher consumption of meat, and an active lifestyle.<BR/>I write extensively about the ways diet and nutrition can influence creativity at my website (http://creativesubstances.com), and I recently wrote an article about the Paleolithic diet and how its energizing effects can heighten creativity.Ryan Gregory Floydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00809255689874722303noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-12313856261804595502008-08-08T12:15:00.000-07:002008-08-08T12:15:00.000-07:00Those were fascinating pictures Chainey. I'm alway...Those were fascinating pictures Chainey. I'm always telling people that it's healthy to eat animal fat and saying how healthy Inuit are. People generally reply that it is because the Inuit live in a cold environment. Yet these guys live in a hot environment and look to have hardly any body fat at all. With eskimos it's hard to tell what shape they are in while they wear their thick animal skin clothes.AngloAmerikanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02002362092073890146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-40019305747539379132008-08-07T09:51:00.000-07:002008-08-07T09:51:00.000-07:00Chainey, That is an awesome article! I didn't kn...Chainey,<BR/><BR/> That is an awesome article! I didn't know there were Indonesian whaling cultures. Those people really do look sturdy, don't they?Stephan Guyenethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09218114625524777250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-50141770184884182132008-08-06T23:59:00.000-07:002008-08-06T23:59:00.000-07:00"There's no way I'm going to cut the fat off my st..."There's no way I'm going to cut the fat off my steak!"<BR/><BR/>Interesting coincidence that I should read this comment just now as today I had a novel thought: Imagine all the (fat) food value that's been cut, drained and paper-towel-patted out of food in the last 50 years, then imagine how many fewer animals would have had to be killed if that food value had been used. Of course the veg*ans don't want us to kill the animals at all, but if they were more pragmatic and took a harm-minimization approach (in their terms) they ought to be preaching the eating of the whole animal.<BR/><BR/>By the way, on the whale front, have a look at <A HREF="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-465987/The-stone-age-whale-hunters-kill-bare-hands.html" REL="nofollow">this article</A>. Particularly, note the musculature of the hunters in the third photo. Guess they must have a good gym on their island..^https://www.blogger.com/profile/14209117357558394101noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-56971986856076496462008-08-05T11:19:00.000-07:002008-08-05T11:19:00.000-07:00Hi Cynthia and David,I'm glad he acknowledges the ...Hi Cynthia and David,<BR/><BR/>I'm glad he acknowledges the increased protein requirements with exercise. My body craves much more protein when I'm lifting weights, so I never believed the people who claim you don't need any extra. <BR/><BR/>Well if sat fat is lethal, then I should be dead by now. I'll be getting a checkup sometime soon, so we'll see what my cholesterol, insulin, HbA1c etc looks like. Something tells me my numbers won't be pointing to imminent doom.Stephan Guyenethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09218114625524777250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-28661600832763072622008-08-04T01:26:00.000-07:002008-08-04T01:26:00.000-07:00Thanks for the posting Stephan. I've read some of...Thanks for the posting Stephan. I've read some of Cordain's work, including his Paleo Diet books. Generally, I think his work is interesting and a move in the right direction. I was intrigued by his acknowledgement that people who exercise a lot need additional protein to compensate for breakdown of branched chain amino acids, used as fuel during exercise. In his book "Paleo Diet for Athletes," he refers to saturated fats as "lethal." As for his views on fat consumption, perhaps he didn't want to get involved in the saturated fat and high fat diet controversies-- that would not suit his agendas. Or more charitably, perhaps he just doesn't want to go against mainstream advice in an area of knowledge that is not his specialty. I think like many, he pushes dietary carbs more than is necessary too (unlimited fruit and vegetables).Drs. Cynthia and Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16081685734249334402noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-77201530440576168692008-08-02T21:48:00.001-07:002008-08-02T21:48:00.001-07:00Whoops. Forgot to tick follow-up box.Whoops. Forgot to tick follow-up box.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-23961477248735581132008-08-02T21:48:00.000-07:002008-08-02T21:48:00.000-07:00Hi Stephan,What would you advise for organ meats? ...Hi Stephan,<BR/><BR/>What would you advise for organ meats? Which ones and how would you prepare them?<BR/><BR/>Thanks in advance.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-82143192922989338112008-08-02T11:47:00.000-07:002008-08-02T11:47:00.000-07:00It seems likely that many HG groups obtained fat f...It seems likely that many HG groups obtained fat from less savoury sources as many Australian aborigine groups were prone to do:<BR/><BR/><I>In NSW, many instances were recorded on the Bollon and Mooni Creek regions of “human burnings”, “meat eatings” and “collections of body fat juices”. In Victoria, there are numerous reports that the Maneroo, Brajeracks, Narrinyeri, Merkani and the Tattiara were indeed cannibals and seekers of “fat” people to eat – and to gather body fats.</I><BR/><A HREF="http://www.warriors.egympie.com.au/cannibalism.html" REL="nofollow">link</A> <BR/><BR/>Sorry about lowering the tone of the discussion but the mentioning of fat is interesting.AngloAmerikanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02002362092073890146noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-46041336282250157542008-08-02T10:42:00.000-07:002008-08-02T10:42:00.000-07:00Hi Debs, Thanks for the link. That paper is also...Hi Debs,<BR/><BR/> Thanks for the link. That paper is also by Cordain, and he recycled some of the figures from the paper I discussed in my post. I think Cordain, while not falling into the typical anti-sat fat trap, still has a bit of a bias against it.<BR/><BR/>Cordain and others claim that wild animals don't have much saturated fat, but again that's based on "representative" animals that aren't so representative. One of his ideas is that wild ungulates have less saturated fat than modern beef, but that's only true during certain times of year. The fat composition (%sat) of wild ungulates is very similar to modern beef, and temperate-climate ungulates become at least as fat as modern cows in the fall. So HGs would have eaten a lot of saturated fat, at least in certain places and at certain times of year. <BR/><BR/>He also ignores data from cultures that eat a lot of saturated fat and are very healthy. Pacific islanders have been eating coconut liberally for thousands of years (92% sat), and the Masai eat arguably more saturated fat than any other population on earth. We have good, modern data for both cultures indicating that neither got heart disease or any other disease of civilization.<BR/><BR/>I do believe you can be very healthy following Cordain's advice, I just think he's a bit too restrictive. There's no way I'm going to cut the fat off my steak!Stephan Guyenethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09218114625524777250noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1629175743855013102.post-66567156637341136172008-08-02T08:23:00.000-07:002008-08-02T08:23:00.000-07:00Thanks so much for posting this. I was getting in...Thanks so much for posting this. I was getting into a lively debate in the comments section of another site, with people who thought that hunter-gatherers (or "gatherer-hunters" as they said) ate very little animal saturated fat because animals were allegedly so hard to catch and meat spoils. I posted a link to this piece.<BR/><BR/>I found an interesting chapter <A HREF="http://www.thepaleodiet.com/articles/CRC%20Chapter%202006a.pdf" REL="nofollow">here</A> (pdf) about saturated fat intake in hunter-gatherer diets. The author basically shows that we evolved eating saturated fat, and debunks the idea that we should keep saturated fat in our modern diet low. Although I was surprised that he estimated HG saturated fat intake at only about 15%. He also agrees that HG diets varied but had certain important elements in common. <BR/><BR/><BR/>Debs<BR/><A HREF="http://food.gofrolic.org" REL="nofollow">Food Is Love</A>Debshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09217281333751656056noreply@blogger.com