OT Primitive diet

RescueRiley

RescueRiley

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Mar 22, 2006
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I got to thinking about the diets of our eary ancestors, the diets that we where biologically designed to consume.. As I thought about this in greater detail it occurred to me that root vegetables, berries fruits, and nuts.. Probably made up the bulk of the primitive diet..which was complimented by meat and fish and eggs when possible.. I started to research this futher and came across this article

http://www.earth360.com/diet_paleodiet_balzer.html

I don't know if I believe all of it but it something to think about.. ALso packing nuts dried fruit and meats would be an interestting way to pack for a few days..it also leaveallot of room to supplement from the environment should you desire to. I'm gonna try it for a few weeks.. but I'm keeping beer.. (a man's allowed a vice) I'll see if there is any difference. If so I'll report back.. Don't know if there is any interest in such things but I just thought I'd share.
 
I actually find that very interesting. Ive thought about trying a "primitive diet" but I had no scientific basis for my thoughts. I just figured if the earth didnt directly produce it, or feed it, it wouldnt get eaten. Of course this would include the potatoes beans and grains (rice? green beans?) the article said was a no-no.

Im interested to see how it goes for you, having never followed through with my own ideas. I need to do something about all these extra pounds Ive uh......gathered.....over the past 8 or so years. Im especially interested in the energy levels a diet of this nature would produce, or the lack thereof, i.e. could you productively frame a deck and carry lumber for half a day and not feel like your going to pass out and die...:D

No seriously if I fall off a walkboard at work Ill surely perish!:eek:I cant aford to get dizzy.

Good luck with it John! let us know how it goes;)
 
very interesting.

makes alot of logical sense, if you believe that humans indeed involved...which i'm still not 100% convinced about...

but even with that lack of conviction, i'm still inclined to believe the basis of the article.

i might give it a try, the diet doesn't really sound all that bad. the worst part for me would be that i have a sweet tooth and enjoy candy quite a bit...and i live with siblings and parents that wouldn't be participating, so it would require us to shop for two sets of meals...

i do want to give it a trial, and see how i respond over, say, a month or two month period...it might have to wait a while though.
 
I read a very good book on this: NeanderThin. Tried it for a while, and felt good about it in theory, but I lost weight like a stone -- which was one of the points, of course-- but I couldn't afford to lose the pounds.
 
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I bought a dehydrater a few years ago to make my pack food. I live in a hot climate, and heat stabilized food is a must. About the only thing I can stand to eat when dried is jerky and dried almonds. I was really suprised how good I felt just eating those two things. If you are already used to a similar diet, I think there may be an adantage to that.
 
That's a pretty interesting theory ... the inclusion of grains, beans, potatoes, dairy, salt and sugar to our diet has made us humans weaker and susceptible to various sickness and diseases over time ... CARBS ARE THE ENEMY :thumbup:
 
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Interesting...but don't forget that we live to be a LOT older than out ancestors ever did!

That is not necessarily on account of diet...but it's worth considering that despite our general disapproval of the way society has gone, it's a hell of a lot easier to live a hell of a lot longer now than any time in the past, so not everything we did in the past is necessarily better!
 
My pack food usually consists of dried fruit, jerky, nuts, and seeds. Paleolithic food to go. Calorie dense and easily carried.

Need to learn to make pemmican.
 
One thing to think about, is that your body is used to working on a certain type of food.
Switching to another type of food overnight might give a few side effects that you would not encounter if you had been on that diet your hole life.

Kind of like the story of the wife who build up her resistance to poison, a little of the time, and then puts a deadly amount in the evening meal and kills her man. No one checks the food coz they both ate it.

In a smaller scale of cause.
 
Good point Hawkings and one I only touched on in my post. Sudden changes in your diet can have rough results, and not something you want to find out about on the trail. Happened to me in Mexico, and it was MISERABLE. I once decided to go vegetarian in college on a whim, was not fun, you have to ease into it.

If Rotte or anyone else can point to a good pemmican recipe, I would appreciate that. I am working on a post with lots of pics on drying meat and nuts.
 
Cozy --

Didn't mean to mislead you--I meant I need to learn to make pemmican. I think I may have a recipe...I just need to find it.
 
A couple of years ago, I heard of something called the Ezekiel Diet or the Bible diet that was supposed to be full of beans, nuts, breads and so on. I never checked it out, but I heard that it recommended for some people of the diabetic persuasion, for example. Does anyone know, off the top of their head, if the two diets have anything in common by besides both diets being older than dirt? Uuummmm sweet sweet dirt. :)
 
given that most published "diets" are based on certain assumptions of activity level, body needs and the like, I'd recommend talking to a real dietitian, and making a viable plan for what your body needs. some people need lots of carbs, others more protein. I've read studies suggesting that children who commonly drink juices have trouble hydrating from plain water, as their bodies are just not used to it. point being that the rules to not apply to all the same

as for anyone who claims that diet is the cause of "all our health problems" I'd challenge them to compare lifespans and expected onset of these problems, it has been shown that the onset of many late in life illnesses have not changed, just more people are surviving to those ages.
Add to that all of the chemicals our bodies are forced to tolerate..

Interesting bit on Quirks And Quarks (CBC's science program) they talked to a researcher who has linked the falling rates of heliobacter pylori (causes stomach ulcers) to increased obesity. not in a vague statistical causality, but that the bacterium produces the hormone that makes us feel full as we eat. we also produce the hormone, but the double whammy makes a big impact. he said that he had yet to find a morbidly obese person with any heliobacter in their stomach.
food for thought
 
H. pylori is the bacteria that causes stomach and duodenal ulcers. This was demonstrated by an insane Australian doctor who gave himself a dose of H. pylori and then went on to develop an ulcer. Not very scientific, but it got the point made. I'd steer clear of consuming any H. pylori fortified orange juice. ;)
 
Like as mentioned above, don't change a diet all at once. The rule for good foods is: "If it doesn't rot or sprout, don't eat it!". Think about what happens to many of the foods that are eaten if they are left out. In the case of many modern foods, nothing. This goes back to the rule about rotting or sprouting. If the foods will not do this, they are basically a non food, and while they can be consumed, they are not necessarily providing much that a person's body needs.

@ Runsalone: While some ways of eating could leave a person feeling dizzy, a proper diet of whole grains, fruits and nuts, along w/ other balanced additions, could actually improve things. Not only could you do as well or better during the day, if you missed lunch, or had to work late, your blood sugar level could drop much more evenly, leading to less 'bonk' when you weren't able to eat at a normal time.
 
Rotte, in the 1940s and earlier, almost everyone had h. Pylori in their gut, since then rates have dropped significantly. in most people it will not cause ulcers, unless there is a condition to promote those ulcers, in which case it makes them worse.
Consider E. Coli, in the lower intestine its quite happy, and in fact necessary, higher up the digestive tract, and it can be quite dangerous.
I'm not sure what you point was, other than I'm less eloquent at the keyboard than I like to believe I am. ;)
 
siguy said:
very interesting.

makes alot of logical sense, if you believe that humans indeed involved...which i'm still not 100% convinced about...
Click to expand...

im with you on that. biology is alot of gray area. i much prefer physics.

but on a more relevant note, i pretty much eat what i feel is natural to eat. i am not one of those health-nut eco-freak soy-milk-drinking people, but i eat well. the majority of my meat comes from fish. i eat chicken or beef a couple of times a week, but usually salmon, talapia, catfish or cod. i dont put any weird sauces on any of them, usually just strait, but occasionally some lemon or salt. i also eat alot of salads, trying to stear clear of dressing. i also eat primarily 12 grain bread, which has seeds and oats in it. then i make a point to eat alot of walnuts, as they are supposedly very good for you. with this diet i feel that i am pretty healthy. i maintain a very low body fat percentage, with only doing a small amount of excersice a day. i am also rarely sick. actually, the last time i was sick it was because the durn gob'ment told me that to live in oklahoma, i need some vaccinces that were not required in kentucky, where i hade previosly lived (maybe because all of the indians around here are more easily susceptable to certain white-boy disease?). anyway, their vaccines gave me an over 100o fever for about a week. so, i would definatly be curious to see how you change because of the change in diet. my brother used to do the 8 glasses of water a day thing, and he said he noticed a difference in his behavior. he said it was easier to get out of bed and he had more energy. the main reason he stopped is because he didnt like having to pee every twenty minutes.

anyway, sorry for the ramble, ill be interested to see if you notice a change.
 
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