The Paleolithic Diet, also referred to as the Paleo Diet, is consuming foods similar to what hunter-gatherers had during the Stone Age. The purpose of this research is to see whether this particular diet is the best lifestyle to follow and if it is the most beneficial diet for humans. Today, more people are focused on losing weight and finding a way to keep weight off for long periods of time. By reverting back to what our ancestors did during the ancient times by surviving off of natural foods from the earth, will we see the most beneficial changes? This paper looks at multiple research conducted on people who changed their lifestyle to match that of the hunter-gatherers, and what changes were made in their body by doing this. Overall,
The Paleolithic or Paleo diet, has been proven to have positive impacts on a persons health. The Paleo diet reverts back to the human diet that was consumed during the Stone Age, and how hunter-gatherers consumed food before farming and processed food. The focus is on natural foods and getting rid of processed and unnatural foods. The new age diet which consists of the processed unnatural foods, has been one of the causes to higher weight and chronic diseases such as; heart disease, diabetes, hypertension. By changing what humans are consuming to be more natural foods and taking on a more Paleolithic diet, research has shown that humans have become healthier and in some cases they even rid themselves of the chronic disease. Consuming the Paleo diet can be difficult due to the fact that natural and organic foods are more expensive, and take longer to prep time before eating, and those affected with chronic diseases tend to be in low income societies. The more obtainable foods for people of low socioeconomic status are the processed and unnatural foods. The Paleo diet has been shown to be a benefit to those that have switched from their poor eating habits to more positive eating habits with decrease weight and decreased chronic
Recently my brother started a modified Paleo diet. The Paleolithic diet claims to be based on the eating habits of Paleolithic humans during the Paleolithic era. For his own nutritional needs he has chosen to combine the Paleo diet and parts of the bulletproof diet created by Dr. David Perlmutter. He has been talking about how great his diet is and that he’s never felt better. My older sister Mar-y-sol argues that while the Paleo diet has some good ideas such as reducing the amount of processed wheat we consume (because the modern diet has far too much processed wheat) it is an out of balance diet and that it goes to the extreme. She prefers to eat a healthy balanced diet with everything in moderation or the omnivore’s ideal diet . These points of view seem valid so I decided to find out what makes a diet healthy.
The Omnivore’s Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals by Michael Pollan, was a great read. I came into the adventure without much background regarding what kind of book it was going to be, and to my astonishment it was more of an educational journey than pages of force-fed beliefs. Michael Pollan has a writing style that is both loose and intriguing and really kept my attention throughout. Having already read extensively concerning human nutrition and food, I am usually skeptical when beginning such reads as this one, but I was very surprised that Mr. Pollan was very objective, in that this was seemingly a field trip and journey from environment to plate.
As one of the newest, hottest diet trends to circulate around the United States, the Paleo Diet is essentially a high-protein, low-carb diet based on the speculated diets of our caveman ancestors. With its emphasis on poultry, lean meats, whole fruits and vegetables, as well as nuts but not grains, legumes, dairy, or anything refined or processed, the theory behind the diet is simple. As quoted by an online review by U.S. News & World Report: “if the cavemen didn’t eat it, you shouldn’t either.” Since our hunter-gatherer fore-bearers never had to eat the highly-processed, antibiotic-and-hormone-heavy food we eat today, they were much healthier, lived more active lives, and never suffered from the “disease of civilization” so many people in the U.S. and around the world deal with today.
The locavore movement is a movement made up of people who have decided to eat and use locally grown or produced goods as much as possible for the reasons of nutrition and sustainability. Many communities should consider organizing a locavore movement. A locavore movement can grant an abounding number of benefits to the consumer, the farmers and community, and to the environment.
Every person has different needs in their food diet. Finding a diet to fit their needs may be one of the best things they choose to do in their life. Some people may have conflict with choosing a diet to follow because of available resources, finances, and even what’s healthy and in season. The Paleo food diet is among one of the many diets in the world that many choose to follow and for them, it may be the best diet they have chosen to follow. Though this diet may act on limitations of certain foods and impose challenges, the benefits are greatly rewarding.
The Western Diet mainly consists of fried foods, refined grains, sugar, high carbohydrate and fats, and meats (3). It has been hypothesized that having a Western Diet increases one’s chances for developing depression. There has been a great deal of research into why the western diet increase’s one chance of having depression. A common sense reason maybe that the Western Diet consisted of large amounts carbohydrates, fats and sugars which promotes obesity and then causes depression (1). More scientific evidence suggest that having a improper diet like the Western Diet negatively affects peripheral and central dopamine, which are neurotransmitters (chemical which transmit signals across the synapse from the nerve cell to the target cell) directly linked to the mental health of the brain and are negatively affected by high fat diets (4). Research has also suggested that having a poor nutrition status such as lacking folate (a natural water form of vitamin bg which is crucial for many of the bodies processes) and key vitamins like vitamin b12 significantly increases the risk of depression in elderly people (5). Research into the topic of dietary habits and mental health is very crucial with the growing rates of obesity and depression in the United States compared to the rest of the world. Thus, does having poor dietary habits increase the likelihood of having depression? The likelihood of developing depression has been linked to the type of diet one consumes such as the Western Diet, Diets Low in Fat and Carbohydrates and weight control diets like binge eating.
The Paleolithic Age was the earliest period of man. This time period dates back to 15,000 BCE. There are many artifacts from the Paleolithic Age including Lucy (female hominid), Otzi (ice man), and cave art.
Michael Pollan makes arguments concerning the eating habits of the average American. Pollan suggests, in spite of our cultural norms, we should simply “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.”
Nutrition is a very controversial and confusing topic. One day coffee is bad for you, but the next day it is good. Alcohol is detrimental for our health one day, but the next day red wine is the elixir of life. There are dozens of diet plans and they promise a leaner and healthier body. There is the 3-Hour Diet that involves constantly eating small portions of anything we want to eat. The latest diet craze, the Paleo Diet, is based upon eating foods that our “hunter-gatherer ancestors” would have thrived on during the Paleolithic era. And there is the Blood Type Diet, the South Beach Diet, the Macrobiotic Diet, the Mediterranean Diet, and the list goes on. But who and what should we believe? Well, there is an optimal diet for humans and the answer might surprise many.
This diet consists of: seafood, meats, fruits, vegetables and nuts. According to Loren Cordain, the author of The Paleo Diet, “The diet decreases the body’s glycemic load, expands the vitamin and nutrient consumption, has a healthy ratio of saturated and unsaturated fats, and consists of a good balance of fat, protein and carbohydrates.” (2). This diet is all about eating fresh foods and foods directly from nature. There are many things you cannot eat when you are on this diet. Some examples are: grains, dairy and processed food. Processed food is anything that comes in a jar, box or bag. I feel as if this diet is hard to stick to nowadays because most people find it convenient to just heat something up or grab a snack and go. There are many advantages as well as disadvantages to the paleo diet. Some advantages include: losing weight, no chemicals or additives, and a larger intake of iron and protein.” (Bonci 1). This diet will definitely make you feel better about yourself as a result of weight loss and consuming healthy food. Along with these advantages there are just as many disadvantages. Some of these disadvantages include: no grains or dairy which are essential for energy, strong bones and health, you can potentially have a nutrient imbalance, it is a hard diet for athletes, picky eaters and vegetarians and these foods tend to be more pricey (Bonci 1). I am a
As compared to all the other fad diets out there, the Paleo Diet is one that is principled and based on ancient history which makes it absolutely unique. Also, this form of diet does not promote starvation or crash dieting; rather you are taught how to basically improve on your food choices to get the best results.
Escape from the Western Diet, by Michael Pollen, is about the argument of what is best for people to consume in order to avoid certain ailments caused by what they eat. There are many who believe certain factors such as eating too much fat or refined carbohydrates or missing certain nutrients are to blame for the poor state of health of westerners. The reason for that is that it provides for a quick easy answer to dieting issues. The author believes that all these things may have some contribution to poor health but the overall nemesis is the western diet itself.
In 1985, scholars S. Boyd Eaton and Melvin J. Konner published a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled ‘Paleolithic Nutrition’ that provided insight to he evolution of human nutritional requirements. Although...
Nutritionism and Today’s Diet Nutritionism is the ideology that the nutritional value of a food is the sum of all its individual nutrients, vitamins, and other components. In the book, “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan, he critiques scientists and government recommendations about their nutritional advice. Pollan presents a strong case pointing out the many flaws and problems that have risen over the years of following scientific studies and government related warnings on the proper amount of nutrients needed for a healthy diet. Pollan’s main point is introducing science into our food system has had more of a negative impact than a positive one, we should go back to eating more of a traditional diet. I believe food science has given us
Anyone can agree that cultures vary significantly. Anywhere from society views, to genetics, and even food! The eating habits of all the different cultures in the world are one of the most significant changes between nations and cultures to other nations and cultures. Anywhere in the world will have different eating habits, for example, Americans eat small meals throughout the day and then indulge in a big filling meal for supper, while in Mexico, breakfast tends to be the biggest meal of the day. Now, because of these changes in cultural views, anthropology is very much involved. This is why I am going to go in depth on the eating habits from four different cultures: Japanese, Mexican, and American.