Diet

With all the conflicting diet information out there, it is no wonder that the public is confused. Should we be on a high carb, low fat diet or a high fat and low carb? How about protein? High protein or low protein? To compound the problem, much of the information disseminated to the public is a product of conflicts of interest between the government, the food industry and researchers dependent on both for grants.

How should one approach this issue when even the so-called experts cannot seem to agree? When faced with conflicting information about health, it is best to turn to the logic of human evolution. For approximately two million years, humans had a fairly stable food environment. Through survival of the fittest, we evolved and became physiologically suited to that food environment. For the great majority of humanity, this diet was the “hunter-gatherer diet”. We hunted wild game and fish all of which fed on their natural food. They were not farmed or stuck in feedlots stuffed with grains, pesticides, antibiotics and hormones. We gathered vegetables from the ground, fruits from the trees, and nuts and seeds. Of course our food was “whole,” not processed. We did not eat grains until about 10,000 years ago when we began farming. We also probably were not exposed to dairy until that period. We are now the only animal species that drinks milk from other species.

Ten thousand years may seem like a long time, but in evolutionary terms, it is a mere blip. Our bodies have not had the time to adjust to this change in our food supply. This is why so many of us have hidden grain and dairy allergies. These allergies may not be obvious, but they can interfere with our optimal health by preventing absorption of nutrients, thus creating fatigue, poor immune function, inflammation and ill health.

Supposedly bread is considered “the staff of life” and “Milk Does a Body Good,” but these cultural and commercial myths do not change the fact that these are not our ideal foods. Our shift from a hunter-gatherer to a grain-based diet has caused massive changes in our health. We are increasing our glycemic load (the amount of sugar our body has to handle) and our omega 6 to omega 3 ratio. Omega 6’s are primarily found in grains and omega 3’s are in leafy greens, fish, flax, and wild, grass-fed meats. This increase in our omega 6 to 3 ratio has led to increased inflammation and all the diseases which this inflammation brings: heart disease, strokes, cancer, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, etc.

The solution is very simple and very logical. If one follows a hunter-gatherer diet, one will be slim and healthy. Food cravings will disappear because our bodies’ needs for fats, protein, and other nutrients will be satisfied. Type II diabetes would essentially be eliminated, as would “metabolic syndrome”. In fact, this syndrome is the most common reason for high cholesterol, high blood pressure and eventually high blood sugar. If widely followed, this diet could single handedly eliminate the largest revenue sources of the pharmaceutical industry and END THE HEALTHCARE CRISIS IN THE COUNTRY by dramatically reducing doctor and hospital visits. It would also bankrupt the major food manufacturers. Grain-based foods, especially refined foods, are the most advertised and profitable products of this industry. One can therefore easily understand why we will never hear the true story in the mainstream media.