Modern Stone Age Food - Anti-Inflammatory Diet
Eat like a cavemen...
What's the best diet? (These are Eaton's idea's intermixed with my own input.)
The one our early ancestors ate, as shown by studying Stone Age (Paleolithic) humans who lived 40,000 years ago,
says S. Boyd Eaton, M.D., an Emory University "evolutionary nutrition" expert.
We could more efficiently get rid of heart disease, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases by
changing our diet to fit our genes than by using sophisticated gene therapy, says James V. Neel, a prominent
geneticist at the University of Michigan.
We have departed so far from Stone Age eating that 55 percent of the American diet is "new food" not eaten by our
ancestors. Our ancestors ate about 22 teaspoons of sugar a year, now we consume about 150 - 180 lbs. They
also ate about 100 grams of fiber per day, todays average American eats only 8 grams. There stool weight
averaged 2 lbs while our averages are around 4 oz. Our genes are stressed beyond their limits. Why Paleo...
EAT MORE "ORIGINAL" FOOD
Fruits and vegetables... Stone Age humans ate three times more of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables than
we do. Fruits and vegetables provided a startling 65 percent of daily calories and 100 grams of fiber a day - five
times today's level. Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants were supplied in amounts people now get only through
supplements, Eaton says. Modern research clearly shows that heavy consumers of fruits and vegetables have less
cancer, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic ills.
Lean meat... Stone Age ancestors ate 35 percent of their calories in protein - two to three times what's
recommended today. The difference: Their protein came from lean wild game and fish, as well as from plants. But
modern meat, especially red meat, is low in Omega 3 Fatty Acids and way too high in Omega 6's. White meat
poultry, without skin, is a good Stone Age meat equivalent, low in fat and a good source of protein, says Eaton. Fish,
notably fatty salmon, sardines, mackerel and herring, are critical in mimicking a Stone Age diet. Fish contain high
levels of omega-3 fatty acids, tragically lacking in modern diets. I also recommend supplementing omega 3's.
Nuts... Nuts have a bad rap because of their fat, but they are an "original" food, with fats attuned to our genes.
Nuts supply high-grade vegetable protein, plentiful in Stone Age diets. A modern drawback: Salted nuts are high in
sodium, incompatible with Stone Age genes. Buy unsalted raw nuts, especially raw walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, dry
roasted light salted pistachio nutmeats, macadamias and cashews. Trader Joes best source.
EAT LESS "NEW" FOOD OR BETTER YET ELIMINATE...
Grains, cereals, pasta, bread & legumes... These arrived only 10,000 years ago. Grains may not be harmful in
themselves, says Eaton, but they fill us up so we don't seek out far-more- nourishing Stone Age foods. Some
research has linked grains, notably wheat, to arthritis, gastrointestinal problems, headaches and depression,
perhaps indicating subtle allergic food reactions. Legumes while low glycemic are new and do show problems,
especially as we get older.
Dairy products... Cavemen didn't drink milk because animals were not yet domesticated. Yogurt's and cheese are
converted to new foods by bacteria, and may be tolerated by some. You have to experiment.
Refined sugar... Rather than raw honey and fruits, today's main sweet is 150 - 180 pounds of refined sugar and
high fructose corn syrup - a year, per person. Evidence shows sugar drives up blood levels of insulin, glucose and
triglycerides, known factors in diabetes and heart disease. Use Xylitol instead.
Processed oils... A dramatic change is our high consumption of processed vegetable oil and shortening. An
overload of polyunsaturated fats - omega 6 fatty acids, including hydrogenated and trans fats, promotes cancer,
inflammation, high cholesterol and heart disease. Eat lots of extra virgin olive oil, avocados along with raw nuts for
fats in your diet. Don’t eat Margarine. Use butter instead or like those in Europe, lots of extra virgin olive oil.
Stone Age Diet:
65% fruits, vegetables, nuts
35% lean meat, eggs, wild fowl, fish, and shellfish.
American Diet:
55% "new" foods: cereal grains, milk, milk products, sugar, sweeteners, processed fats, alcohol.
28% fatty meat, poultry, eggs, fish, shellfish .
17% fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts.
Note: True, the average American lives longer than the average caveman did. Early humans died young from
infections, injuries and complications of childbirth that modern medicine easily handles, says evolutionary nutrition
expert S. Boyd Eaton. "Nowadays, foods are killing us."
NUTRITION TIPS:
Take supplements. At least a High Potency Multi - Vitamin Mineral - Phytonutrient Supplement.
As insurance, I recommend taking a multivitamin-mineral supplement, high in anti oxidants and 2 - 4 fish oil capsules
a day, high in omega 3's.
Pile on potassium... Our Stone Age ancestors got 7,000mg potassium and 600mg sodium daily, compared with
our 2,500mg potassium and 4,000mg sodium. They ate a diet high in magnesium & potassium , low in calcium and
sodium. We are the only free-living mammals that eat more sodium than potassium. Studies link high-sodium, low-
potassium diets to high blood pressure, strokes and heart disease.
Use Morton Lite Salt for a seasoning, and 2 to 3 Potassium tablets with each meal.
Key elements: Meat, Chicken, Fish, Fruits, Vegetables, Seeds, Nuts, & healthy fats. PALEO DIET RECIPES...
The food does not need to be organic, as organic can be misleading, especially when it comes to meat. The best
thing to do is to try and buy from local farmers who can tell or show you the conditions at their ranch, or from a
trusted supermarket. At a minimum Paleo food should meet these standards below. If you cannot meet these
standards for whatever reason (availability, cost, etc) that is fine, cheaper stuff will still be better than the bagels and
french fries you may be eating now.
Meat (Beef, Veal, Bison, Buffalo, Lamb, game meats)
-100% Grass fed and finished (preferred)
-Hormone/ Antibiotic free
Poultry
-Pasture raised (preferred)
-Free ranged
-Antibiotic free
Eggs
-Pasture raised (preferred)
-Omega 3 enriched, free range
Pork
-Pasture raised
-Diet based on foraging preferred
-Hormone / Antibiotic free
Fish
-Wild (not farmed)
-If canned, must be packaged in water only (no salt, phosphates, or vegetable oil)
-Be aware of large fish consumption due to mercury. See a list here
Fruits (Moderate amounts) Berries best, less tropical, unless you are very active. Eat with main 3 meals.
-Fresh or frozen (preferably fresh)
-Emphasis on berries
Vegetables
-Fresh or frozen (preferably fresh)
-Non starchy (leafy green the best)
Seeds (Moderate amounts)
-Emphasis on flaxseeds (High omega 3/6 ratio)
Nuts (Moderate amounts) Especially good as snacks...
-Emphasis on Raw almonds, walnuts, macadamia, Brazilian, pistachios, cashews. (High omega 3/6 ratio)
Fat & Oil - See here
WHAT TO STAY AWAY FROM:
1. Grains (wheat, bread, pasta, cereal, flour, oats, quinoa, etc) Small amounts of white rice, ok.
2. Fake additives (hydrogenated oils, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, MSG etc)
3. Starchy Fruits & Vegetables (turnips, russet potatoes, bananas, raisins & all dried fruit) Limited and with main
meals.
4. Sugar and sugar substitutes - Exception you can use Stevia and Xylitol.
5. Processed foods (basically, if it has nutrition facts, a wrapper, or box, it’s often no-go)
6. Cheap Processed meat (bacon, breakfast sausage, pepperoni, salami, deli meat, canned/frozen meats, etc) High
quality bacon, sausage, etc is acceptable
7. Legumes (soybeans, peanuts, peas, beans, etc)
8. Dairy products (Traditional Paleo does not allow it, however many people do a Paleo + whole dairy diet and have
success.) It depends on your genetics.
If consuming dairy :
–Whole (no skim or reduced fat)
–100% grass-fed best
–Raw* (*may increase your risk of food born illness…but probably won’t make you sick if buying from a reputable
source)
–Free of added sugars, especially in yogurt - I like Nancy's Whole Milk Yogurt w honey. Has very little honey.
–Emphasis on cream, butter, quality cheese, raw milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc (whole fat, not non fat)
30 Day Challenge
When starting to do the Paleo diet, it is recommended to stay 100% strict for at least the first 30 days so you can
have a baseline for how you feel. The first week will be tough as you will be figuring out what to eat and possibly will
be going through the insulin resistance phase and healing your gut from gluten damage. Push yourself not to cheat
for the first 30 days.
After that, if it is not working for you, week by week you can add other foods back and see if any of them trigger any
changes. Do not add more than one food back per week. If you are adding foods back, do whatever you can to still
stay gluten free.
Book Resource
For anyone starting this diet, I recommend aslo reading:
“The Paleo Solution” by Robb Wolf: Good if you have healthy problems or need serious intervention
“The Primal Blueprint” by Mark Sisson: Great guide for living the primal life in more than just diet.
“The Paleo Diet” by Loren Cordain- Revised Edition: Gives a good overview of the Paleo approach.
Eat like a cavemen...
What's the best diet? (These are Eaton's idea's intermixed with my own input.)
The one our early ancestors ate, as shown by studying Stone Age (Paleolithic) humans who lived 40,000 years ago,
says S. Boyd Eaton, M.D., an Emory University "evolutionary nutrition" expert.
We could more efficiently get rid of heart disease, cancer, arthritis, diabetes, obesity and other chronic diseases by
changing our diet to fit our genes than by using sophisticated gene therapy, says James V. Neel, a prominent
geneticist at the University of Michigan.
We have departed so far from Stone Age eating that 55 percent of the American diet is "new food" not eaten by our
ancestors. Our ancestors ate about 22 teaspoons of sugar a year, now we consume about 150 - 180 lbs. They
also ate about 100 grams of fiber per day, todays average American eats only 8 grams. There stool weight
averaged 2 lbs while our averages are around 4 oz. Our genes are stressed beyond their limits. Why Paleo...
EAT MORE "ORIGINAL" FOOD
Fruits and vegetables... Stone Age humans ate three times more of a wide variety of fruits and vegetables than
we do. Fruits and vegetables provided a startling 65 percent of daily calories and 100 grams of fiber a day - five
times today's level. Vitamins, minerals and antioxidants were supplied in amounts people now get only through
supplements, Eaton says. Modern research clearly shows that heavy consumers of fruits and vegetables have less
cancer, heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and other chronic ills.
Lean meat... Stone Age ancestors ate 35 percent of their calories in protein - two to three times what's
recommended today. The difference: Their protein came from lean wild game and fish, as well as from plants. But
modern meat, especially red meat, is low in Omega 3 Fatty Acids and way too high in Omega 6's. White meat
poultry, without skin, is a good Stone Age meat equivalent, low in fat and a good source of protein, says Eaton. Fish,
notably fatty salmon, sardines, mackerel and herring, are critical in mimicking a Stone Age diet. Fish contain high
levels of omega-3 fatty acids, tragically lacking in modern diets. I also recommend supplementing omega 3's.
Nuts... Nuts have a bad rap because of their fat, but they are an "original" food, with fats attuned to our genes.
Nuts supply high-grade vegetable protein, plentiful in Stone Age diets. A modern drawback: Salted nuts are high in
sodium, incompatible with Stone Age genes. Buy unsalted raw nuts, especially raw walnuts, almonds, Brazil nuts, dry
roasted light salted pistachio nutmeats, macadamias and cashews. Trader Joes best source.
EAT LESS "NEW" FOOD OR BETTER YET ELIMINATE...
Grains, cereals, pasta, bread & legumes... These arrived only 10,000 years ago. Grains may not be harmful in
themselves, says Eaton, but they fill us up so we don't seek out far-more- nourishing Stone Age foods. Some
research has linked grains, notably wheat, to arthritis, gastrointestinal problems, headaches and depression,
perhaps indicating subtle allergic food reactions. Legumes while low glycemic are new and do show problems,
especially as we get older.
Dairy products... Cavemen didn't drink milk because animals were not yet domesticated. Yogurt's and cheese are
converted to new foods by bacteria, and may be tolerated by some. You have to experiment.
Refined sugar... Rather than raw honey and fruits, today's main sweet is 150 - 180 pounds of refined sugar and
high fructose corn syrup - a year, per person. Evidence shows sugar drives up blood levels of insulin, glucose and
triglycerides, known factors in diabetes and heart disease. Use Xylitol instead.
Processed oils... A dramatic change is our high consumption of processed vegetable oil and shortening. An
overload of polyunsaturated fats - omega 6 fatty acids, including hydrogenated and trans fats, promotes cancer,
inflammation, high cholesterol and heart disease. Eat lots of extra virgin olive oil, avocados along with raw nuts for
fats in your diet. Don’t eat Margarine. Use butter instead or like those in Europe, lots of extra virgin olive oil.
Stone Age Diet:
65% fruits, vegetables, nuts
35% lean meat, eggs, wild fowl, fish, and shellfish.
American Diet:
55% "new" foods: cereal grains, milk, milk products, sugar, sweeteners, processed fats, alcohol.
28% fatty meat, poultry, eggs, fish, shellfish .
17% fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts.
Note: True, the average American lives longer than the average caveman did. Early humans died young from
infections, injuries and complications of childbirth that modern medicine easily handles, says evolutionary nutrition
expert S. Boyd Eaton. "Nowadays, foods are killing us."
NUTRITION TIPS:
Take supplements. At least a High Potency Multi - Vitamin Mineral - Phytonutrient Supplement.
As insurance, I recommend taking a multivitamin-mineral supplement, high in anti oxidants and 2 - 4 fish oil capsules
a day, high in omega 3's.
Pile on potassium... Our Stone Age ancestors got 7,000mg potassium and 600mg sodium daily, compared with
our 2,500mg potassium and 4,000mg sodium. They ate a diet high in magnesium & potassium , low in calcium and
sodium. We are the only free-living mammals that eat more sodium than potassium. Studies link high-sodium, low-
potassium diets to high blood pressure, strokes and heart disease.
Use Morton Lite Salt for a seasoning, and 2 to 3 Potassium tablets with each meal.
Key elements: Meat, Chicken, Fish, Fruits, Vegetables, Seeds, Nuts, & healthy fats. PALEO DIET RECIPES...
The food does not need to be organic, as organic can be misleading, especially when it comes to meat. The best
thing to do is to try and buy from local farmers who can tell or show you the conditions at their ranch, or from a
trusted supermarket. At a minimum Paleo food should meet these standards below. If you cannot meet these
standards for whatever reason (availability, cost, etc) that is fine, cheaper stuff will still be better than the bagels and
french fries you may be eating now.
Meat (Beef, Veal, Bison, Buffalo, Lamb, game meats)
-100% Grass fed and finished (preferred)
-Hormone/ Antibiotic free
Poultry
-Pasture raised (preferred)
-Free ranged
-Antibiotic free
Eggs
-Pasture raised (preferred)
-Omega 3 enriched, free range
Pork
-Pasture raised
-Diet based on foraging preferred
-Hormone / Antibiotic free
Fish
-Wild (not farmed)
-If canned, must be packaged in water only (no salt, phosphates, or vegetable oil)
-Be aware of large fish consumption due to mercury. See a list here
Fruits (Moderate amounts) Berries best, less tropical, unless you are very active. Eat with main 3 meals.
-Fresh or frozen (preferably fresh)
-Emphasis on berries
Vegetables
-Fresh or frozen (preferably fresh)
-Non starchy (leafy green the best)
Seeds (Moderate amounts)
-Emphasis on flaxseeds (High omega 3/6 ratio)
Nuts (Moderate amounts) Especially good as snacks...
-Emphasis on Raw almonds, walnuts, macadamia, Brazilian, pistachios, cashews. (High omega 3/6 ratio)
Fat & Oil - See here
WHAT TO STAY AWAY FROM:
1. Grains (wheat, bread, pasta, cereal, flour, oats, quinoa, etc) Small amounts of white rice, ok.
2. Fake additives (hydrogenated oils, trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, aspartame, MSG etc)
3. Starchy Fruits & Vegetables (turnips, russet potatoes, bananas, raisins & all dried fruit) Limited and with main
meals.
4. Sugar and sugar substitutes - Exception you can use Stevia and Xylitol.
5. Processed foods (basically, if it has nutrition facts, a wrapper, or box, it’s often no-go)
6. Cheap Processed meat (bacon, breakfast sausage, pepperoni, salami, deli meat, canned/frozen meats, etc) High
quality bacon, sausage, etc is acceptable
7. Legumes (soybeans, peanuts, peas, beans, etc)
8. Dairy products (Traditional Paleo does not allow it, however many people do a Paleo + whole dairy diet and have
success.) It depends on your genetics.
If consuming dairy :
–Whole (no skim or reduced fat)
–100% grass-fed best
–Raw* (*may increase your risk of food born illness…but probably won’t make you sick if buying from a reputable
source)
–Free of added sugars, especially in yogurt - I like Nancy's Whole Milk Yogurt w honey. Has very little honey.
–Emphasis on cream, butter, quality cheese, raw milk, yogurt, cottage cheese, etc (whole fat, not non fat)
30 Day Challenge
When starting to do the Paleo diet, it is recommended to stay 100% strict for at least the first 30 days so you can
have a baseline for how you feel. The first week will be tough as you will be figuring out what to eat and possibly will
be going through the insulin resistance phase and healing your gut from gluten damage. Push yourself not to cheat
for the first 30 days.
After that, if it is not working for you, week by week you can add other foods back and see if any of them trigger any
changes. Do not add more than one food back per week. If you are adding foods back, do whatever you can to still
stay gluten free.
Book Resource
For anyone starting this diet, I recommend aslo reading:
“The Paleo Solution” by Robb Wolf: Good if you have healthy problems or need serious intervention
“The Primal Blueprint” by Mark Sisson: Great guide for living the primal life in more than just diet.
“The Paleo Diet” by Loren Cordain- Revised Edition: Gives a good overview of the Paleo approach.
Five human dietary studies have shown the Paleo Diet to
improve health and disease symptoms to a greater
degree than the Mediterranean diet or diet commonly
prescribed to diabetic patients. It is also more effective
in causing weight loss than these diets and is more
nutritionally dense (eg. More vitamins, minerals and
phytochemicals) than the USDA Food Pyramid (now
called My Plate) diet. - Dr. Cordain
improve health and disease symptoms to a greater
degree than the Mediterranean diet or diet commonly
prescribed to diabetic patients. It is also more effective
in causing weight loss than these diets and is more
nutritionally dense (eg. More vitamins, minerals and
phytochemicals) than the USDA Food Pyramid (now
called My Plate) diet. - Dr. Cordain