Paleolithic Diet

The Paleolithic Diet presentation below will help you to understand that both humans and their foods have evolved over time.  The Paleolithic Diet presentation will give you an understanding of why such a diet may or may not work in today’s globalized world.

The Paleolithic Diet presentation will alert you to the changes that have taken place over time as humans shifted to an agricultural diet, which includes both domesticated animals and plants.  It is a synopsis of what happened when people abandoned the great variety of foods available to their hunting and gathering ancestors.  Having a variety of plant foods, supplementing with animal foods, provided populations protection from such common modern diseases as diabetes and obesity.

Remember, animals eaten by hunter-gatherers anciently were all free-range and had much less saturated fat content than factory farmed animals of today.  Also, take into consideration that both humans and foods co-evolved together and not separately.  An example of such co-evolution is seen in the plant we recognize as corn today.  Early corn varieties were extremely small and were unable to reproduce as prolific as today.  As explained in Michael Pollan’s, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, “. . . corn has succeeded in domesticating us.”  Corn had some traits that we humans desired, so we figured out ways to help it reproduce more abundantly.  In so doing, Zea Mays (corn), “. . . is today the world’s most important cereal crop.”  It wouldn’t have been possible, though, without a human being with opposable thumbs and a large brain.

Be sure to click on the Full Screen view in the corner.  Return to the presentation for review before taking the Quiz.