The Caveman Diet

The Caveman Diet

Have you heard of the caveman diet, or cave dweller diet? If not, read on. It’s something you really need to know about. After all, the stuff you ingest into your system has taken millions of years to make the cut.

The basic constituents of any diet are of course proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and water. How one puts this all together of course depends much on your lifestyle, whether it be active or sedentary; as well as your state of general health, growth requirements and ‘medical conditions’.

There’s every advantage to your knowing about diet in a general sense, so that you can retain some independence in shaping your intake of food. For the detail, including special considerations, it’s best to consult a medical doctor or physician.

The discussion that follows traces major stages of pre-human development to give some idea of how your physical and physiological structures and processes evolved over time. Obviously the digestive system of stomach, gastro-intestinal tract etc., is especially important. These matters have great impact on your diet. What you eat is dependent on the evolving nutritional needs of humankind long before you were born, that emerged during a long evolutionary process.

In the early stages of our evolution, pre-humans engaged with an arboreal existence. That is, they were tree-dwellers. Foraging for food in the forests of the Central African region accustomed them to a considerable output of energy, which meant a good intake of sugars and starches from fruit and shoots to replace the loss. We acquired a taste for sweet things, but it was a difficult thing to get overweight when you expended almost as much energy locating, snatching and devouring your food as you gained from eating it.

After some millions of years, as australopithecines or some similar creature, our ancestors began exploring life on the African grasslands (savannah). They descended from the trees. At first this meant rooting for tubers, trying out some of the grasses, bludgeoning small creatures and scavenging from the carcases of animals killed by large carnivores.  They took to eating a portion of raw meat when they could get it, and gradually became omnivores as the high quality proteins and fats of venison or other meat was added to their diet. These ‘scamper, grab and retreat’ escapades gradually evolved into excursions lasting some hours or a day.

Our ancestors grew more erect, and learned to hurl projectiles like sticks or small rocks. But, only when humankind had managed to sharpen stakes and harden a point in fire, did they occasionally risk dispossessing the carnivores of their prey. And only when flint blades or sharpened bones were added as blades and the apposable thumb became refined, was it possible for them to drive the carnivores from the scene. That also took teamwork.

The humanoids were by now able to dig for roots and tubers, consume meat, and eat fruits, shoots and small creatures. Fishing on coastlines, or in lakes and rivers was another activity requiring much output of energy on the part of the fishermen. Reasonable homeostasis was maintained. The diet became more varied yet, and with the use of digging sticks came a ready supply of carbohydrates or ‘starch’.

And then, with the passage of time came the realisation that various grasses could be cultivated. The agrarian revolution began, and wheat, sorghum, maize, oats, barley, rye, rice and sugar cane were added. Man also learnt the domestication of bovines, pigs and jungle fowl, to add to his triumphs. We at last had a ‘good thing’ going on.

With the adoption of agriculture and animal husbandry, most of mankind still expended much energy in the process of farming. It was not until machinery took over many of the duties associated with farming, and we got hypermarkets and shops, that humans were relieved of the burdens of hunting, planting, cultivating, nurturing, harvesting, feeding and rearing. We became more comfortably sedentary.

Success bred indolence in a large portion of almost every population, and in recent times more than ever, regular exercise was left to the few labourers required in otherwise machine- dominated societies. We developed the motor-car, refrigerator, even the hypermarket trolley to assist us in our slouch towards a sedentary existence. Increasingly, physical activity was allocated to paid sportsmen who exercised in proxy for the rest of us. Even armies, police services and people working in hitherto labour-intensive industries sported extensive waistlines. One can perhaps be proud of that waist-line; it cost a lot to produce.

But yes, there is a downside. Associated diseases such as cardiac and other circulatory troubles, diabetes and postural defects are on the rise. The medical industry has proliferated. For millennia we have sent the fit young breeding population to die in wars while we keep the sick and fragile alive with medicines. Indeed, how could anyone with a conscience see it differently? Yet, nature is sceptical of our behaviour. Nature is very sceptical indeed.

 And the marketing of food products has inundated us with appealing offers. We are targeted daily, and sometimes encouraged to eat the most destructive food stuffs imaginable. The special targets are those people who give little though to the damage caused by excess, and who have only the enjoyment of their food in mind.

How does this affect diet?  Well, we each need to know enough about diet to develop and maintain our own; that is, a diet that we enjoy and that serves our individual needs with excess. It starts with a reasonable balance.

We always need sufficient clean water, as well as a range of vitamins and minerals. Salt needs to be watched carefully; we don’t need too much.

Protein is required to develop contractile tissue (muscles) and to repair that which is ‘broken down’.  Accordingly, we also need enough rest for that to take place. Athletes and labourers, or indeed anyone who expends energy in large-muscle ‘static strength’ activities, needs an extra intake of proteins. Fats should be taken in moderation, and saturated fats kept under strict control.

Carbohydrates should also be eaten in moderation, and comparatively little raw sugar or glucose should be consumed unless one is engaged with endurance activities. Leave that to the long-distance athletes who need carbo-loading. Vegetable are better for you since as polysaccharides they have a quite complex process in breaking down to usable glucose. They also carry other useful nutrients such as vitamins and minerals, and a bit of protein and vegetable fat.

This blog would be really deficient if I didn’t say something about exercise. That’s of course already been a prime focus.

A minimum time of thirty minutes a day should do it. Give more time if you can. Let the first ten minutes be a warm-up that uses the major muscle groups of legs and trunk to get the body warmed with an increased circulation and ingestion of oxygen. It can also include stretching (suppleness) activities for the hip, spine and shoulder joints.

Three of these sessions weekly might then focus on static strength and dynamic strength that are directed to enhancement of your skeletal muscles. It’s probable that men will give more attention to this aspect than women. 20 minutes is adequate, unless you are a bodybuilder or specialist sportsman requiring a two-hour schedule.

Three other sessions weekly might be devoted to cardio-vascular endurance. You can graduate from walking for much of the distance, to inserting 20 metre stretches of running at a very manageable pace. Gradually increase the load. Eventually, you might do three or four kilometres of running at a steady pace, or more. Try to get your heart-rate above 130 beats per minute.

Always consult a doctor if you’re starting from a very low, unfit base; especially if you’re no longer young. Whatever programme you settle on, do try to include stamina/endurance, suppleness and strength. If you include such things as weights, do get sound advice on safety procedures.  

In conclusion, do the following:

·         Learn about the main constituents of diet. Read further on it, but avoid fads. Keep to basics. Yes, your calorie intake is an important consideration.

·         Take in sufficient protein, but not too much animal fat.

·         Be very wary of an overload of refined sugars.

·         Take in vitamins, minerals and water.

·         Only take in increased quantities of calories if your energetic life style ensures that the excess will be consumed. Lower the intake if necessary.

·         Be wary of ‘fashionable fads’.

·         For general good health, return to your forebears’ lifestyle by engaging with exercise.

·         Consult your doctor about your diet and exercise, and especially when unusual needs arise

 

Finally, if you are overweight, face up to the most critical aspect of all. That is, learning to assert firm self-control over what and how much you eat; and realising that only you can keep things in moderation. Some people have unfavourable ‘genetic profiles’. For some, this can therefore be a lonely venture but there’s no need to face it on your own. Never give way to a sense of hopelessness. Join a support group if necessary. If you want to succeed, you have to get it right.