A little about me before I dive into the dirty details of dietary considerations; my name is Jen and I’m in the process of completing my university education as a double major in nutrition and zoology. I have been following a vegetarian diet for as long as I can remember and a vegan, grain-free diet for the past year (after an ex-boyfriend introduced me to the concept of a paleo diet). So, with my undergrad nearing an end I decided to make this blog to keep my passion growing and to continue to learn. Hopefully I’ll get some readers that can learn with me as well as question or correct me! I invite any comments, be it good or bad!
Anyyywayyys, the paleo diet sparked my interest on the implications of our modernized diet. I always get people asking me about my diet and assuming that I am a radical because my views are a bit out of the box from the average person- but are they really? I think that the overwhelming evidence that supports my views is a good indicator that they are actually kind of logical. Aside from my dietary interests, I am an avid rock climber and am focused on training to reach my performance goals- my diet is a major consideration while I am training. So far, I have seen some massive gains as a result of my diet.
So with that back ground info, my blog will be about nutrition. I will consider anything from nutrition for athletics to paleo diets to different supplementations to … etc.
With all of that said, heres topic number one; Human Diets through History.
Most researchers agree that hominids were first scavenging omnivores with diets consisting predominantly of plants and then group hunters, obtaining approximately one-quarter to one-half of their protein from lean meat. The incorporation of more meat in hominid diets meant they did not have to feed as often; leaving more time freed for making tools, planning and praying for successful hunting expeditions; this in turn lead to the creation of cultures. They could also now survive when plant sources were scarce but meat was abundant. With advanced hunting tools such as spears, humans became the only primate to inhabit the whole world; from temperate climates to deserts. Humans learned of new seeds to eat and new storage techniques for plants, and they could anticipate animal migrations. Networks for exchange between groups began; social evolution was now driving the evolution of humans. They were not fully sedentary, but were able to stay at their camps for a longer and longer time .
Sedentary living, farming as well as animal husbandry were gradual; pressures of increasing populations aided in their development. The agricultural revolution, 10,000-5000 years ago, led first to villages and then urban life; it supplied more food to growing populations. Full dependence on farming resulted in a decline in health and increase in diseases; people were less well-nourished and less healthy then their hunter-gathering ancestors. Agriculture brought a stable food supply year round, but the dependence on starchy foods which are high in calories and carbohydrates but lacking in certain nutrients and protein could be destructive. Meat consumption dropped significantly .
The Industrial Revolution resulted in agricultural advances which were in turn able to increase food production to feed our growing cities. The industrial and technological revolutions allowed for packaged and processed foods. Food could now be transported longer distances to reach consumers, which allowed cities to expand outward. As a result, city inhabitants became heavily dependent on transport, storage and preservation of food. While people in richer countries had bountiful amounts of food, others starved. Humans became increasingly more destructive to the Earth; over farming, hunting, and taking its resources as if there were an endless supply .
Today our diet is miles from the once healthy hunter-gathering diet which consisted of plants, animals and seeds. The general population now eats highly processed, genetically modified and hormone treated foods on a daily basis. Present diets have shifted in glycemic loads, fatty acid compositions, nutrient compositions, pH, and fiber composition .
Since the evolution of humans, the human genome has been relatively unchanged while our lifestyle and diets have diverged increasingly. These, perhaps maladaptive, changes increased with the agricultural revolution. Today, most of us live sedentary lives and consume a highly synthetic and processed diet. Two third of Americans are overweight or obese; hypertension incidence and metabolic syndrome have increased to astounding rates and cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in America .
Thomas Malthus, in his Essay on the Principle of Population written in 1978, stated that “population would exceed food production at some point, and an apocalypse would ensue“(Malthus, 1798). With agriculture continually improving in productivity and breeding of livestock becoming a science in many countries; scientific advances allowed the sustainment of our populations. Pesticides and genetic engineering has increased to avoid different pathogens that evade crops and herds. Hybridization is more and more common. While these innovations may have been important to sustain our massive populations, what are the effects on our health?
Stay tuned for more on the modernized diet!
Jen
Cordain, L., Eaton, S., Sebastian, A., Mann, N., Lindeberg, S., Watkins, B., O’Keefe, J., and Brand-Miller, J. (2005) Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Vol. 81, No. 2, pp 341-354.
Karlen, A. (1995) Man and Microbes: Disease and Plagues in History and Modern times. Putnam, Print.
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