ReviewCardiovascular Disease Resulting From a Diet and Lifestyle at Odds With Our Paleolithic Genome: How to Become a 21st-Century Hunter-Gatherer
Section snippets
THE IDEAL HUMAN DIET
Perhaps no scientific topic has generated more controversy and confusion in recent times than the question of the ideal human diet. Medical experts espouse divergent views of human nutrition with evangelical zeal, each citing scientific data to validate their respective contradictory conclusions. This confusing dialogue is epitomized by the Atkins13 vs Ornish14 debate. The Atkins diet includes high protein, high saturated fat, and avoidance of nearly all carbohydrates. In contrast, the Ornish
REAL FOOD, NOT SYNTHETIC FOOD
Our remote ancestors consumed only natural and unprocessed food foraged and hunted from their environment. This subsistence strategy provided a diet of lean protein that was high in fiber, vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and other beneficial phytochemicals16 (Table 2). The typical Paleolithic diet compared with the average modern American diet contained 2 to 3 times more fiber, 1.5 to 2.0 times more polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats, 4 times more ω-3 fats, but 60% to 70% less saturated
HUNTER-GATHERER FITNESS
Our Paleolithic ancestors exerted themselves daily to secure their food, water, and protection.72, 73 Although modern technology has made physical exertion optional, it is still important to exercise as though our survival depended on it, and in a different way it still does. We are genetically adapted to live an extremely physically active lifestyle. A sedentary existence predisposes us to obesity, hypertension, the metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and most types of cardiovascular disease,
SUMMARY
The hunter-gatherer diet and lifestyle are the milieu for which we remain genetically adapted. Although it is neither practical nor even possible to replicate all prehistoric living conditions today, these general characteristics should serve as a template to design and test effective interventions to reduce the incidence of degenerative cardiovascular diseases.
Acknowledgments
We acknowledge Connie Smith for her assistance with the preparation of the submitted manuscript.
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