What is the Cave Man Diet?

Often in the media we see reports that there is an ever increasing prevalence of health conditions such as diabetes, cancer, obesity, heart disease and weakened immune systems. Do you ever wonder why?

Well, a lot of what goes on with our health is directly connected to what we eat. As life goes at a faster pace, it is sometimes hard to concentrate on nutrition and the role that it plays on how we feel and the condition of our body. In some families, the sit-down dinner that is prepared at home from fresh ingredients is a rare occasion. Fast-food is a typical meal with moms and dads working more to keep up with the financial demands of the current economy. Meal planning has become nonexistent due to time constraints on everyone.

As stated previously, there are many health conditions that are increasingly prevalent. It is becoming common belief among doctors that cancer, diabetes and heart disease are directly traceable to poor eating habits. In fact reports have been published lately that state diabetes and heart disease are reversible if we begin and regimen of healthy eating and increased exercise.

For some time now, it has been common knowledge that saturated fat, refined sugars and processed foods in general have contributed to poor health. In the last few years, gluten has risen to the level of a fad. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley and a few other grains. It is the material in flour that causes bread to be chewy. It is also used in a wide variety of foods as a stabilizer and thickening agent. It is known as a primary allergen in Celiac disease and the related wheat allergy.

Prior to the settling down of humans into agricultural communities, which were dependent on crops, many of the present day conditions of health were for the most part unknown. One fact is that our genes are still 99.99% identical to our Paleolithic ancestors. These hunter-gatherers ate diets that were predominately meat, fruits and nuts. These ancestors also were in motion by running, roaming and sprinting up to twelve hours per day. The common diseases of today emerged as agriculture became the norm and our requirement to hunt and gather our food.became less important.

One big misunderstanding of the last ten years is that if the food is "organic" then it has to be the best choice. This is not necessarily the case. There are foods that meet the government “organic food” regulation but are not the best choice for a totally healthy lifestyle.. We have to become more aware of what these labels really mean.

Organic foods are defined as foods that are produced using methods that do not involve modern synthetic inputs such as synthetic pesticides and chemical fertilizers, do not contain genetically modified organisms, and are not processed using irradiation, industrial solvents, or chemical food additives

So, the organic label on food can ensure that there are no pesticides or the food is not genetically modified. These are great assets but do not go far enough to get back to replicating the diet of our caveman ancestors.

Eating well means choosing real ingredients which come primarily from plant sources and grass fed meats and fish. Our diet today on average contains nearly two pounds daily of animal products. Most of our meat is grain fed and some contains hormones and antibiotics to keep the animals healthy. Processed food is a real problem in the modern day diet. Meats are processed to become the tasty treats of bacon and various lunch meats. Taste great,. but they contain large amounts of chemicals such as nitrates which are not condusive to good health when consumed regularly. These chemicals may be contributing to various cancers.

One of the worst consequences of our busy modern lifestyle is the overuse of take-out foods. Because of the very way they are prepared, they are unhealthy. The foods are mainly over processed, contain large amounts of salt and sugar and saturated fat. These products contribute to the clogging of arteries which leads to heart disease and obesity. An occasional fast food hamburger and fries is not going to kill you, but, your diet should consist for the most part of meals which involve fresh fruits and vegetables, meat that is grass fed, seafood that is not farm raised and natural oils.

The “Cave Man Diet” suggests that if we replicate eating habits of the Paleolithic Man, that several benefits can be achieved. These include weight loss. Even though a meal may seem to consist of bigger portions, the portions are mostly fresh vegetables, fruits and grain fed meats and cooked in oil, that is mostly unsaturated fat such olive and oils of various other plants. Even avocados, which seem like a luxury choice, are acceptable because of the high level of monounsaturated fat. They also contain many vitamins and minerals.

The reason I became interested in this style of eating is due to the routine that my mother, who is 88 years old, has been following for the past few years. She was having trouble with gas and bloating in her digestive tract. She would often experience nausea and sometimes even vomit. She was a lover of all types of bread and fatty food. Being raised on a farm in Ireland, this was normal. The typical breakfast consisted of eggs fried in butter, bacon or sausage, fried potatoes, fried tomatoes and of course lots of bread. After my parents came to this country, they continued to follow the eating habits ingrained in them from youth. My father thought that bacon was a food group. He loved fast food french fries. As a result he developed coronary heart disease which led eventually to his death.

My mother had suffered from digestive ailments most of her adult life. From her mid forties, she suffered from elevated blood pressure and high cholesterol levels. When my father had his first heart bypass, they changed their diet a little. But it was not enough and he eventually died after suffering a heart attack. My mother continued to suffer from extremely high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol levels. It was only after researching various cause and effect food relationships and with the help of a nutritionist, we came upon a diet similar to the so called Caveman Diet. She is completely off of all types of bread. She only eats grass fed beef and free range chicken and eggs produced from those chickens. Fish is an important component but it cannot be farm raised. She eats a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, a lot of which are home grown. The result is lowered blood pressure,in the normal range. Her cholesterol levels are normal and as an added bonus her digestive tract is behaving nicely. Also, arthritis had plagued her for years and that is now under control. It is amazing all the ways food can affect our health.

Sweet treats that come from nature are very healthy. Fruits that are highly colorized such as the various berries contain very important vitamins and micro-nutrients. Even a bowl of strawberries with unsweetened cream can be a good choice.

This article is only scratching the surface of what is considered acceptable in a natural food diet. It is worth studying this topic further to discover all the benefits. One thing that seems obvious is that a diet containing more natural foods has many benefits and can lead to a decrease in many of the health issues which are on the rise today and will most likely allow your body to feel better with much more energy.