BASICS OF THE PALEOLITHIC DIET-

Dr. Ben Balzer, general practitioner

Beverly Hills Medical Service

109 Morgan St
Beverly Hills NSW 2209
Tel 02 95023355 Fax 02 95024243

 The scientific study of nutrition from the perspective of the diet of the 2.4
million year history of humanity, including that of the modern surrogate-
hunter-gathers.
 Particular reference to the implications of the dietary changes of the
Agricultural Revolution of 5,000-12,000 years ago in Europe Africa Asia and
America (“Neolithic Diet”)
 Part of a larger field known as evolutionary medicine.
 Based on the single assumption that the diet that we evolved with is the ideal
diet. i.e. that we are genetically adapted to the diet that we evolved with.
 The primary tenet of evolutionary medicine is the discordance between our
ancient genetically determined biology and the nutritional, cultural, and
activity patterns of contemporary western populations, which leads to many of
the so-called diseases of civilisation.
 The profound changes in the environment (e.g., in diet, activity and other
lifestyle conditions), which began with the introduction of agriculture and
animal husbandry approximately 10,000 years ago, occurred too recently on
an evolutionary timescale for natural selection to adjust the human genome.
 Builds on the work of many others including Weston Price 1939, Burkitt and
Trowell’s 1962 fibre hypothesis and then of Eaton Eaton Konner 1988
Paleolithic Prescription- (Pritikin like and very different to the modern model).
 30% of energy in the average modern diet derives from Paleolithic foods, and
the other 70% come from Neolithic foods. This gives an approximate range of
10 to 50% of energy being Paleolithic for most people, and 50-90% Neolithic.
 All diets have multiple dimensions e.g. the mainstream 7
1) Glycaemic load GL= GI x serving size
2) Fatty acid composition
3) Macronutrient composition
4) Micronutrient density
5) Acid/base balance,
6) Sodium/potassium ratio
7) Fibre content
 All of these dimensions are important and variation in ANY of these
dimensions beyond the evolutionary tolerance has implications for our health.
 In general it has been found that all 7 of these dimensions are at optimal levels
in the paleolithic diet. Therefore paleolithic diet devotees see much nutritional
“progress” as simply “reverse engineering” of the paleolithic diet.
 As this diet is high in iron, it is not suitable for people with
haemochromatosis.
 7 Classical Dimensions of Nutrition
1) Glycaemic load GL= GI Most carbs are low GI, Reduced risk of
x serving size overall approx 35% energy hyperglycaemia/ insulin
as carbs gives a low GI resistance, obesity esp in
combination with exercise
2) Fatty acid composition Hi in omega 3 Reduced risk of heart
Low in omega 6 disease, obesity, glaucoma,
Low in saturated fat depression arthritis asthma
3) Macronutrient USA CHO (51.8%)(rec Implications debated
composition 55-60%)
fat (32.8%)(reco
30%)
protein (15.4%) (rec
15%)
Hunter gatherers
CHO 22-40%, Protein
19-35%
4) Micronutrient density 3 to 10x increase in most Vitamin and mineral
vitamins and minerals deficiency unlikely. Very
low homocysteine.
5) Acid/base balance, Alkaline cf modern diet Osteoporosis, age-
acidic related muscle
wasting calcium
kidney stones,
hypertension, and
exercise-induced
asthma and slow the
progression
of age- and disease-
related chronic renal
insufficiency

6) Sodium/potassium ratio Low sodium 1/5 hypertension, stroke,

Hi potassium 3X kidney
Very low ratio stones, osteoporosis,
gastrointestinal tract
cancers, asthma,
exercise-induced
asthma, insomnia, air
sickness, high-
altitude
sickness, and
Meniere’s Disease

7) Fibre content Very high eg 47g/day constipation,

Cf recommended level of appendicitis,
 25-30g/day
Cf usual intake of 15g/day
Beyond the mainstream 7 dimensions
Antioxidants Very high quantity &
variety. Vitamins,
minerals, and other
antioxidants
Phytosterols High in quantity and
variety, esp in roots
Antinutrients- Very low in PD
lectins inc gluten
protease inhibitors
glycoalkaoids
Foreign proteins- uncoded Very low in PD.
antigens may cross Eg Wheat germ agglutinin
react with our self may cross react.
antigens
Leaky gut- promoted by Lectins break down brush
lectins, casein, lactose border, casein & lactose
inhibit proteolysis and
promote pinocytosis
Bacterial overgrowth- Bacterial overgrowth
promoted by lectins, promoted in animals
low fibre,
Exorphins- opioid proteins These can stimulate or
in milk and wheat inhibit endorphin
receptors.
Cooking, processing, Cooking may produce
additives toxins such as heterocyclic
amines, etc. Additives, eg
hemorrhoids, deep
vein thrombosis,
varicose veins,
diverticulitis, hiatal
hernia, and
gastroesophageal
reflux
Possible role in prevention
of IHD, cancer, macular
degeneration etc.
Possible role in sex
hormone related illnesses.
Major role in coeliac
disease. Possible role in
autoimmunity
Possible role in
autoimmunity
Possible role in
autoimmunity
Possible role in
autoimmunity
Has not been explored, but
theoretically opioids are
involved in pain and
addiction.
Some are carcinogens.
Toxicity of others is
debated.

Soil erosion- our soils are
not the same as in the
Paleolithic period
Alcohol
MSG, aspartame,
cyclamate.
Deficiency in minerals eg Re-emergence of iodine
iodine and selenium is deficiency in Australia
encouraged by irrigation
Significant proportion of Toxicity- brain, liver,
diet in some people heart, vitamin deficiency

For millions of years, humans and their relatives have eaten meat, fish, fowl and the
leaves, roots and fruits of many plants. One big obstacle to getting more calories from
the environment is the fact that many plants are inedible. Grains, beans and potatoes
are full of energy but all are inedible in the raw state as they contain many toxins.
There is no doubt about that- please don’t try to eat them raw, they can make you very
sick.

Around 10,000 years ago, an enormous breakthrough was made- a breakthrough that
was to change the course of history, and our diet, forever. This breakthrough was the
discovery that cooking these foods (grains, beans and potatoes) made them edible- the
heat destroyed enough toxins to render them edible. Grains include wheat, corn,
barley, rice, sorghum, millet and oats. Grain based foods also include products such as
flour, bread, noodles and pasta. These foods entered the menu of New Stone Age
(Neolithic) man, and Paleolithic diet buffs often refer to them as Neolithic foods.

The cooking of grains, beans and potatoes had an enormous effect on our food intake-
perhaps doubling the number of calories that we could obtain from the plant foods in
our environment. Other advantages were soon obvious with these foods:
• they could store for long periods (refrigeration of course being unavailable in
those days)
• they were dense in calories- ie a small weight contains a lot of calories,
enabling easy transport
• the food was also the seed of the plant- later allowing ready farming of the
species

These advantages made it much easier to store and transport food. We could more
easily store food for winter, and for nomads and travelers to carry supplies. Food
storage also enabled surpluses to be stored, and this in turn made it possible to free
some people from food gathering to become specialists in other activities, such as
builders, warriors and rulers. This in turn set us on the course to modern day
civilization. Despite these advantages, our genes were never developed with grains,
beans and potatoes and were not in tune with them, and still are not.

Then followed the harnessing of dairy products around 5,000 years ago, which
allowed man to obtain far more calories from the animal over its lifetime than if it
were simply slaughtered for meat. Dairy products are interesting as they combine a
variety of components- some of which our genes were ready for and some not. Whilst
cows milk is ideal for calves, there are several very important differences between it
and human milk. For example, the brain of a calf is only a tiny fraction of its body
weight whereas humans have very big brains. Not surprisingly, cows milk is low in
critical nutrients for brain development, particularly omega 3 fats.

Paleolithic Diet buffs refer to the new foods as Neolithic foods and the old as
Paleolithic Diet foods. In simple terms we see Neolithic as bad and Paleolithic as
good.

Since then, some other substances have entered the diet- particularly salt and sugar,
and more recently a litany of chemicals including firstly caffeine then all other
additives, colourings, preservatives, pesticides etc.

Grains, Beans and Potatoes (GBP) share the following important characteristics:
• They are all toxic when raw- there is no doubt about this- it is a fact that no
competent source would dispute- they can be extremely dangerous and it is
important never to eat them raw or undercooked. These toxins include enzyme
blockers, lectins and other types. I will talk about them in detail later as they
are very important.
• Cooking destroys most but not all of the toxins. Insufficient cooking can lead
to sickness such as acute gastroenteritis.
• They are all high in carbohydrate, and once cooked this is often rapidly
digestible- giving a high glycemic index (sugar spike). They have greatly
increased the amount of carbohydrate in the diet and therefore the demand for
insulin and this creates a strain on the body with a strong tendency towards
diabetes. Europeans are more used to these foods, yet 20% of Europeans will
develop diabetes. Races who have more recently been introduced to these
foods are much more prone to diabetes which may affect of 50% of some
groups of Aborigines, Polynesians and Eskimo and American Indians.
• They are extremely poor sources of vitamins (particularly vitamins A, B-
group, folic acid and C), minerals, antioxidants and phytosterols.

Therefore diets high in grains beans and potatoes (GBP):

• Contain toxins in small amounts
• Have a high glycemic index (ie have a similar effect to raw sugar on blood
glucose levels)
• Are low in many vitamins, minerals, antioxidants and phytosterols- ie they are
the original “empty calories”
• Have problems caused by them displacing other foods

As grains, beans and potatoes form such a large proportion of the modern diet, you
can now understand why it is so common for people to feel they need supplements or
that they need to detoxify (ie that they have toxins in their system)- indeed both
feelings are absolutely correct.

The essentials of the Paleolithic Diet are:

Eat none of the following:

• Grains- including bread, pasta, noodles
 • Beans- including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, snow-peas and
peas
• Potatoes
• Dairy products
• Sugar
• Salt
• Processed factory manufactured foods

Eat the following:

• Meat, chicken and fish
• Fruit
• Vegetables (especially leafy greens and root vegetables, but definitely not
including potatoes)
• Eggs – preferably omega 3 enriched types.
• Nuts –eg walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia, almond. Do not eat peanuts (a
bean) or cashews (a family of their own)
• Berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.

Try to increase your intake of:

• Root vegetables- carrots, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, Swedes
• Organ meats- liver and kidneys (I accept that many people find these
unpalatable and won’t eat them)

Paleolithic Diet References:

The Paleo Diet book by Prof Loren Cordain

www.thepaleodiet.com has many references
www.paleodiet.com has many links and email groups

Eaton SB, Eaton SB III, Konner MJ Paleolithic Nutrition Revisited:A 12Year

Retrospective on its Nature and Implications. European J. Clinical Nutrition
(1997)61,207-216
Shahidi, Fereidoon ed Antinutrients and Phytochemicals in Food 1997,Culinary
and Hospitality Industry Publications CHIPS

Cordain L, Cereal Grains: Humanity's Double Edged Sword.

Evolutionary Aspects of Nutrition and Health. D  iet, Exercise, Genetics and
Chronic Disease World Review of Nutrition & Dietetics, 1999;84:19-73
www.thepaleodiet.com
Cordain L. Implications of Plio-Pleistocene Hominin Diets for Modern Humans.
In: Early Hominin Diets: The Known, the Unknown, and the Unknowable. Ungar,
P (Ed.), Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2006, pp 363-83 www.thepaleodiet.com
Loren Cordain, S. Boyd Eaton, Anthony Sebastian, Neil Mann, Staffan Lindeberg,
Bruce A. Watkins, James H. O’Keefe, Janette Brand Miller. Origins and evolution
of the western diet: Health implications for the 21st century. Am J Clin Nutr
2005;81:341-54 www.thepaleodiet.com
Freed, D. BMJ 1999;318:1023-1024 ( 17 April )Do dietary lectins cause disease?
(editorial) http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/318/7190/1023

Simopoulos, Artemis and Robinson, Jo The Omega Diet. Harper Perennial 1999
The Omega Plan (Australian Edition)