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The diet we evolved for:
When our earliest ancestors were evolving into
the first Palaeolithic men (and women) they were hunter-gatherers and their
bodies evolved to eat the food around them. Which was naturally nutrient-rich food.
Children were
breast-fed (the best start a child can have - and high in omega-3
ALA, vitamins and minerals) often for the first three three years of
life.
Adults killed or scavenged animals
-for proteins and fats - and ate it all: the brains, marrow and offal
which provided them with omega-3 in balance
with omega-6 The rest of
their diets were made up from slowly grown fruit and plants which
they would consume large quantities (remember they had no bread, cereals or potatoes
to fill up on) of the wild ancestors of the vegetables and fruit
we have today; slower grown, tougher and more fibrous but far richer in
minerals, vitamins, micronutrients and dietary and soluble
fibre, and other phytochemicals (plant chemicals which act as
nutrients) such as phenolic nutrients, (antioxidant, antimicrobial and
anticancer properties) lignans ((anticancer, antioxidant and
biologically active properties) and flavonoids (antioxidant and
anti-inflammatory). Their diets was low in starch and sugar - what we call
"low GI" or low carb.or "paleo"(lithic) diet
Modern diets are inadequate
and out of balance: The dietary needs of our bodies is the same as our hunter-gatherer
gatherer ancestors. But the diet we get is far lower in
minerals, vitamins, phytochemicals, dietary and soluble fibre
and omega-3 (which is now out of balance because of excessive levels of
omega-6 and other fats). (interestingly in our modern
affluent societies we start the nutrient deprivation at an early age - by
weaning children off mother's milk years earlier than is natural -that is if
they get it at all.) We further deviate from our natural diets by eating
far too much omega-6, (which comes from vegetable oils, nuts
and seeds, factory farmed meat, bread, cereals - in fact when ever we see
"polyunsaturates" on the nutritional information it means omega-6 ) this exacerbates the effects of the already
almost non-existent omega-3. Omega-6 produces the
pro-inflammatory prostaglandins whereas omega-3 produces
anti-inflammatory prostaglandins in the body. Which
means we should be
eating
more omega-3 to compensate for the effects of excess
omega-6..
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