The paleo diet has been gaining in popularity recently. But
it’s more than just a diet. It’s really about eating the kind of food our body
expects. And, for some people, it might also serve as a point of personal
departure toward a more authentically human mode of living in general.
The basic idea behind eating paleo mirrors the main thesis
of my book, Born Expecting the Pleistocene. Human DNA does not reflect the
Neolithic in any meaningful way. Our physiological systems—like our social and psychological
tendencies—have evolved to accommodate foraging hunter-gatherer lifestyles. Legumes,
grains, and dairy—let alone high fructose corn syrup, GMO soybean oil, and
factory-farmed meat—were not a regular part of the Pleistocene menu.
There are a number of good paleo blogs with recipes and
other tips aimed at accommodating our evolved dietary needs to the realities of
life in modern industrial technoculture.
I have been eating mostly paleo for several years now, and
can offer anecdotal support for every one of its purported benefits. For
example, I noticed an immediate and dramatic change in my energy levels and
overall mental clarity the moment I stopped eating wheat products and reduced
dairy to an occasional condiment. At this point, I have completely eliminated
dairy and all grains (even starchy grain-like seeds such as buckwheat). I eat a
lot more meat than I used to, most of it either grass-fed or wild. I found that
I have a real affinity for buffalo. Four-season cold-frame gardening keeps me
supplied with fresh organic greens year-round. An occasional hummus jones has
kept me from completely dropping legumes. And then there’s alcohol—which is why
I say “mostly paleo”—although a sizable proportion of my (moderate but regular)
alcohol ingestion comes by way of homemade mead. Honey wine, by the way, is
remarkably easy to make, although it takes considerable willpower to keep from
drinking it before its flavor reaches full maturity.
Food is important, but it is only one part of an authentic
human lifestyle. We are also being forced to engage in artificial “processed” behavior
and to participate in unnatural forms of interpersonal interaction that leave
us socially and emotionally malnourished as well. Civilization deforms and
destroys the social and environmental
input that is essential for healthy human maturation, and replaces it with conditions
that engender chronic immaturity, acute dependence, and a perpetual state of
emotional need—a state of need that is easily exploited by the superficial
enticements of consumer culture with its technological trinkets and two-dimensional
community affiliations.
The increasing popularity of the paleo diet might simply
reflect a point in the natural life course of yet another consumer fad. But maybe, just maybe, some of those who
choose to eat from an undomesticated plate might start to wonder what it would
be like to think with an undomesticated mind.
Dairy, grains, and legumes today. Oil, iphones, and the international monetary
fund tomorrow.
Love your blog, Old Dog! This is another great post.
ReplyDeleteThanks Misko! You are on my "sites of interest". Should have had you there a long time ago.
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