Why Grok probably didn't eat Paleo

The Paleo diet is one of the most successful dietary fads in recent years and the principle fueling those partaking in the diet is to eat only the foods which are most suited to our biology. This involves eliminating grains, dairy, legumes and processed foods and consuming a high protein/high fat diet/low carb diet, much like our paleolithic ancestors. 

The dietary protocol allows a sense of satiety without forcing people to compromise on portion sizes because the plate is filled with nutritionally dense foods. The greatest impact on health is the diet's reported ability to tackle chronic diseases. It is dubbed as the answer to the modern obesity epidemic
 

The effectiveness of the diet is easy to see, and the claims are justifiable, but the rationale behind the diet is inconsistent. For example, did our paleolithic ancestors really eat protein with every meal and consume fruits and vegetables at will? Did they really get as much fat in their diet as we are encouraged to consume now? Would you really ever witness a paleolithic human sitting down eating a banana?


Well the American archaeogeneticist Christina Warriner thinks not.

In a fascinating lecture concerning the true dietary habits of the paleolithic humans, Christina Warriner gives a solid talk on how our diets have changed over the past few thousand years. She breaks down different aspects of the modern Paleo diet and explains why it is that our ancestors would never have even seen what we call a banana. 

Following on from her talk, it is obvious that even with the best intentions it would be challenging for anyone living in the modern era to eat in a similar fashion to our ancestors. The food available to us in our supermarkets is just not the same. This means that as hard as we try we will never have a truly Paleo diet. 


What can be taken from this short lecture is that keeping nutrition whole and unprocessed is the best bet for maintaining robust health, irrespective of calories and macronutrient ratios. Hardly a ground breaking insight. 
What is more significant is that although we cannot hold on to our dietary past as a justification of the paleo diet, the results of the intervention haven't changed. Consuming a diet based on paleo principles does lead to better short term and potentially long term health for most people as an alternative to a more average diet; high in processed foods and refined carbohydrates. 

But the greatest insight comes as a result of a different point of view. Perhaps we are now in new territory, where we have access to all the food we need and as a result we can control our intake to whatever we like. The principles are the same but the food is different. We are now able to optimise our nutrition to make ourselves healthier than we ever have been. 

Grok probably wishes he had the opportunity to eat more like we do.