Eating 101

Fruits. Vegetables. Seeds. Nuts. Meats. Fish. Eggs. That’s it.

Over the course of millions of years, our ancestors survived purely from these seven things. Typically, women gathered nuts, seeds, fruits, and vegetables while men hunted for meat. Together these food sources provided the necessary components of a complete diet that sustained healthy living. Climate, geography and luck mainly determined how balanced these sources were. But remember, regardless of how much of each food they ate, these were the only foods available to our ancestors, so naturally our bodies have adapted to their consumption.

It wasn’t until roughly ten thousand years ago, a short time on Earth, that large quantities of breads, potatoes, rice, pasta, and dairy became available through the cultivation of plants and domestication of animals. These relatively new sources of calories were the main reason our complex societies were able to develop. To a large degree, our overabundance is due to them.

However, for millions of years our bodies evolved on diets without any of these. The relatively minuscule time-span since the domestication of plants and animals has not prepared us to live healthy lives with diets consisting of too many breads, pastas, rice, and potatoes. Yes, life expectancy has greatly increased in this life-span, but this can be attributed not to new foods, but rather to man’s no longer having to live life on-the-go while dealing with hunger, thirst, illness, injuries, extreme cold, and fighting dangerous animals with primitive tools.

So, think of these new calories as little more than fillers. If you find yourself overwhelmed by nutritional definitions and rules, ask yourself this: For millions of years before the domestication of plants and animals, what did we eat?

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