Recently, in order to address some of my possible food sensitivities, I have been following a strict "Paleo Diet". I'm only doing this for the short term - the idea is that by cutting out non-Paleo compliant foods for 30 days, I'll be able to "heal" my digestive system, and then while slowly re-introducing non-Paleo foods, I'll be able to gauge my food sensitivities. I'm not going to get into the nutritional aspect of the Paleo diet here (I do feel better than ever though!), or necessarily the legitimacy of the modern-day Paleo diet (Paleo eaters eat things like coconut pancakes and cauliflower-pizza -- they don't seem to be emulating our Palaeolithic ancestors whole-heartedly). But I am really interested in how archeological findings are construed and interpreted by the public. First, I'll quickly explain exactly what the Paleo-diet is, and then I'll dive into the "culture" that has been constructed around a pre-occupation with the Palaeolithic era.
The Paleo diet is somewhat of a new diet fad. Technically, it's not really "new" since the crux of the diet is to eat how Palaeolithic ancestors ate. A "hunter-gatherer" diet (without actually hunting and gathering) is considered, by Paleo-dieters, to be the best diet for humans*. Hard core Paleo eaters believe that our bodies are not equipped or developed to consume any post-agricultural foods. This means that processed foods, grains, legumes**, dairy, sugar, alcohol, and soy are no-nos. Animal proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and fats (avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil, ghee) are a-ok. It sounds pretty limiting, but I have learned that Paleo-eaters are some of the most creative cooks out there: they can pretty much "paleo-ify" anything.
What's interesting is that most descriptions of the Paleo-diet really skim over the biological and archeological evidence for the Paleo-diet being the most healthy diet for us - all of the Paleo-diet books and websites that I've read allude to these studies, but none cite the scientific legitimacy of the diet outright. Nor do any seem to account for the variation of diet in the Palaeolithic period - it is as if there everyone in the Palaeolithic period followed the exact same diet in these books!
To me, the Paleo-diet isn't even really a Palaeolithic diet. I've almost gathered a nostalgic aspect from diet-books and websites about the Paleo-diet: what happened in the past was better and we've lost our way. It seems to romanticize the past, but perhaps construct it in a way that it wasn't. For instance, "Paleo chocolate cake". Of course our ancestors didn't eat chocolate cake. We've repackaged what was a very simple diet into something far more complex (and something that may miss the point). I'm not sure what this says about us as a society - the need to take the wholesome ingredients that make up the Paleo-diet, and repackage them into cakes, pizzas, pancakes and other decidedly junky foods.
To an archeology student, some of the publications on the Paleo-diet are quite amusing. To see the diet of Paleolithic person be surmised in titles like "NomNom Paleo", "OMG, Is That Paleo?" and "The Paleolista" seems hare-brained. But people really love it -- I suppose it is a way of making making something like the incredibly-far past relevant today. We will in a very fast-paced stimulating world - there is a certain appeal for the simplicity of a hunter-gatherer society. I don't think the modern Paleo-diet will fade out anytime soon. Paleo-eaters love the Paleo-diet with the same ferocity that Vegans love their diets. I understand why - I feel amazing while eating Paleo. I cringe though, when reading recipes online that make reference to eating the way our ancestors ate.
* The idea that the Paleo-diet is the healthiest for humans is hugely contested. HUGLEY CONTESTED.
**From what I can tell, legumes seem to be a sticky-issue in the Paleo-diet world. You can read more about it here: http://whole9life.com/2012/09/the-legume-manifesto/
The Paleo diet is somewhat of a new diet fad. Technically, it's not really "new" since the crux of the diet is to eat how Palaeolithic ancestors ate. A "hunter-gatherer" diet (without actually hunting and gathering) is considered, by Paleo-dieters, to be the best diet for humans*. Hard core Paleo eaters believe that our bodies are not equipped or developed to consume any post-agricultural foods. This means that processed foods, grains, legumes**, dairy, sugar, alcohol, and soy are no-nos. Animal proteins, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds and fats (avocado oil, olive oil, coconut oil, ghee) are a-ok. It sounds pretty limiting, but I have learned that Paleo-eaters are some of the most creative cooks out there: they can pretty much "paleo-ify" anything.
What's interesting is that most descriptions of the Paleo-diet really skim over the biological and archeological evidence for the Paleo-diet being the most healthy diet for us - all of the Paleo-diet books and websites that I've read allude to these studies, but none cite the scientific legitimacy of the diet outright. Nor do any seem to account for the variation of diet in the Palaeolithic period - it is as if there everyone in the Palaeolithic period followed the exact same diet in these books!
To me, the Paleo-diet isn't even really a Palaeolithic diet. I've almost gathered a nostalgic aspect from diet-books and websites about the Paleo-diet: what happened in the past was better and we've lost our way. It seems to romanticize the past, but perhaps construct it in a way that it wasn't. For instance, "Paleo chocolate cake". Of course our ancestors didn't eat chocolate cake. We've repackaged what was a very simple diet into something far more complex (and something that may miss the point). I'm not sure what this says about us as a society - the need to take the wholesome ingredients that make up the Paleo-diet, and repackage them into cakes, pizzas, pancakes and other decidedly junky foods.
To an archeology student, some of the publications on the Paleo-diet are quite amusing. To see the diet of Paleolithic person be surmised in titles like "NomNom Paleo", "OMG, Is That Paleo?" and "The Paleolista" seems hare-brained. But people really love it -- I suppose it is a way of making making something like the incredibly-far past relevant today. We will in a very fast-paced stimulating world - there is a certain appeal for the simplicity of a hunter-gatherer society. I don't think the modern Paleo-diet will fade out anytime soon. Paleo-eaters love the Paleo-diet with the same ferocity that Vegans love their diets. I understand why - I feel amazing while eating Paleo. I cringe though, when reading recipes online that make reference to eating the way our ancestors ate.
* The idea that the Paleo-diet is the healthiest for humans is hugely contested. HUGLEY CONTESTED.
**From what I can tell, legumes seem to be a sticky-issue in the Paleo-diet world. You can read more about it here: http://whole9life.com/2012/09/the-legume-manifesto/
No comments:
Post a Comment