Why it's good to be a caveman

The Paleolithic Diet demands you turn into a hunter-gatherer, cutting salt, dairy, and grains from your diet. iTALK finds out if it pays the urban Indian to go back in time

The Paleolithic Diet demands you turn into a hunter-gatherer, cutting salt, dairy, and grains from your diet. iTALK finds out if it pays the urban Indian to go back in time

A new study reveals that modern human genetics have barely changed since the dawn of agriculture, 10,000 years ago, and that the optimum diet for the modern man is still that of the hunter-gatherer. Our digestive systems have evolved very little since, and hence, the diet followed then the Paleolithic Diet should be followed today, the study claims.

Former pop singer Victoria Beckham follows the Japanese diet, whose principles are similar to those of the Paleolithic. It demands eating a traditional Japanese-style mean with lots of fish, vegetables, fruit, rice and soy, cutting down on calories, sugar, salt and saturates.

The Paleo diet, also termed caveman diet, is a Stone Age or hunter-gatherer diet. It's based on the nutritional plan that includes wild plants and animals, that human species habitually consumed. It is recognised as a fad diet by both, the NHS and the American Dietetic Association.

Food groups that were rarely or never consumed by humans before the Neolithic (agricultural) revolution are excluded from the diet: Grains, legumes, dairy products, salt, refined sugar and processed oils, although some advocates consider the use of oils with low omega-6/omega-3 ratios, such as olive oil and canola oil, to be healthy.

The diet permits you to drink water. Tea is termed a healthy drink, but alcoholic and fermented beverages are restricted.

According to certain proponents of the Paleolithic diet, practitioners should derive about 56% to 65% of their food energy from animal foods and 36% to 45% from plant foods. A diet high in protein (19% to 35% energy) and relatively low in carbohydrates (22% to 40% energy), with fat intake (28% to 58% energy) is recommended.

What you cannot eat:
>>Products of domesticated animals
>>Cultivated crops
>>Dairy products
>>Grains
>>Refined sugar
>>Oils, fats
>>Breakfast cereals
>>Processed carbohydrates

What you can eat:
>>Meat
>>Fish
>>Vegetables
>>Roots
>>Fruits
>>Nuts

Can the Paleolithic Diet work for the urban indian?

Dietician gives it a thumbs down

Jyoti Lalwani, Consulting Dietician
The Paleo diet doesn't suit Indians. It might work for those who live in extremely cold conditions, where they need meat, vegetables, nuts and fruits. The Indian ancestral diet which was a Sattvic diet (a vegetarian diet that includes water, fruit, cereal, most vegetables, beans, nuts, grains, milk and butter, ghee, cream, yoghurt, and honey) is a healthier alternative to the Paleo diet. Study of the human saliva, teeth, nails, intestine size and acidic condition in our stomach, reveals that we are herbivores, not carnivores. Hence, white meat (fish, chicken) in moderation is recommended, provided you consume complex carbohydrates found in grains and pulses, along with fresh fruits, vegetables and nuts.

Stomach doc says it can work

Dr Shripad Bodas, Gastro-intestinal and Laproscopic Surgeon
Our digestive system finds it tough to digest dairy products because some individuals can't digest lactose, the core content of milk. The diet of urban Indians is leading to a host of metabolic problems. Such a diet reduces the level of triglycerides, adds weight and increases toxin in the blood. Sugar and salt are two white poisons. Keeping away from them as far as possible will lead to a healthier life.

Not advisable for today's stressful lifestyle says fitness trainer

Prashant Behl, Fitness Trainer
The kind of physical and mental activity that's expected from the urban Indian, is far different from what our ancestors were expected to do. Earlier, lifestyle tilted towards a physically strenuous routine, that led to the natural burning of calories. So, the Paleo diet could work. Urban sedentary lifestyle and the Paleo don't match.