In the past our ancestors hunted wild animals for meat, farmed, gathered berries, nuts and plants to have a healthy and nutritious diet. This was long before we had fast food restaurants and tv-dinners.
Before the beginning of agriculture and the domestication of animals we were called "hunter-gatherers". There are still many tribes in the world who live this way of life these days. What is interesting for health conscious people today is that these people do not have anywhere near the amount of diseases that we have here today like, cancer, strokes, diabetes, obesity and high blood pressure that cause 75% of all fatalities in the USA today.
Many people argue that the reason that these people did not get these diseases was because they did not live long enough, usually dying at a young age. While it is true that many people died early in their life usually due to infections or other accidents since they did not have our modern medicine. But the people who did survive these set backs lived a long life even some times surpassing the longevity of today’s people.
So why didn't our ancestors and many of tribes in the world today get the same diseases like heart disease and high blood pressure? Scientist believe it is because their diet and exercise has a lot to do with it.
How did these scientist know what these people ate and lived long time ago? Well they have found the bones of these people and analysed them in a lab. Bones reveals how much calcium a person consumed in his or er diet and also reveals how strong this person was. Also there are still people living in the world as hunter-gatherers. Some people call these people primitive, but they are mistaken, because hey have very sophisticated knowledge about plants, animals and vitamins and minerals in their environment. Scientists are trying to learn as much as they can about their knowledge of plants which can be used for medicine.
Today it is well known that these hunter-gatherer tribes live in the same way as our early ancestors did. Scientists are studying these tribes to determine what contributes to their exceptional health. What they found out is that in the past men an women got a lot more exercise than the average person today. This is because they have to engage in constant physical activity to hunt or gather food to eat. The men in these tribes are like our ancestors hunters. Hunting requires walking and running for hours and days to track an kill animals. Women in these tribes are no couch potatoes either. Their primary task is to gather food like berries, nuts and fruits which also required long hikes and walks. And on their return trip they had to carry all this food and in addition many were carrying their babies on thei backs too. Picking of fruit didn't necessarily mean off the ground. Usually it meant climbing trees or digging out roots buried in the ground.
With regards to diet these tribes as well as our ancestors got most of their nutrients from meat, fish, vegetables and fruits. These food groups provided our ancestors with a good healthy diet. Much healthier than our current diets with cereals, white flour and processed foods. Also they are more calcium (for strong bones) and fiber (which prevents colon cancer) than we do today. Our ancestors ate a high-protein, high fiber diet. Their intake of sodium, which causes high blood pressure in some people, was far lower than the intake of the average American today. When they consumed fat they consumed polyunsaturated animal fats instead of the hydrogenated plant fats that are included in today’s processed foods.
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| Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net |
What is interesting is that their cholesterol intake was higher than modern peoples
because they consumed much more meat than most folks in “civilized” societies now. However, our ancestors, and today’s hunter-gatherers, ate wild game which has a much lower fat content than animals raised in confinement today. Furthermore, these fats were of the polyunsaturated type, the opposite of what is contained in our confinement raised beef, pork and poultry.
Also these wild animals ate a natural diet that did not contain hormones, tranquilizers and antibiotics what our animals in farms eat today. These wild animals had as much as 20% less fat than domesticated, confinement raised animals on commercial “factory” farms. These early people also did not have to contend with refined flour and grains which have had the fiber removed, so their food had more bulk and roughage than present day processed products.
If we want to live longer and healthier lives we can take lessons from our ancestors: Eat whole un-refined grains, free-range or wild meats, and plenty of high-fiber vegetables. Limit your intake of carbohydrates and eat a high protein diet based on lean meats. Avoid sugars.
Are you looking for a good healthy diet to follow to lose those excess pounds? I can really recommend Isabel De Los Rios program the diet solution where you learn what foods are good for you and your family. It covers nutrition and dieting and is a real life style changer. Find out more here
Isabel De Los Rios is a certified nutritionist and the owner of New Body a fitness and nutrition centre based in New Jersey.
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