Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

5

So...with all the Neolithic dietary habit bashing that happens in this site, can anyone tell me what (if any) good things the Neolithic diet brought to the table / flat rock / picnic cloth? Nicer cutlery and crockery don't count, just edible things :)

And just to really mix it up...what about the Mesolithic and post-Neolithic periods (Bronze Age & Iron Age)?

edited Aug 9 2011 at 17:29

asked Aug 9 2011 at 16:44

BryanH
220●1●9

An interesting question. Sometimes I ask myself 'if paleo is so much better, why do the vast majority of humans eat neolithic?' – harms.20 Aug 9 2011 at 17:07

8

harms.20 - Addiction to sugar, flour, etc. Government subsidies that make neolithic foods cheap. Economics even without subsidies. Habit – Karen Aug 9 2011 at 17:15

drives evolution of humans. That is about it. – The Quilt Aug 9 2011 at 22:11

It is the new natural selection choice for us it appears. – The Quilt Aug 9 2011 at 22:11

Travis Culp · Accepted Answer · 2011-08-09 17:20:46Z UTC

I actually think the neolithic diet is quite good for avoiding acute problems, but quite bad at contributing to chronic ones. If you spend enough time here, you can see that with a paleo diet, there seems to be an increased chance of various types of strange acute reactions due to nutrient deficiencies and the like that the average person wouldn't really encounter. This seems to be far more likely for those going down a low(er) carb route. Heck, I've seen paleo people complain of scurvy.

A fairly diverse neolithic diet won't deliver optimal amounts of all the nutrients, but I think there's a small chance that someone would get none of something. Take dairy for example. If you avoid it, there's precious little bioavailable calcium in a standard paleo diet. Presumably we got Ca and Mg from drinking out of streams in the distant past, but you have to pursue it supplementally in order to avoid a deficiency in the absence of dairy. The answer is simply that we need to be more vigilant about nutrient density.

Jeff · Answer 2 · 2011-08-09 16:46:51Z UTC

7

olive oil and butter are pretty good contributions

answered Aug 9 2011 at 16:46

Jeff
16.5k●1●8●33

Karen · Answer 3 · 2011-08-09 16:57:13Z UTC

6

Coffee with cream and a slice of pecan pie. Good in a sort of tasty evil way that could kill a person of course.

Oh, you wanted a serious answer. Oops.

Domesticated animals - meat readily available. Coffee and tea for those of us who partake.

answered Aug 9 2011 at 16:57

Karen
11.1k●7●32

	Mmmmmm, pecan pie..... :P – Nemesis Aug 9 2011 at 21:00
	One of the few foods I have to be very careful to never set eyes on, or all is lost. – Karen Aug 9 2011 at 22:16

Carl_Stawicki · Answer 4 · 2011-08-09 16:55:38Z UTC

4

All domesticated plants and animals that fit into the paleo framework.

answered Aug 9 2011 at 16:55

Carl_Stawicki
13.3k●1●6●32

Jon · Answer 5 · 2011-08-09 17:58:20Z UTC

4

Domesticated animals that are pastured. Maybe wine (that's arguable). Butter from pastured animals. Maybe olive oil. Coconut oil. Chocolate (contains phytates but high in magnesium...).

answered Aug 9 2011 at 17:58

Jon
1,304●2●7

2

Mmm. Plus one for wine and chocolate. – Rose Aug 9 2011 at 18:32

thhq · Answer 6 · 2011-08-09 18:10:15Z UTC

Portability. The Neolithic diet allowed humans to live anywhere and survive famines. Stockfish, grains, herding and alcohol (that great preservative of grain and fruit)made it all possible.

Refrigeration came later, allowing vegetarianism and modern paleo life as we know it.

jared · Answer 7 · 2011-08-09 19:53:29Z UTC

4

Cheese...glorious, glorious cheese...

uhhhh, Go Packers?!

answered Aug 9 2011 at 19:53

jared
3,420●5●19

Adam Crafter · Answer 8 · 2011-08-09 20:06:55Z UTC

Wine, mead, and cider.
GHEE!
Cheeses (that are low in lactose)
The profusion of choices of aged meats

I'm also going to have to call out all the paleo-like treats that can only be grown/raised vary far away from me.
Coffee, Tea, certain spices, cocoa, etc. etc. etc.

Link for personman http://askthecheesesnob.blogspot.com/2010/11/does-lactose-intolerance-no-cheese.html

Thumper · Answer 9 · 2011-08-09 17:18:05Z UTC

2

Wine

San Pelligrino

answered Aug 9 2011 at 17:18

Thumper
12.3k●2●10●48

PersonMan · Answer 10 · 2011-08-09 17:27:45Z UTC

1

Where does cheese fit into the dynamic?

answered Aug 9 2011 at 17:27

PersonMan

1

If you're talking about cow cheese, then probably in the Neolithic period...if you're talking horse mare milk cheese, then probably in the slightly later Chalcolithic period (Copper Age)...no idea about goats/sheep. – BryanH Aug 9 2011 at 17:34

2

What about human cheese? – PersonMan Aug 9 2011 at 17:36

1

Check out the this link on wikipedia too: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheese#Origins – BryanH Aug 9 2011 at 17:39

@PersonMan - fortunately the internet has an answer to that too: good.is/post/… Seems like 2006 was the magical year for producing this odd addition to the food chain :) – BryanH Aug 9 2011 at 17:42

2

lol...LOVE the link bryanH! Mmmmmm, nothing like some good fresh pressed breast milk in your morning coffee. Really gets things pumpin. – JayJay Aug 9 2011 at 18:29

O Primitivo · Answer 11 · 2011-08-09 19:05:14Z UTC

1

The Neolithic diet has proved enough to nourish the entire humanity, and you propably couldn't feed 5 billion people with the paleodiet. You must give it some credits, don't you think so?

answered Aug 9 2011 at 19:05

O Primitivo
19●1

4

Cart before horse, here. The Neolithic food supply has produced billions of people. Simplified law of population ecology: Species population rises to limit of resources. Neolithic food = effing monstrously mega resources. – Rose Aug 9 2011 at 19:31

1

Careful about calling everyone else surplus population rose. – thhq Aug 9 2011 at 20:16

Heh. Yeah, I'm aware of the pitfalls on that conceptual road. Still, I felt the need to point out that OP's got the credit arrow going in the wrong direction. – Rose Aug 9 2011 at 20:57

being · Answer 12 · 2011-08-09 20:51:50Z UTC

im a big fan of all the wonderful cultured dairy products. and carbonated water. ice cream, fo sho. wine, seltzer, limoncello, olive oil, cultivated fruits and veggies and the ability to preserve and ship them long distances. yogurt.

but mostly, salted caramel gelato.

Andy · Answer 13 · 2011-08-09 23:53:33Z UTC

Pie, chocolate cake, oreos, McFlurries, Blizzards.

Hey, I thought the question WAS good things, not necessarily healthy things. :)

What ya expect serious thoughtful answers all the time, tomorrow is my carb loading day and it will be potatoes and fruit in addition to 210g of protein and 100g of fat. :( A guy can wish can't he?

Seriously, cows, pigs, sheep, in truth...a small amount of some legumes (yeah, yeah, I know...I'm in the minority of one here on this one)... But I have yet to see evidence where green beans which are mostly shell are bad.

Farmed broccoli, asparagus, spinach, turnips. ...

The list can go on...

EDIT...don't forget home canning. You think any self respecting cave man other than an inuit or norseman cave viking dude would have had a freezer? :)

Any upsides to the Neolithic diet?

13 Answers