Paleo Diet and Paleolithic Diet Questions & Answers

Question

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I saw a great documentary last week on mountain gorillas. One thing that stood out to me was a section where the troop found a chunk of deadwood - which the presenter described as a "gorilla delicacy". I've also read (and Mark Sisson mentioned on a prebiotics post he did a few months back) that many primates consume soil from time to time.

We spend a lot of time analysing our current food universe and separating them into paleo and non-paleo foods, but my question is - what else could or should we be eating that nobody consumes at this point in time? I'm not advocating eating soil or deadwood, but am curious as to what our ancestors may have eaten that doesn't even seem to be an option in today's world.

flag	asked Sep 3 2010 at 7:16 CT 2,766●1●7●15

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I know Dr. Art Ayers of Cooling Inflammation advocated eating unwashed garden vegetables for the beneficial bacteria in the soil. But how do we do this without our own gardens? And how do we know the health of the soil anyway? – patrick3000 Sep 3 2010 at 7:38

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Clay is another substance consumed by many trad cultures. – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Sep 3 2010 at 14:51

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Thanks for all the answers. I've decided to fashion a burger bun from clay, make the burger with minced insects, and a side of deadwood fries sprinkled with soil seasoning. I'll eat this whilst riding my horse. Bon appetit. – CT Sep 5 2010 at 21:58

Kikilula · Accepted Answer · 2010-09-04 11:31:53Z UTC

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As a kid I didn't bother about washing the fruits, berries, herbs, buds, nuts, mushrooms and other plants that I found while playing in the garden or in the wild... just rubbed off the soil so it wasn't too crunchy to eat.

My daddy told me which plants are edible or delicious - he learned it from his greatgrandmother during worldwar 2.

Today my daughter enjoys strolling around with me and picking here and there any edible plant-thing we can find.

answered Sep 4 2010 at 11:31

Kikilula
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I agree - as a kid who grew up roaming the woods behind our house in Connecticut, I would pick berries and eat lichens all the time. I would even make mud and leaf polstices to put on cuts and stuff (yeah, I was something of a hard-core boy scout). Though I do remember getting a tapeworm one time - so there is that to watch out for I guess... – aris Sep 5 2010 at 4:08

I had Pinworms (Enterobiasis) from time to time - but that was no big problem... They were quite common then, especially in children. My grandmother gave me grated carotts with garlic to get rid of the worms. – Kikilula Sep 6 2010 at 7:53

Cacktus Wayfinder · Answer 2 · 2010-09-03 14:05:16Z UTC

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I work around horses, don't wash my hands before I eat lunch- mostly works for me. Some would call that dirty or "gross", but I can't see that Grok would have run to the nearest stream after killing and eating his dinner just to wash his hands. Maybe, but we've no proof.

answered Sep 3 2010 at 14:05

Cacktus Wayfinder
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	You know - I don't think people washed their hands even as recently as 200 years ago - handling meat, cutting poultry, all that jazz - and not a bar of soap around! Shoot - bathing is a recent thing for most civilized countries since around 1900 or so. – aris Sep 5 2010 at 4:11
	There are good reasons for washing your hands with soap globalhandwashing.org/learn/health-impact.php – Matt Sep 11 2010 at 0:48

Marina · Answer 3 · 2010-09-04 03:49:16Z UTC

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Bugs are a relatively untapped food source. If I knew more about the nutrient profiles and safety (are any to be avoided?) and could get over my squeamishness, I would be out "hunting" for critters a couple of times each week.

answered Sep 4 2010 at 3:49

Marina
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	I hear cicadas are particularly good - I seem to remember Andrew Zimmern (Bizzare Foods) doing a whole episode on insects, and he covered lots of ground on them - I think he mentioned many are gram for gram a higher quality source of protein than red meat - who knew?! – aris Sep 5 2010 at 4:14
	We tried a fried bug at a market in Mexico just to say we had- wouldn't want to use them as a regular food source, although certain areas there do. I saw one recipe on TV in which a wasp nest full of bugs was turned into a sauce. – henny Sep 5 2010 at 7:19

Kamal · Answer 4 · 2010-09-11 00:04:28Z UTC

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One word: worms

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27brod.html?_r=1&em

Tempers the effects of multiple sclerosis, improves immunity, makes for cool party conversation.

answered Sep 11 2010 at 0:04

Kamal♦
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Nice - my kids try and do this already! – CT Sep 13 2010 at 8:57

NoGluten · Answer 5 · 2010-09-10 22:36:41Z UTC

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snails (with bacon). A bit on the wild side, but wasily available

answered Sep 10 2010 at 22:36

NoGluten
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Stancel · Answer 6 · 2010-09-04 04:39:48Z UTC

There are many kinds of wild edible plants...but of course it requires a lot of knowledge and discretion. You may not know that the kudzu plant is edible, its leaves, its stems, its root. The root (which is pure starch) however isn't to my knowledge nearly as nutritious as commonly eaten root vegetables (like potatoes), but there are medicinal benefits.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090826110122.htm

What else should we be eating?

6 Answers