Plant Paleo Part 1 The Gatherer Hunter Diet, by Angelo Coppola

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Plant Paleo
Plant Paleo Part 1: The GathererHunter Diet
Angelo Coppola
On March 18, 2015
In order for the Paleo approach to

make any sense at all, i t c a n t b e a
d i e t . Not just o n e diet.
A fundamental feature of human diets during the Paleolithic era was that there were
several of them. The eating patterns of humans were spread across Africa and
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eventually most of the globe. Dietary variances hinged on the unique characteristics of
local ecosystems, the dance between organisms and environmentsinnumerable
variables all at play and changing over millennia.
The diets eaten by people in the grasslands, the forest highlands, the deserts, the
tundra, and the various islands were all different from each other in the Paleolithic
era. Clearly, they are still different today among remaining indigenous populations.
Prior to the corporatization of food, neolithic societies showed vast culinary diversity,
too. Thankfully, some of this still survives to this day, even in the face of the leveling,
homogenizing forces of GloboMcDunkinNuggets.
Dr. S. Boyd Eaton is often referred to as the grandfather of the modern Paleo
movement. One of his premises is that our genus, homo, spent more time in East
Africa than anywhere else on earth. So he suspects we are best adapted to the diet
that was available to humans in that area during much of the Paleolithic period.
In his book The Paleolithic Prescription, he does note, though, the large variance in
contemporary hunter-gatherer diets. The following table appears on page 74 of the
paperback:
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Plant-to-animal ratios in the diets of modern hunter-gatherers, ca 1988
As you can see, there is a wide variance in the ratios of plant-to-animal foods among
these hunter-gatherer peoples. Aborigines in the desert climates of Australia subsisted
on as much as 90% plant-based foods, while Eskimos of the North American Arctic
subsisted on 90% animal foods. And its safe to say human groups have eaten nearly
every ratio in between.
Ultimately, in The Paleolithic Prescription Eaton recommended a diet that is 60%
carbohydrate (whole plant-based, small amounts of grain), 20% protein, and 20% fat.
Twenty-five years later, Eaton raised the upper limit of his dietary fat recommendation
to a range of 20-35%.
In 2000, Loren Cordain published a study in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
called, Plant-animal subsistence ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in
worldwide hunter-gatherer diets. Data from George Murdocks Ethnographic Atlas was
used to determine what percentage of hunter-gatherer groups relied more heavily on
animal foods than plant foods. The data was also used to determine what the
consumption ranges were for protein, carbohydrate, and fat within the groups.
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The results were as follows for relatively modern hunter-gatherer tribes:

73% received >50% of their subsistence from animal-based foods.
13.5% received >50% of their subsistence from plant-based foods.
Dietary protein ranged from 19-35%.
Dietary carbohydrate ranged from 22-40%
Dietary fat ranged from 28-58%
Importantly, in the Limitations of the Model section of Cordains paper, its noted that
these calculations are heavily based on some big assumptions. For instance, virtually
all of their conclusions are hitched to the veracity of the data they used from the
Ethnographic Atlas and the validity of the mathematical estimates they ran the data
through in order to calculate plant- and animal-based contributions to the diet.
The methodology was outlined nicely in the paper, and its clear that small errorsor
worse, several small compounded errorscould have yielded results that were not a
good reflection of reality.
While Cordains paper is oft-cited in Paleo circles, there was another paper published
in the very same issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition titled, Huntergatherer dietsa different perspective. It was written by Katharine Milton, who
specializes in the dietary ecology of primates at UC Berkeley.
In her article, she underscores Cordains questionable source data, walks us through
other evidence we might consider, and concludes (bold emphasis mine):
[I]t is likely that no hunter-gatherer society, regardless of the

proportion of macronutrients consumed, suffered from
d i s e a s e s o f c i v i l i z a t i o n . Most w i l d f o o d s l a c k h i g h a m o u n t s o f
e n e rg y and this feature, in combination with the s l o w t ra n s i t o f
f o o d p a r t i c l e s through the human digestive tract, would have
served as a natural check to obesity and certain other diseases
of civilization. Yet today, all non-Western populations appear to
develop diseases of civilization if they consume Western foods
and have sedentary lifestyles. Given these facts, in combination
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with the strongly plant-based diet of human ancestors, it seems

prudent for modern-day humans to remember their long
evolutionary heritage as anthropoid primates and heed current
recommendations to i n c r e a s e t h e n u m b e r a n d v a r i e t y o f
f r e s h f r u i t a n d v e g e t a b l e s i n t h e i r diets rather than to increase
their intakes of domesticated animal fat and protein.
In this conclusion, Milton brings up some very interesting topics worthy of
consideration: nutritional and caloric density, transit speed through the digestive tract,
and pre-Paleolithic ancestral clues.
The main takeaway, though, as far as Im concerned, is right there in the first sentence.
Again:
[I]t is likely that no hunter-gatherer society, regardless of the

proportion of macronutrients consumed, suffered from
diseases of civilization.
I have come to see this as the hallmark of Paleolithic diets, whereas todays
mainstream version of the Paleo diet is narrowly defined as one that is low in
carbohydrates and high in fat and/or protein, as if Inuit-Paleo is representative of all
Paleolithic dietsit is not. Increasingly, mainstream Paleo is also loaded with rich,
processed Paleo foods that are often calorie dense and nutritionally sparsejust
like the SAD diet! Even Paleo beverages are following this trend.
Yet, the Paleolithic example remains:
simple, whole foods with minimal processing (if any)
nutritionally dense, calorically sparse staples
omnivorous with widely varying plant-animal and macronutrient ratios
high fiber consumption (most groups)
rich foods reserved for celebrations
For nearly 5 years, I have personally been following the Paleo diet Paleo-like diets
influenced by evolutionary clues and scientific evidence. I started off on the low-carb
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end of the spectrum, and I have slowly expanded my food choices to include more
whole foods, especially whole plant foods that are predominantly made of
carbohydrates. At each milestone where I increased these real-food carbohydrates in
my diet, I consistently made improvements in how I felt and with body composition.
Most recently, I have greatly increased the amount of plant food in my diet (more real,
whole carbs and fiber), while virtually eliminating the final huge source of
processed-food calories in my diet: the added fats, e s p e c i a l l y o i l . Replacing three to
seven tablespoons of oil per day frees up 360 to 840 caloriesaan d t h a t s a l o t o f
n u t r i e n t - r i c h p l a n t f o o d s , b r o t h s , e g g s , o rg a n a n d o t h e r n a t u ra l l y ra i s e d o r w i l d
meats.
In terms of macronutrients, my diet now resembles Eatons original 60:20:20
prescription. In fact, it may even range between there and 80:10:10 on some days. But
reductionist macronutrient jargon asideand far more importantlymy diet consists
of simple, whole foods, mostly plants with lots of fiber, and with an emphasis on
high-quality animal-based foods when I eat them (which is a few times per week +
bone-based broths and stocks an additional several times per week).
I should note that these most recent changes led to an effortless and spontaneous
20-lb weight loss. Totally surprising. I didnt realize I had 20 lbs to lose, and I was
mostly comfortable with my body composition. Now, I like the leaner version of me far
more than I thought I would have. I stand 6 tall (1.83 m) and I went from about 185
lbs to 165 lbs (84 kg to 75 kg). This brings my total weight loss over the last 5 years to
80-85 lbs (36-38.5 kg), as my starting weight was 245-250 lbs (111-113.4 kg).
Having eaten Plant Paleo for several months nowthats what Ive been calling it and
here are the detailsI feel my diet is moving closer to several Paleolithic models of
diet, and its been healthier than ever, too. This also means my diet has been
becoming less mainstream Paleo.
To be clear, Im not totally knocking the principles of mainstream, low-carb Paleo. The
low-carb Paleo approach, even gimmicky versions, are huge improvements over the
standard Western diet. I also believe Ive benefited from it myself, for a period of time.
The diet eliminates the worst processed foods, while acclimating adherents to the
subtle flavors of natural foods. And, at its best, it also encourages supporting local,
small-scale food growers and ranchers. This is why I love the Paleo movement, even if
it is frustratingly commercial, marketing-driven, tribal, and myopically reductionist at
times.
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However, with that said, Low-Carb-Paleo is one of many, many ancestral templates for
healthy, real-food dietsand the Paleo movement would be far stronger and more
reality-based as an umbrella for a multitude of whole-food diets, aligning the Paleo
movement more tightly with the latest science and evolutionary clues.
I will be following up this article with at least 3 more.
Plant Paleo Part 2: Fiber, Grains, & Legumes
Plant Paleo Part 3: Pros & Cons
Plant Paleo Part 4: Practical Implementation
If you would like to be notified when these and other articles are published on this
blog, please subscribe to the RSS feed. If you use Feedly, heres the link. You can also
receive updates via Twitter or Facebook.
In the meantime, if you havent clicked through to the links embedded in the text
throughout the article, there is some excellent reading material and food for thought
to be found. Check them out! And here are the details to my Plant Paleo approach to
diet.
Also, here are a few resources you might enjoy on YouTube. First is Dr. S. Boyd Eatons
presentation at the 2012 Ancestral Health Symposium called, Long-term Paleo:
Following an ancestral approach for 30 years. Yes, the grandfather of Paleo eats whole
wheat toast for breakfast, and the cardiologists ticker appears to be ticking strongly.
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After that, check out Denise Mingers presentation at the 2013 Ancestral Health
Symposium called, Lessons from the Vegans.
And finally, this is me talking about how my own diet has evolved, along with my
thoughts on the current state of the Paleo movement (should start at the 55:15 mark):
So what do you think? Would you like to start eating more vegetables and plant-based
foods in general? Have you ever tried a whole food, plant based diet that was low-tomoderate in grains and included high quality animal foods? Feel free to share your
comments, experiences, and opinions!
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Stephan Guyenet, PhD
3 months ago
One interesting fact that I've gleaned from researching HGs and speaking with
anthropologists lately: HGs rarely eat vegetables, that is, low-calorie plant foods.
They eat fruit, tubers, and other plant foods, but they are generally foods that
provide significant calories. For example, there are many edible greens in
Hadzaland, but the Hadza rarely eat them except as fallback foods. They prioritize
foraging eort based on energy gain, and low-calorie plant foods provide a poor
energy return for eort. The !Kung do eat greens sometimes, but they aren't a major
part of the diet.
That said, both cultures eat a large amount of unrefined, fibrous plant matter in the
form of fruit, tubers, and nuts. So they probably have little nutritional incentive to eat
more plant matter because they're already getting a lot of it. Vegetables as we know
them are largely an agricultural creation and IMO they mostly serve to fill the
nutritional gaps in a grain-heavy diet and reduce the energy density of the diet to
reduce overeating. I do believe they play a positive role in the modern diet but it's
interesting that they seem to be an agricultural invention that solves an agricultural
problem.
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Angelo Coppola
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> Stephan Guyenet, PhD 3 months ago
Excellent points; thank you, Stephan. I don't think I would be able to eat the
way I've been eating without tubers and other roots and starches providing
sucient energy.
I still consider most of these foods calorically sparse, though, in the context
of the Standard Western DIet. A pound of russet potatoes has about 360
calories; a lb of sweet potatoes has about 400 calories; red potatoes, about
320; purple potatoes, about 380. Yams are higher at about 530 calories/lb.
By contrast, a lb of Big Macs has about 1100 calories and a lb of Froot
Loops has about 1700 calories.
But your comment got me thinking about wild tubers. Data on these is a little
more dicult to come by, however I found that Cassava have about 720
calories per lbroughly twice the caloric density of the tubers we commonly
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