Do Paleo Cookbooks Really Have a Place in Modern Society?

The paleolithic diet,sometimes referred to as paleo diet or caveman diet,is based on the ancient diet of animals and wild plants that us,as humans,consumed during the Paleolithic period-a period lasting approximately 2.5 million years and ending 10-15000 years ago with the development of agriculture-the Neolithic period.

Basically speaking what paleo cookbooks espouse are the consumption of meat,fish,fruit,roots,vegetables and nuts while excluding dairy products,legumes,salt,grains,refined sugar and processed oils along with preservatives. The basic premise upon which the paleo cookbooks are founded is that we humans are adapted genetically to our paleolithic ancestors and those genetics have scarcely changed since agriculture(the Neolithic period)began.Therefore,one would assume that the diet which was beneficial for our ancestors health would also be beneficial for us. Foods that were hunted and fished make up the basis of this diet i.e.meat and seafood,and gathered i.e. eggs,fruit,seeds,roots,herbs,spices and nuts. We as a society today have enormous health issues confronting us that the hunter/gatherers never knew.Ease and convenience are taken by the vast majority as it is the line of least resistance,at least for the short term.Health systems are under duress like never before.So many daily lives are controlled by deadlines and commitments,technological advances urging us to take on,and achieve more,all in the name of productivity.We are tending to cut corners for short term gain which will in the long run be to our detriment.(no pun intended!)

Proponents argue that genetically our bodies are virtually the same as when the Paleolithic period ended.They maintain our inherent characteristics,accumulated over millions of years,still thrive on the diet upon which we evolved.Of course there are many who do not ascribe to this line of thinking simply by virtue of the fact that it is something outside of their parameters of thought. All foods in a paleo diet may be cooked in any manner desired,unlike people who are on a strictly raw food diet.Followers of the paleolithic diet base their energy intake around 60% from animal foods with the remaining 40% from plant foods.This type of diet is usually high in protein and low in carbohydrates with a fat intake of equal to or higher than a western based diet.Lean cuts of meat are advocated with game meats and grass fed beef being high in Omega 3 fats compared to the domesticated grain fed animals. In the end it all comes down to the food choices we make personally that will impact our health and wellbeing.Alas,we tend to get heavily influenced by the corporate might wielded over us via mass media marketing which has been turned into a fine art. Anyway,I hope this was nourishing fuel to dwell upon...


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Wilson McKay firmly believes that we as a developing race cannot continue to take convenient shortcuts when it comes to choosing how we fuel our bodies every day.Something has to give-but it doesn`t have to be this way.Simple healthy and delicious choices are ours if we so choose.Check out this link and explore the possibilities of increased health and wellbeing through paleo cookbooks: http://paleocookbookstore.com