CAVEMAN’S DIET COULD CUT RISK OF EARLY DEATH
JANE SYMONS looks at how foods eaten by our ancestors can help get our bodies and biology back in step
CONTESTANTS on Channel 5’ s Stone Age reality show 10,000 BC are losing more than their tempers and dignity. They are also shedding weight and could be slashing their risk of heart disease, diabetes and many other modern maladies.
The volunteer cavemen and women including the Harding family, far right, may be missing sugar and high- fat fast foods, but the latest research suggests their diet of meat, acorns, rosehips and berries is a lot healthier than it looks.
A study just published in the journal Complete Nutrition reveals that foods which were never eaten by our ancestors, and which in evolutionary terms we have had little time to adapt to, now provide 70 per cent of our daily energy intake.
Dietician Dr Carrie Ruxton believes it is a key factor in the obesity epidemic and rising incidence of so- called diseases of affluence such as heart problems, diabetes and some cancers. It also suggests that some of the latest diet trends such as high protein, low sugar and fats for fuel are not new at all but simply a way to eat for our evolutionary age.
Dr Ruxton’s findings may also explain why official advice to stick to a diet built around complex carbohydrates and reduced fat is failing to halt the fight on flab.
Indeed a study recently published by the British Medical Journal reveals there is no evidence that reducing fat reduces heart disease.
Dr Ruxton argues: “Modern man is genetically Stone Age and thus adapted to consume the types of foods commonly found in the late Palaeolithic period.”
Professor Robert Pickard, emeritus professor of neurobiology at the University of Cardiff, former government adviser on nutrition and member of the Meat Advisory Panel, an independent group of scientists and researchers, agrees.
“Our primate ancestors emerged around seven million years ago, while the first evidence of modern man dates back 200,000 years, the blink of an eye in evolutionary terms,” he says.
“While the term ‘ hunter- gatherer’ is widely used, the fossil record and animal world suggest that early diets were much more dependent on hunting protein- rich meat than gathering nuts and berries.”
Some experts believe the evolutionary leap from primate to modern man was due to a diet rich in high- quality protein such as game, fish, shellfish and even insects.
We may never have all the answers, but Dr Ruxton says: “Later shifts towards a largely cereal- based diet have happened too quickly for our genome to adapt.”
She has identified five key areas where she believes modern- day diets have left us trapped in a dangerous time warp. But the good news is a few simple food swaps can help get our bodies and our biology back in step. BE GAME FOR MEAT The research in the British Medical Journal debunks the official advice to cut back on saturated fats to reduce heart disease and claims: “It should never have been introduced.”
The researchers analysed all the studies available when both the UK and US governments issued their advice on fat in 1983 and confirmed that reducing consumption of saturated fats lowers cholesterol levels but it has no impact on the risk of heart disease.
They say it is “incomprehensible” that 220 million Americans and 56 million UK citizens were advised to reduce saturated fats on the basis of such flimsy evidence.
Researchers have long acknowledged the French Paradox, our neighbours have low levels of heart disease despite their big appetite for meat and other supposedly unhealthy high- fat foods such as cheese, butter and cream.
We are routinely advised to cut back on red and processed meat but a super- study which examined health and diet data collected from more than 1.2 million people found absolutely no evidence that red meat increases the risk of heart disease, stroke or diabetes.
However it did find a clear link between processed meat, which our caveman ancestors never consumed, and serious health problems. Eating 50g or more of processed meat a day, which is the equivalent of one sausage or a couple of rashers of bacon, increases the risk of a heart attack by 42 per cent and the odds of developing diabetes by 19 per cent.
For more information on the role of meat in a healthy diet visit meatandhealth. redmeatinfo. com.
SUGAR ISN’T SO SWEET Scoffing sweet treats will pile on the pounds and raise your risk of heart disease, diabetes and other health problems. Researchers from Stanford University who analysed statistics on sugar consumption and diabetes from 175 countries found a clear link between the two.
After accounting for obesity and any other factors such as exercise, smoking and alcohol consumption which might influence blood sugar problems, they found that diabetes rates went up by one per cent for every extra 150 calories from sugar – the equivalent of a small chocolate bar or can of fizzy drink – there was in the food supply.
A 15- year study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people who got 25 per cent or more of their daily calories as added sugar were more than twice as likely to die from heart disease as those who got fewer than 10 per cent of their calories from it. It’s estimated that Britons consume 100g of sugar a day, the equivalent of 140 teaspoons a week, and much of this intake is hidden in soft drinks and processed foods.
But the World Health Organisation advises sugar should account for no more than 10 per cent of our total calories, around 70g a day for men and 50g for women. Look out for sugar disguised with descriptions such as sucrose, glucose, fructose, maltose and corn syrup and stick to honey and fruits. CUT CARBS Processed carbohydrates and many modern grains were not on the menu in the Palaeolithic era and studies confirm the benefits of cutting back on starchy foods.
A 20- year study of 82,000 women found a low- carb diet reduces the risk of heart disease by 30 per cent and the odds of developing diabetes by 20 per cent and the OmniHeart trial showed that replacing some
carbohydrates with protein or fat reduced blood pressure and unhealthy LDL cholesterol more effectively than a healthy highercarb diet.
Women who consume the most easily digestible carbs in highly processed foods such as white bread, cakes and biscuits are 47 per cent more likely to get type 2 diabetes than those who get their carbs from wholegrain foods and starchy vegetables.
Try some of the older grains such as rye, spelt, barley and flax. FAT LOT OF GOOD Fish and shellfish, which were an important part of caveman cuisine, are rich in omega- 3 fats and provide essential building blocks for brain development and function.
MRI scans of more than 1,000 menopausal women found that those with higher blood levels of omega- 3 had bigger brains than those with the lowest concentrations.
These marine fats also protect against heart disease by lowering blood pressure and bad fats called triglycerides. Increase your omega- 3 intake by eating oily fish such as salmon, herrings and mackerel. IT’S A PLANT Our ancestors ate a wide variety of plants, fruits and berries which not only provided a good range of vitamins and minerals, but also ensured a diet high in fibre and essential fatty acids.
Eating at least five servings of fruit or vegetables a day has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and many cancers.
But many experts now believe we should aim for at least seven a day.
Rosehips, which have emerged as a favourite snack of the 10,000 BC volunteers, are bursting with vitamin C. During the Second World War, when citrus fruits were scarce doctors recommended using them to create a homemade cough mixture.
10,000 BC, Channel 5, Monday & Tuesday, 10pm