This year (2020) marks the 35th anniversary of the publication of Boyd Eaton and Melvin Konner’s exceptional paper on evolutionary nutrition entitled “Paleolithic Nutrition: A Consideration of Its Nature and Current Implications” in The New England Journal of Medicine (full text). As a way of eating, Paleolithic nutrition represents an extremely old, time-tested practise, extending […]
Nutrition
Healthy Food = The Closest Thing to a ‘Magic Pill’
People are continually looking for quick fixes to the problems that plague them. This is reflected by the massiveness of the supplement and pharmaceutical industries, which generate billions of dollars every year selling everything from weight loss products to blood pressure-lowering medication to herbal extracts to caffeinated energy drinks. The offered products are sometimes presented […]
How Extensive Are the Problems with Salt? A Summary of the Evidence
Salt, in the form of sodium chloride (NaCl), is added to almost everything these days. This is something you’ll quickly recognize if you survey a regular grocery shop, looking over the labels of the products it offers. You’ll see that salt is found in everything from bread to sausages to pizza toppings to ketchup to […]
The Dangers of Extreme Diets
A few weeks back, me and a good friend of mine who’s quite interested in diet and exercise got to talking about the larger nutritional landscape of our society, more specifically about diets that are heavily skewed towards one food group or macronutrient, such as vegan diets, ‘the carnivore diet’, and Atkins-type diets. These diets, […]
Chew Your Food: Why ‘Shakes’ Are Ill-Considered
One of the mistakes I made back in the day when I was heavy into the bodybuilding game is that I used to drink some of the food I took in. I made shakes that included everything from bananas to oats to eggs. I even sometimes put canned tuna fish in them. Kinda disgusting, I […]
A New Study Substantiates That Paleolithic Nutrition Can Significantly Reduce Inflammation and Improve Cognition
Evolutionary nutrionists such as myself have long argued, on the basis of Darwinian reasoning, anecdotal reports, and varied dietary research, that the Paleolithic nutrition formula, when correctly applied, bolsters immunity and cognition. The assertion has strong scientific support; however, relatively little of this support is of a clinical nature. Not because the original human diet […]
Why Vegan Diets Come Up Short: A Summary of the Nutritional Virtues of Animal Source Foods
My impression is that a fairly substantial number of people, many of whom are vegans or vegetarians, are of the belief that animal source foods (ASF) – beef, eggs, fish, and the like – are easily replaceable. Legumes and certain types of dietary supplements (e.g., vitamin B12 capsules) are held in high esteem, sometimes so […]
The Dark Side of Protein Supplementation: Study Pinpoints Effects on the Microbiome
Protein supplements, which come in many different forms, ranging from powders to bars to ready-made drinks, are high on the list of the most popular nutritional products on the market today. As a result of widespread promotional offensives spearheaded by athletes and fitness bellwethers who’ve struck lucrative endorsement deals, it’s become fairly common – not […]
New Research Underscores the Veracity and Importance of Darwinian Medicine
In 2011, a fascinating paper entitled The western diet and lifestyle and diseases of civilization appeared in an open access journal issued by Dove Medical Press, a publisher of peer-reviewed content on technology, science, and medicine. The review article, which I hold in very high regard (as I see it, it’s extraordinarily important and concise) […]
A Common Misunderstanding About the Evolution of Lactase Persistence
Are you able to consume lactose-containing foods such as cow’s milk and ice cream without experiencing acute gastrointestinal problems like bloating and diarrhea? If so, then you may have heard that it’s perfectly safe and healthy for you to drink milk. This idea, that people who are capable of digesting the milk sugar lactose even […]