3 ms·

I don't think this is right, hunter-gather diets were largely restricted to the area they lived, you can't across the board call them diverse. It depends if you

by chomp 3y ago

I don't think this is right, hunter-gather diets were largely restricted to the area they lived, you can't across the board call them diverse. It depends if you lived in an area that was blessed with diversity, or if you were forced to eat the same seeds/nuts constantly. Malnutrition plagued the Neanderthals by the way. We have skeletons and teeth that show disruption to growth. There's evidence of some groups of gatherers that subsisted on local flora that caused excessive amounts of tooth decay. Modern living results in way healthier people (for the most part).

AndrewKemendo 3y ago
Point is well taken that I shouldn’t generalize and that it’s likely been a trade off. I suppose my rebut would claim that the diet of the average US adult today is worse than the average Paleolithic person, but that the healthiest US adult would be healthier than the healthiest Paleolithic person.
- mlyle 3y ago
  > I suppose my rebut would claim that the diet of the average US adult today is worse than the average Paleolithic person Worse in some aspects. But the leading cause of death in paleolithic times is thought to be diarrhea from foodborne illness causing dehydration and starvation, which is not such a killer today. Is that included in "diet"? (It would seem to be, because we're talking about effects on gut biome...)
  - dmbche 3y ago
    I think it has more to do with sanitation than diet directly, many illnesses that kill that way (cholera, for one) flourish to this day in unclean areas, where excrement contaminates the water/food. Not eating rotting food as well, which was normal for a very long time. Pretty certain that that accounts for a whole lot of diarhea and death. It does make me think of how little soil we are in contact with compared to paleolithic persons - I know that B12 is sourced from the soil in our alimentation, but since we wash our produce we don't get any, and if you don't eat meat you need to supplement. I wonder if there are not other bacterium that we are washing away. Also remember hearing that it could be picked up on your skin on contact, which is also not something most people do daily.
    - mlyle 3y ago
      Cholera flourishes today because of dense, stable housing with poor sanitation, which were lesser problems for hunter-gatherers. (Not to say that cholera wasn't still a killer...) Properly cooking and cleaning food (and avoiding having to eat raw food) are really important factors, though.
carabiner 3y ago
Reminds me of cats living in the wild vs. domestically... Wild cats are known to be riddled with disease and starvation, and that's why they evolved to have large litters. Domestic cats live much longer, healthier lives, even though they're generally eating the same stuff every meal, every day.

by chomp 3y ago

AndrewKemendo 3y ago

Point is well taken that I shouldn’t generalize and that it’s likely been a trade off. I suppose my rebut would claim that the diet of the average US adult today is worse than the average Paleolithic person, but that the healthiest US adult would be healthier than the healthiest Paleolithic person.

mlyle 3y ago
> I suppose my rebut would claim that the diet of the average US adult today is worse than the average Paleolithic person Worse in some aspects. But the leading cause of death in paleolithic times is thought to be diarrhea from foodborne illness causing dehydration and starvation, which is not such a killer today. Is that included in "diet"? (It would seem to be, because we're talking about effects on gut biome...)
- dmbche 3y ago
  I think it has more to do with sanitation than diet directly, many illnesses that kill that way (cholera, for one) flourish to this day in unclean areas, where excrement contaminates the water/food. Not eating rotting food as well, which was normal for a very long time. Pretty certain that that accounts for a whole lot of diarhea and death. It does make me think of how little soil we are in contact with compared to paleolithic persons - I know that B12 is sourced from the soil in our alimentation, but since we wash our produce we don't get any, and if you don't eat meat you need to supplement. I wonder if there are not other bacterium that we are washing away. Also remember hearing that it could be picked up on your skin on contact, which is also not something most people do daily.
  - mlyle 3y ago
    Cholera flourishes today because of dense, stable housing with poor sanitation, which were lesser problems for hunter-gatherers. (Not to say that cholera wasn't still a killer...) Properly cooking and cleaning food (and avoiding having to eat raw food) are really important factors, though.

carabiner 3y ago

Reminds me of cats living in the wild vs. domestically... Wild cats are known to be riddled with disease and starvation, and that's why they evolved to have large litters. Domestic cats live much longer, healthier lives, even though they're generally eating the same stuff every meal, every day.