What Are Some Foods From the Paleolithic Era?
The Scientific American states that, Paleolithic, or Stone Age, people lived as hunter-gatherers. Their diets varied according to geography, season and availability of foods. Paleolithic people did not farm to produce food, plant crops or keep domesticated animals. Their food sources consisted of: hunting for animals, fishing, scavenging remains left by animals and gathering wild plants, nuts, berries and seeds. Paleolithic diets did not contain grains, legumes or dairy products.
Modern interpretations of the Paleolithic diet purport to deliver health benefits, by replicating the food types available to Paleolithic people. For example, a modern Paleolithic diet contains no domesticated food crops or processed grains, such as rice, wheat, potatoes, soy, peanuts, lentils, beans or corn. Also banned are dairy products or any form of processed sugars. The bulk of the so-called Paleo-diet consists of meat, fish, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds.
Though nutritionists applaud the removal of processed foods and sugar from the modern Paleo-diet, the diet lack nutritional balance. It contains high levels of saturated fats from meat consumption and a lack of fiber from complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, according to the Scientific American. Scientists also question the basis for promoting a Paleolithic diet, as modern humans have evolved since the Paleolithic Age. The animals and plants have also changed drastically. For example, as dairy animals were domesticated, humans developed lactose tolerance.
