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12:25, 2 July 2018

* [[Paleolithic diet]].

[[File:Ripe, ripening, and green blackberries.jpg|thumb|right|Wild fruit is an important feature of the diet]]
The '''Paleolithic diet''' (also called the '''Paleo diet''', '''caveman diet''' or '''stone-age diet'''<ref name=bda/>) is based mainly on foods presumed to have been available to [[Paleolithic]] humans.<ref name=Tarantino2015/> The ideas behind the diet can be traced to Walter Voegtlin,<ref name=fitz/>{{rp|41}} and were popularized in the best-selling books of [[Loren Cordain]].<ref name=Journal1/> The Paleo diet has become popular worldwide due to its purported health beneﬁts.<ref name=Manhiemer2015/>

While there is wide variability in the way the Paleo diet is interpreted,<ref name=Katz2014/> the diet typically includes vegetables, fruits, nuts, roots, and meat<ref name=Tarantino2015/> and typically excludes foods such as [[dairy products]], grains, sugar, legumes, processed oils, salt, alcohol or coffee.<ref name=bda/> The diet is based on avoiding not just modern processed foods, but rather the foods that humans began eating after the [[Neolithic Revolution]] when humans transitioned from hunter-gatherer lifestyles to settled agriculture.<ref name=Tarantino2015/> It is essentially absent of high–[[glycemic index]] foods.<ref name=Manhiemer2015/>

Like other [[fad diet]]s, the Paleo diet is promoted as a way of improving health.<ref name=nhs08/> Limited data exist on the metabolic effects on humans eating the diet.<ref name=Katz2014/> The evidence indicates following this diet may lead to improvements in terms of body composition and metabolic effects compared with the typical [[Western diet]].<ref name=Katz2014/> This diet led to increased short-term benefits in the treating metabolic syndrome compared to national nutritional guideline diets.<ref name=Manhiemer2015/> The diet seems to have considerable short-term improvements in [[weight loss]] but it may not be practical for some people due to the unclear long-term benefits.<ref name=ObertPearlman2017/> It can lead to an [[nutritional deficiencies|inadequate]] calcium intake<ref name=Tarantino2015/> though this diet may contribute to a beneficial [[calcium homeostasis]] due to its low salt and alkalizing properties.<ref name=Manhiemer2015/> Side effects can include weakness, [[diarrhea]], and [[headache]]s.<ref name=ObertPearlman2017/>

The digestive abilities of [[anatomically modern human]]s, however, are different from those of Paleolithic humans, which undermines the diet's core premise.<ref name=fantasy/> Neanderthals and early modern humans consumed a similarly more complex diet than previously indicated and worldwide spread of human population meant that humans were, by necessity, nutritionally adaptable; in contrast, several authors have indicated that major behavioral changes, such as a wider diet, happened among modern human groups.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Henry|first1=Amanda|last2=Brooks|first2=Alison|last3=Piperno|first3=Dolores|title=Plant foods and the dietary ecology of Neanderthals and early modern humans|journal=Journal of Human Evolution|year=2014|volume=69|pages=44–54|doi=10.1016/j.jhevol.2013.12.014|pmid=24612646}}</ref>

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==History and terminology==
{{Human timeline}}
According to Adrienne Rose Johnson, the idea that the primitive diet was superior to current dietary habits dates back to the 1890s with such writers as Dr. Emmet Densmore and Dr. [[John Harvey Kellogg]].<ref name=Johnson2016/> Densmore proclaimed that "bread is the staff of death," while Kellogg supported a diet of starchy and grain-based foods.<ref name=Johnson2016>{{cite journal|last1=Johnson|first1=Adrienne Rose|title=Paleo Diets and Utopian Dreams|journal=Skeptic|date=2016|volume=21|issue=3|pages=11–12}}</ref> The idea of a Paleolithic diet can be traced to a 1975 book by gastroenterologist Walter Voegtlin,<ref name=fitz>{{cite book|author=Fitzgerald M|title=Diet Cults: The Surprising Fallacy at the Core of Nutrition Fads and a Guide to Healthy Eating for the Rest of Us|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Bh1bBAAAQBAJ&pg=PT38|year=2014|publisher=Pegasus Books|isbn=978-1-60598-595-4|page=38}}</ref>{{rp|41}} which in 1985 was further developed by [[Stanley Boyd Eaton]] and [[Melvin Konner]], and popularized by [[Loren Cordain]] in his 2002 book ''The Paleo Diet''.<ref name="Journal1">{{cite journal|title=The modern take on the Paleo diet: is it grounded in science?|journal=Environmental Nutrition|year=2010|issue=7}}</ref> The terms ''caveman diet'' and ''stone-age diet'' are also used,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2014/oct/22/what-language-tells-us-about-stone-age-diet-linguistics|work=The Guardian|date=22 October 2014|accessdate=17 March 2015|last=Shariatmadari|first=David|title=What language tells us about the roots of the stone age diet}}</ref> as is ''Paleo Diet'', [[trademark]]ed by Cordain.<ref name=tm>{{cite news|newspaper=The Seattle Times|date=20 July 2014|title=A dissenting view on the Paleo Diet|author=Lowe K|url=http://seattletimes.com/html/health/2024082823_paleodietxml.html|accessdate=17 March 2015}}</ref>

In 2012 the Paleolithic diet was described as being one of the "latest trends" in diets, based on the popularity of diet books about it;<ref name=cunningham>{{cite journal |vauthors=Cunningham E |title=Are diets from paleolithic times relevant today? |journal=J Acad Nutr Diet |volume=112 |issue=8 |page=1296 |year=2012 |pmid=22818735 |doi=10.1016/j.jand.2012.06.019 }}</ref> in 2013 the diet was [[Google]]'s most searched-for weight-loss method.<ref name=nhs>{{cite web |title = Top diets review for 2014 |url = http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/loseweight/Pages/top-10-most-popular-diets-review.aspx |publisher = NHS | accessdate = 24 November 2014 |quote = The Paleo diet, also known as the caveman diet, was Google's most searched-for weight loss method in 2013.}}</ref> The Paleo diet has become popular worldwide due to its purported health beneﬁts.<ref name=Manhiemer2015/>

Like other [[fad diet]]s, the Paleo diet is marketed with an [[appeal to nature]] and a narrative of [[conspiracy theories]] about how nutritional research, which does not support the supposed benefits of the Paleo diet, is controlled by a malign [[food industry]].<ref name=nhs08>{{cite web |title=Caveman fad diet |url=http://www.nhs.uk/news/2008/05May/Pages/Cavemanfaddiet.aspx |publisher=NHS Choices |date=9 May 2008 |accessdate=25 December 2015}}</ref><ref name=hall>{{cite news |author=Hall H |journal=Skeptic |year=2014 |page=10 |volume=19 |issue=4 |quote=Fad diets and "miracle" diet supplements promise to help us lose weight effortlessly. Different diet gurus offer a bewildering array of diets that promise to keep us healthy and make us live longer: vegan, Paleo, Mediterranean, low fat, low carb, raw food, gluten-free ... the list goes on. |authorlink=Harriet A. Hall |title=Food myths: what science knows (and does not know) about diet and nutrition |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-394997140.html}} {{subscription required}}</ref> A [[Paleo lifestyle]] and ideology have developed around the diet.<ref name=Goldstein2010>{{cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/10/fashion/10caveman.html?_r=0| title=The New Age Cavemen and the City|author=Joseph Goldstein | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=January 8, 2010}}</ref><ref name=Wilson2015>{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/mar/16/paleo-isnt-a-fad-diet-its-an-ideology | title=Paleo isn't a fad diet, it's an ideology that selectively denies the modern world |author=Jason Wilson | work=[[The Guardian]] | date=March 16, 2015 | accessdate=February 5, 2016}}</ref>

==Foods==
The diet advises eating only foods presumed to be available to Paleolithic humans, but there is wide variability in the way this practice is interpreted and applied<ref name=Katz2014/> and an ongoing debate over the specific foods eaten by our ancestors.<ref name=Tarantino2015/>

In the original description of the Paleo diet in Cordain's 2002 book, he advocated eating as much like Paleolithic people as possible, which meant:<ref>Kim Goss for Bigger Faster Stronger. September/October 2004. [http://www.biggerfasterstronger.com/uploads2/EasyGuideGoodNutrition.pdf Good Nutrition]</ref>
* 55% of daily calories from seafood and lean meat, evenly divided
* 15% of daily calories from each of fruits, vegetables, and nuts and seeds
* no dairy, almost no grains (which Cordain described as "starvation food" for Paleolithic people), no added salt, no added sugar

The diet is based on avoiding not just modern processed foods, but also the foods that humans began eating after the [[Neolithic Revolution]].<ref name=Tarantino2015/> It is low in objectionable carbohydrates such as starches, high in fiber, and is low [[glycemic]].<ref name=Katz2014/> 

The scientific literature generally uses the term "Paleo nutrition pattern", which has been variously described as:

*"Vegetables, fruits, nuts, roots, meat, and organ meats";<ref name=Tarantino2015>{{cite journal|title=Hype or reality: should patients with metabolic syndrome-related NAFLD be on the Hunter-Gatherer (Paleo) diet to decrease morbidity?|journal=Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases |volume=24 |issue=3|pages=359–68 |year=2015 |issn=1841-8724 |doi=10.15403/jgld.2014.1121.243.gta |pmid=26405708|last1=Tarantino |first1=G |last2=Citro |first2=V |last3=Finelli |first3=C }}</ref>
*"vegetables (including root vegetables), fruit (including fruit oils, e.g., olive oil, coconut oil, and palm oil), nuts, fish, meat, and eggs, and it excluded dairy, grain-based foods, legumes, extra sugar, and nutritional products of industry (including refined fats and refined carbohydrates)";<ref name=Manhiemer2015/> and
*"avoids processed foods, and emphasizes eating vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds, eggs, and lean meats".<ref name=Katz2014/>

==Health effects==
[[File:Walnuts02.jpg|thumb|left|Seeds such as [[walnut]]s are eaten as part of the diet.]]
The aspects of the Paleo diet that advise eating fewer processed foods and less sugar and salt are consistent with mainstream advice about diet.<ref name=bda>{{cite web |publisher=[[British Dietetic Association]] |title=Top 5 Worst Celebrity Diets to Avoid in 2015 |date=8 December 2014 |accessdate=1 February 2015 |url=https://www.bda.uk.com/news/view?id=39}}</ref> The Paleo diet's focus on protein from lean meat may [[satiety|make people feel full]].<ref name=Katz2014/> It is hypothesized that the Paleo diet could be a useful alternative to the unhealthy [[Western diet]].<ref name=Tarantino2015/> The evidence indicates following this diet may lead to improvements in terms of body composition and metabolic effects compared with the typical Western diet.<ref name=Katz2014/> Following the Paleo diet can lead to [[nutritional deficiencies]] such as vitamin{{nbsp}}D and calcium which in turn could lead to compromised bone health.<ref name=bda/> Evaluation of vitamin{{nbsp}}D levels may be necessary for people following the Paleo diet.<ref name=HOU2014/> The diet may help with calcium balance due to its low salt and alkalizing properties,<ref name=Manhiemer2015/> though it is recommended to take enough calcium when following the Paleo diet.<ref name=Pitt2016/> A 2014 study found that while calcium intake was less following diet, it resulted in greater magnesium intake, and the reduced calcium intake was offset for by reduced calcium and magnesium excretions.<ref name=Manhiemer2015/> They suspected that "calcium homeostasis was unlikely to have become compromised."<ref name=Manhiemer2015/> There is also an increased risk of ingesting toxins from high fish consumption.<ref name=Tarantino2015/>

Limited data exists on the metabolic effects on humans eating a Paleo diet.<ref name=Katz2014>{{cite journal |vauthors=Katz DL, Meller S |title=Can we say what diet is best for health? |journal=Annu Rev Public Health |volume=35 |pages=83–103 |year=2014 |pmid=24641555 |doi=10.1146/annurev-publhealth-032013-182351 }}</ref> Positive conclusions about the effectiveness of the Paleo diet should be considered with caution due to lack of variety and duration of a small number of studies.<ref name=Pitt2016>{{cite journal |last1=Pitt |first1=Christopher E |title=Cutting through the Paleo hype: The evidence for the Palaeolithic diet |url=http://www.racgp.org.au/download/Documents/AFP/2016/January/February/Clinical-Pitt.pdf |journal=The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners |volume=45 |issue=1–2 |pages=35–38 |date=January–February 2016}}</ref> Preliminary trials have found that participants eating a paleo nutrition pattern had better measures of cardiovascular and metabolic health than people eating a standard diet, and it may lower the risk of [[aging-associated diseases]].<ref name=Tarantino2015/> There is moderate evidence for better short-term improvements than the various guideline-based diets that were used as controls in the trials for the effects of paleolithic nutrition on [[metabolic syndrome]], though the evidence is not strong enough to recommend the Paleo diet for treatment of metabolic syndrome.<ref name=Manhiemer2015>{{cite journal|last1=Manhiemer|first1=Eric W|last2=van Zuuren|first2=Esther J|last3=Fedorowicz|first3=Zbys|last4=Pijl|first4=Hanno|title=Paleolithic nutrition for metabolic syndrome: systematic review and meta-analysis|journal=Am J Clin Nutr|volume=102|issue=4|pages=922–32|date=12 August 2015|doi=10.3945/ajcn.115.113613|pmc=4588744|pmid=26269362}}</ref> The preliminary evidence suggests the Paleo diet may be useful in managing various [[metabolic disorder]]s.<ref name=Pitt2016/> The Paleo diet was more fulfilling than a [[diabetic diet]] for people with [[type 2 diabetes]] and it was seen favorable for [[weight loss]], but there were difficulties in following the diet.<ref name=Tarantino2015/> As of 2014 there was no credible evidence the Paleo diet is effective in treating [[inflammatory bowel disease]].<ref name=HOU2014>{{cite journal |vauthors=Hou JK, Lee D, Lewis J |title=Diet and inflammatory bowel disease: review of patient-targeted recommendations |journal=Clin. Gastroenterol. Hepatol. |volume=12 |issue=10 |pages=1592–600 | date=October 2014 |pmid=24107394 |pmc=4021001 |doi=10.1016/j.cgh.2013.09.063 |type=Review}}</ref>

Research into the weight loss effects of the Paleolithic diet has generally been of poor quality.<ref name=ObertPearlman2017/> A 2014 trial of obese postmenopausal women found considerable improvements in weight and fat loss after six months, but the benefits had ceased by 24 months; side effects among participants included "weakness, diarrhea, and headaches".<ref name=ObertPearlman2017/> The 2017 review found "The paleo diet appears to have significant short-term improvements in weight loss and other metabolic factors, but cost, time commitment, side effects, and unclear long-term benefits may make this diet impractical for some individuals."<ref name=ObertPearlman2017>{{cite journal|last1=Obert|first1=Jonathan|last2=Pearlman|first2=Michelle|last3=Obert|first3=Lois|last4=Chapin|first4=Sarah|title=Popular Weight Loss Strategies: a Review of Four Weight Loss Techniques|journal=Current Gastroenterology Reports|volume=19|issue=12|pages=61|year=2017|issn=1522-8037|doi=10.1007/s11894-017-0603-8|pmid=29124370|s2cid=45802390 }}</ref>

==Rationale and counter-arguments==
[[File:Engraving of a mammoth on a slab of mammoth ivory, from the Upper Paleolithic Mal'ta deposits at Lake Baikal, Siberia.gif|thumb|Paleolithic carving of a [[mammoth]].]]

===Adaptation===
The rationale for the Paleolithic diet derives from proponents' claims relating to [[evolutionary medicine]].<ref>Konner M.; Eaton, S. Boyd (2010). "Paleolithic Nutrition: Twenty-Five Years Later". ''Nutrition in Clinical Practice'' '''25''' (6): 594–602, p. 594.{{PMID|21139123}}</ref> Advocates of the diet state that humans were [[genetics|genetically]] adapted to eating specifically those foods that were readily available to them in their local environments. These foods therefore shaped the nutritional needs of Paleolithic humans. They argue that the [[physiology]] and [[metabolism]] of [[modern humans]] have changed little since the Paleolithic era.<ref>Konner M.; Eaton, S. Boyd (2010). "Paleolithic Nutrition: Twenty-Five Years Later". ''Nutrition in Clinical Practice'' '''25''' (6): 594–602, pp. 594–95.</ref> Natural selection is a long process, and the cultural and lifestyle changes introduced by western culture have occurred quickly. The argument is that modern humans have therefore not been able to adapt to the new circumstances.<ref name="Carrera-Bastos, P. 2011">Carrera-Bastos, P., Fontes-Villalba, M., O’Keefe, J., Lindeberg, S., Cordain, L. 2011. The western diet and lifestyle and diseases of civilization. Research Reports in Clinical Cardiology. {{doi|10.2147/RRCC.S16919}}</ref> The agricultural revolution brought the addition of grains and dairy to the diet.<ref name="Ramsden, C. 2009">{{cite journal | last1 = Ramsden | first1 = C. | last2 = Faurot | first2 = K. | last3 = Carrera-Bastos | first3 = P. | last4 = Cordain | first4 = L. | last5 = De Lorgeril | first5 = M. | last6 = Sperling | first6 = L. | year = 2009 | title = Dietary Fat Quality and Coronary Heart Disease Prevention: A Unified Theory Based on Evolutionary, Historical, Global, and Modern Perspectives | journal = Current Treatment Options in Cardiovascular Medicine | volume = 11 | issue = 4| pages = 289–301 | doi=10.1007/s11936-009-0030-8| pmid = 19627662 | s2cid = 1058038 }}</ref>

According to the model from the evolutionary discordance hypothesis, "[M]any [[chronic disease]]s and [[Degenerative disease|degenerative condition]]s evident in modern [[Western culture|Western]] populations have arisen because of a mismatch between [[Stone Age]] genes and modern lifestyles."<ref>Elton, S (2008). "Environments, Adaptation, and Evolutionary Medicine: Should We be Eating a Stone Age Diet?". In S. Elton, P. O'Higgins (ed.),  ''Medicine and Evolution: Current Applications, Future Prospects''. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press. P. 9. {{ISBN|978-1-4200-5134-6}}.</ref> Advocates of the modern Paleo diet have formed their dietary recommendations based on this hypothesis. They argue that modern humans should follow a diet that is nutritionally closer to that of their Paleolithic ancestors.

Close to thirty years after the evolutionary discordance hypothesis was proposed, global obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes rates continue to soar; these developments do not indicate that this hypothesis is wrong, but rather insufficient to depend mainly on genetic awareness of human diet and the belief of the Paleolithic era as the human evolutionary benchmark.<ref name=Turner2013/> Further, the evolutionary discordance is incomplete, since it is based mainly on the genetic understanding of the human diet and a unique model of human ancestral diets, without taking into account the flexibility and variability of the human dietary behaviors over time.<ref name=Turner2013>{{cite journal |vauthors=Turner BL, Thompson AL |title=Beyond the Paleolithic prescription: incorporating diversity and flexibility in the study of human diet evolution |journal=Nutr. Rev. |volume=71 |issue=8 |pages=501–10 |year=2013 |pmid=23865796 |pmc=4091895 |doi=10.1111/nure.12039 |type=Review}}</ref> Studies of a variety of populations around the world show that humans can live healthily with a wide variety of diets, and that in fact, humans have evolved to be flexible eaters.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Leonard|first1=William R.|title=Food for Thought: Dietary change was a driving force in human evolution|journal=Scientific American|date=1 December 2002|volume=287 |issue=6 |pages=106–115 |doi=10.1038/scientificamerican1202-106 |pmid=12469653 |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/food-for-thought/|subscription=yes|accessdate=20 January 2016}}</ref> [[Lactose tolerance]] is an example of how some humans have adapted to the introduction of dairy into their diet. While the introduction of grains, dairy, and legumes during the [[Neolithic revolution]] may have had some adverse effects on modern humans, if humans had not been nutritionally adaptable, these technological developments would have been dropped.<ref name=SciAm2013>{{cite web |last=Jabr|first=Ferris|url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-paleo-diet-half-baked-how-hunter-gatherer-really-eat/|title=How to Really Eat Like a Hunter-Gatherer: Why the Paleo Diet Is Half-Baked|work=Scientific American|date=3 June 2013}}</ref>

Evolutionary biologist [[Marlene Zuk]] writes that the idea that our genetic makeup today matches that of our ancestors is misconceived, and that in debate Cordain was "taken aback" when told that 10,000 years was "plenty of time" for an evolutionary change in human digestive abilities to have taken place.<ref name=fantasy>{{cite book |author=Zuk M |authorlink=Marlene Zuk |title=Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us about Sex, Diet, and How We Live |year=2013 |publisher=W.W. Norton & Co |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7iKwAgAAQBAJ |isbn=978-0-393-08137-4}}</ref>{{rp|114}} On this basis Zuk dismisses Cordain's claim that the Paleo diet is "the one and only diet that fits our genetic makeup".<ref name=fantasy/>

===Diseases of affluence===
Advocates of the diet argue that the increase in [[diseases of affluence]] after the dawn of agriculture was caused by changes in diet, but others have countered that it may be that pre-agricultural hunter-gatherers did not suffer from the diseases of affluence because they did not live long enough to develop them.<ref name=homo>{{cite journal|authors=Ungar PS, Grine FE, Teaford MF|title=Diet in Early ''Homo'': A Review of the Evidence and a New Model of Adaptive Versatility|journal=Annual Review of Anthropology|volume=35|issue=1|year=2006|pages=209–228|issn=0084-6570|doi=10.1146/annurev.anthro.35.081705.123153}}</ref> Based on the data from  hunter-gatherer populations still in existence, it is estimated that at age{{nbsp}}15, life expectancy was an additional 39 years, for a total age of 54.<ref name="kaplanetal2000">{{Cite journal |year=2000 |author1=Hillard Kaplan |author2=Kim Hill |author3=Jane Lancaster |author4=A. Magdalena Hurtado |title=A Theory of Human Life History Evolution: Diet, Intelligence and Longevity |journal=Evolutionary Anthropology |volume=9 |issue=4 |pages=156–185 |doi=10.1002/1520-6505(2000)9:4<156::AID-EVAN5>3.0.CO;2-7 |s2cid=2363289 |url=http://www.unm.edu/~hkaplan/KaplanHillLancasterHurtado_2000_LHEvolution.pdf |accessdate=12 September 2010 }}</ref> At age 45, it is estimated that average life expectancy was an additional 19 years, for a total age of 64 years.<ref name="GurvenKaplan2007">{{cite journal|last1=Gurven|first1=Michael|last2=Kaplan|first2=Hillard|title=Longevity Among Hunter- Gatherers: A Cross-Cultural Examination|journal=Population and Development Review|volume=33|issue=2|year=2007|pages=321–365|issn=0098-7921|doi=10.1111/j.1728-4457.2007.00171.x}}</ref><ref name="OsborneHames2014">{{cite journal|last1=Osborne|first1=Daniel L.|last2=Hames|first2=Raymond|title=A life history perspective on skin cancer and the evolution of skin pigmentation|journal=American Journal of Physical Anthropology|volume=153|issue=1|year=2014|pages=1–8|issn=0002-9483|doi=10.1002/ajpa.22408|pmid=24459698|url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1056&context=anthropologyfacpub }}</ref> That is to say, in such societies, most deaths occurred in childhood or young adulthood; thus, the population of elderly{{snds}}and the prevalence of diseases of affluence{{snds}}was much reduced. Excessive food energy intake relative to energy expended, rather than the consumption of specific foods, is more likely to underlie the diseases of affluence. "The health concerns of the industrial world, where calorie-packed foods are readily available, stem not from deviations from a specific diet but from an imbalance between the energy humans consume and the energy humans spend."<ref name="pmid12469653">{{cite journal
| author = Leonard, William R.
| title = Food for thought: Dietary change was a driving force in human evolution
| journal = [[Scientific American]]
| volume = 287 | issue = 6 | pages = 106–15 |date=December 2002
| pmid = 12469653
| url = http://www.clas.ufl.edu/users/krigbaum/proseminar/leonard_2002_SA.pdf | doi = 10.1038/scientificamerican1202-106
}}</ref>

===Historical diet===
[[File:Brassica oleracea0.jpg|thumb|right|[[Brassica oleracea]], an edible wild plant]]
Adoption of the Paleolithic diet assumes that modern humans can reproduce the hunter-gatherer diet. Molecular biologist [[Marion Nestle]] argues that "knowledge of the relative proportions of animal and plant foods in the diets of early humans is circumstantial, incomplete, and debatable and that there are insufficient data to identify the composition of a genetically determined optimal diet. The evidence related to Paleolithic diets is best interpreted as supporting the idea that diets based largely on plant foods promote health and longevity, at least under conditions of food abundance and physical activity."<ref name="doi10.1046/j.1467-3010.2000.00019.x">{{cite journal
| last1 = Nestle |first1 = Marion | authorlink1 = Marion Nestle
| title = Paleolithic diets: a sceptical view
| journal = Nutrition Bulletin
| volume = 25 | issue = 1 | pages = 43–7 |date=March 2000
| doi = 10.1046/j.1467-3010.2000.00019.x }}
</ref> Ideas about [[Paleolithic#Diet and nutrition|Paleolithic diet and nutrition]] are at best hypothetical.<ref name="isbn0-89789-736-6">{{cite book
| author = Milton, Katharine
| editor = Ungar, Peter S. |editor2=Teaford, Mark F.
| title = Human Diet: Its Origins and Evolution
| year = 2002  | publisher = Bergin and Garvey  | location = [[Westport, Connecticut|Westport, CT]]
| isbn = 978-0-89789-736-5 | pages = 111–22
| chapter = Hunter-gatherer diets: wild foods signal relief from diseases of affluence (PDF)
| chapter-url = http://nature.berkeley.edu/miltonlab/pdfs/humandiet.pdf}}
</ref>

The data for Cordain's book only came from six contemporary hunter-gatherer groups, mainly living in marginal habitats.<ref name=UngarTeaford2002>{{cite book|author1=Peter S. Ungar|author2=Mark Franklyn Teaford|title=Human Diet: Its Origin and Evolution|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6GDELypdTUcC&pg=PA67|date=1 January 2002|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|isbn=978-0-89789-736-5|pages=67–}}</ref> One of the studies was on the [[!Kung people|!Kung]], whose diet was recorded for a single month, and one was on the [[Inuit]].<ref name="UngarTeaford2002"/><ref name="Lee1969">{{cite journal |title=Kung Bushmen Subsistence: An Input-Output Analysis |journal=Contributions to Anthropology: Ecological Essays. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada |year=1969 |last=Lee |first=Richard |issue=230 |pages=73–94 }}</ref><ref name="Eaton1988b">{{cite book |last1=Eaton, M.D. |first1=S. Boyd |last2=Shostak |first2=Marjorie |last3=Konner, M.D., Ph.D. |first3=Melvin |title=The Paleolithic Prescription: A Program of Diet and Exercise and a Design for Living |publisher=Harper and Row |year=1988 |page=79 |isbn=978-0060916350 }}</ref><!--<ref name=UngarTeaford2002/>--> Due to these limitations, the book has been criticized as painting an incomplete picture of the diets of Paleolithic humans.<ref name=UngarTeaford2002/> It has been noted that the rationale for the diet does not adequately account for the fact that, due to the pressures of [[artificial selection]], most modern domesticated plants and animals differ drastically from their Paleolithic ancestors; likewise, their nutritional profiles are very different from their ancient counterparts. For example, wild [[almonds]] produce potentially fatal levels of [[cyanide]], but this trait has been bred out of domesticated varieties using artificial selection. Many vegetables, such as [[broccoli]], did not exist in the Paleolithic period; broccoli, [[cabbage]], [[cauliflower]], and [[kale]] are modern [[cultivar]]s of the ancient species ''[[Brassica oleracea]]''.<ref name=SciAm2013/>

Trying to devise an ideal diet by studying contemporary hunter-gatherers is difficult because of the great disparities that exist; for example, the animal-derived calorie percentage ranges from 25% for the [[Gwi people]] of southern Africa to 99% for the Alaskan [[Nunamiut]].<ref name="NatGeo092014">{{cite journal |title=The Evolution of Diet |journal=National Geographic |date=September 2014 |last=Gibbons |first=Ann |url=http://www.nationalgeographic.com/foodfeatures/evolution-of-diet/ |accessdate=4 September 2014 }}</ref>

Researchers have proposed that cooked starches met the energy demands of an increasing brain size, based on variations in the copy number of genes encoding for [[amylase]].<ref>{{cite news|title=For Evolving Brains, a 'Paleo' Diet Full of Carbs|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/13/science/for-evolving-brains-a-paleo-diet-full-of-carbs.html|accessdate=14 August 2015|work=The New York Times|date=13 August 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Hardy|first1=Karen|last2=Brand-Miller|first2=Jennie|last3=Brown|first3=Katherine D.|last4=Thomas|first4=Mark G.|last5=Copeland|first5=Les|title=The Importance of Dietary Carbohydrate in Human Evolution|journal=The Quarterly Review of Biology|date=September 2015|volume=90|issue=3|pages=251–268|doi=10.1086/682587|pmid=26591850|jstor=682587|s2cid=28309169 |url=https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1470393/ }}</ref>

==See also==
{{portal|Anthropology|Evolutionary biology|Food|Health}}
* [[Inuit diet]]
* [[Leaky gut syndrome]]
* [[Staffan Lindeberg]], researcher
* [[Low carbohydrate diet]]
* [[Low-glycemic diet]]
* [[Modern primitive]]
* [[Nutritional genomics]]
* [[Paleolithic lifestyle]]
* [[Raw foodism]]

==References==
{{reflist}}