We are excited to share this special guest post from Rebecca the Dietitian! We recognize how much the way you fuel your body influences your exercise results, and are excited to be able to bring you Rebecca’s sound eating advice to help you optimize your health, enjoy eating and get the most out of your workouts. We hope you will check out her post below and look forward to learning more from her. If you are in need of more guidance when it comes to nutrition, her comprehensive course, “Nourished & Fit” teaches you everything you need to know in order to lose weight, increase your energy, and balance your hormones (while enjoying delicious food of course)! Along with the course you will be invited to monthly group calls and a private Facebook community of amazing, supportive women. Please check out this link here to learn more (be sure to use the code ‘JSTV’ for a 30% discount).

One of our community members asked recently, “What are your thoughts on the carnivore diet?” Rebecca the Dietitian is here to share her insights!

This month we are answering another great question you submitted about whether the Caveman Diet (or Paleo, Keto or Carnivore eating) is recommended.

Cavemen had a life expectancy of 33 years according to the National Institutes of Health. Their diet was driven by whatever was available (should we be eating mammoth?). Depending on your scientific views, cavemen were likely somewhere on the spectrum of our evolution from monkeys/apes. Should we try to eat like monkeys? Should we try to eat like cavemen? Should we try to eat like modern Americans? Let’s dive in.

There have been a few variations of the theme of a “caveman diet” over the years (such as the Paleo, Keto or Carnivore trends), most recently there is a popular one that shuns all plants and encourages followers to only consume meat and dairy. The author of this diet book claims that meat and dairy have more nutrients and that plants are toxic.  

First of all, the claim that meat and dairy have more nutrients is greatly misleading. Sure, meat has more protein per gram than strawberries, but, if you excluded all plants you would be missing many vital nutrients including Vitamin C for example.  Have you ever heard of Scurvy?  It’s a very serious disease that is caused by a human not consuming enough Vitamin C.  You would also be missing out on fiber that feeds the good bacteria in your gut ensuring that you have a healthy microbiome.  In fact, multiple recent studies on this type of diet have revealed detrimental changes in the microbiome. In addition to all of this, you would miss out on all of the various disease-fighting phytonutrients (found only in plants).

Second, the claim that plants are toxic is mostly due to proteins found in plant foods called lectins. Lectins are found in a wide variety of foods and have actually been shown to have some potential health benefits including improved immune response.  They are also being studied for their potential ability to fight cancer.  The only time lectins are actually apparently toxic are when beans or potatoes are consumed raw.  Once the bean or potato is cooked to the point where we would eat it, the lectin content is low and should be completely safe.  In other words, if you’re not chewing on raw beans, you’ll be ok.

The reason this diet is likely most tempting to people is due to potential rapid weight loss from the state of ketosis.  Ketosis diets have gone in and out of popularity for decades, including the Atkins Diet, the Keto Diet, and now the Caveman Diet.  Ketosis happens when the body runs out of carbohydrates, the most efficient fuel for creating energy. In this state, the body releases water weight resulting in rapid weight loss.  Although it is true that bodies in ketosis lose weight quickly, what isn’t water is likely a good percentage of muscle loss.  Rapid weight loss in any format tends to include a higher percentage of muscle and lean tissue loss instead of mostly fat.  When someone goes off of the ketosis promoting diet plan, they often gain back their weight plus extra.  You probably know how challenging it is to build up muscle, and it’s especially hard for women as we age.  We want to be sure that if we choose to lose weight, we do it slowly and steadily with a balanced diet that promotes fat loss and maintains muscle.

Humans now have an average life expectancy of 77.5 years according to the CDC. Not many humans in modern history die of diet related causes before the age of 33 like Cavemen did for various reasons, so I’m not sure that using a caveman’s diet as a gold standard is the best idea.  Besides, real cavemen actually probably ate plants, so I’m not sure where they came up with the idea to consume only meat and dairy in the first place. I suggest that instead of trying to mimic Cavemen, we look at recent studies that show how modern humans around the world are eating to stay healthy and vital well into their 90s and above.

Blue Zones are the places in the world with the healthiest people with the longest life spans (many up to 100+ years!)  What they found while studying the people in the blue zones is that they generally eat a mostly plant-based diet.  They recommend consuming a wide variety of natural plant foods (raw and cooked) with cooked beans and nuts included regularly.  They recommend limiting added sugars and drinking mostly water with some tea and coffee.  Most centenarians consumed fish and eggs in moderation while limiting dairy and red meat.

It’s pretty clear that a meat and dairy-centric diet isn’t the best way to live a long, healthy life. Plants are important to provide vital nutrients and maintain a healthy gut.

What can we learn from cavemen? Move more. If we all had to hunt and gather for our food we’d all be in better shape. Cavemen probably had a plant-based diet until they were able to hunt an animal. Many of us would be healthier using animal foods sparingly as a treat instead of consuming it at all meals and snacks. Cavemen also ate food the way nature provided it to them. The highly processed foods and chemical additives that fill our modern day grocery stores can wreak havoc on our health and hormones. Most of us would be wise to try to eat foods closer to their natural state.

I hope that this article helps you understand the ins and outs of the Caveman Diet and helps you make more educated choices when it comes to keeping yourself healthy for many years to come!

Have a nutrition question for Rebecca? Leave it for her in the comments below and she may answer it in an upcoming post!