Can we live like cavemen?

If you’ve ever wondered if you’d truly be able to survive on the diet of our stone-age ancestors, X Magazine has the answer for you

By Masa Jamaludeen

The evolution from caveman to Homo sapiens. Credit: Pixabay

Unlike many regimes, the paleo diet, aka the ‘cavemen diet’, isn’t a fad as it is considered to be the longest time-tested diet. The rules are simple, you follow what cave-people ate, meaning nothing that can be delivered to your doorstep. It might be the most boring days of your taste buds’ lives.

The best part is that this diet fulfils your biological design and taps into your genetic potential.

Due to the agricultural revolution, our bodies have never fully adapted to consuming the sugar and wheat that we now ingest. The paleo diet has a glycaemic control that normalises our blood sugar levels. In 2007, Diabetologia proved this to be true, as 36% of their paleo group demonstrated an improvement in their blood sugar levels since adopting the diet.

Raw fruit and vegetables that can be eaten in the paleo diet. Credit: Pixabay

But, shopping for this diet is a nightmare. My local Tesco, for example, doesn't have a wide selection of tantalising 'raw' treats, unfortunately. Don’t get me started on raw milk. Back in the day, a cow was at your disposal whenever you wanted a fresh glass of milk, but today, it’s hard to buy because it contains harmful bacteria before it’s heat-treated, only some farmers sell it in the UK. So, milk was a no go.

Although, I did manage to make one tasty Lebanese dish called ‘Kibbeh nayyeh’ which consisted of minced lamb, mint leaves and green onions.

The Guardian claims that ultra-processed foods now account for more than half of the calories eaten by people in the UK and US, so I see why our supermarkets are being flooded by these items because the raw stuff isn’t as easy to get anymore and doesn’t taste as delicious.

Lidl Supermarket. Credit: Pixabay

If you’re a vegetarian on the paleo diet, there may be a high risk of becoming deficient in vitamin D and calcium. A high intake of red meat and fats could also increase the likelihood of cancer, kidney failure and heart disease.

In conclusion, you can eat like a caveman, so long as the caveman had a frying pan and someone else killed his food for him.