the cooking of foods, and agriculture was adopted.
Agriculture led to an increased consumption of grains
as they were farmed for the first time and so became
available abundantly. Anything that became available
during the Neolithic period is not allowed on the
Caveman diet.
It is not clear when the interest in going back to
the diet of Paleolithic humans began. There are many
different people who recommend different versions of
the diet. There are many commonalities between the
various versions of the caveman diet, but in general
there is one main difference. Some proponents of the
diet suggest eating a variety of very lean meats raised
as most like animals in the wild as possible, and some
proponents who encourage eating a large quantity of
red meats with high fat contents.
The two most popular versions of the diet come
from Ray Audette and Loren Cordain. Audette wrote
the book ‘‘Neaderthin’’ and Cordain is the author of the
book ‘‘The Paleo Diet’’. These diets have many similar-
ities and differ mainly on what types of meats and how
much fat should be eaten. They also differ in the way
that they suggest beginning the diet and on the strict-
ness with which they require the diet to be followed.Description
The caveman diet is intended to include only foods
that were available to humans that existed more than
10,000 years ago. The most basic meaning of this is that
only foods that can be eaten raw can be included, as fire
was not discovered until after this time period. On the
diet however, the food does not actually have to be
eaten plain and raw, it can be moderately prepared.
Food can be cooked but should be eaten very close to
its raw state, without complex preparation methods
being used. Because the food has to be able to be
eaten raw this excludes some foods like many members
of the legume family (such as beans, peas, and peanuts)
because they have to be cooked.
The other basic premise is that nothing that
requires technology can be eaten. Technology in this
case encompasses things as diverse as agricultural meth-
ods to complex processing and canning. This means
that any kind of food that has been processed in any
way is forbidden. This excludes all forms of refined
sugars, and large amounts of the foods normally eaten
by average consumers today.
No dairy products are allowed while on this diet.
This means no milk, cheese, butter, or anything else
that comes from milking animals. This is because
milking did not occur until animals were domesti-
cated, sometime after the Paleolithic age. Eggs areallowed however, because Paleolithic man would
probably have found eggs in bird’s nests during forag-
ing and hunting.
Because agriculture did not exist during the Pale-
olithic era this means that no grains of any kind can be
eaten while on the caveman diet. Although wild grains
did exist during the Paleolithic period, many of them
were very different than the grains that exist today.
They were unlikely to have been as robust and would
have provided little nutrition. Additionally grains
could not be collected in any significant way until
pottery (another invention of the Neolithic age) was
invented so that there was an available method to
collect and store it. So on the caveman diet grains in
all forms are forbidden. This includes rice, wheat, and
even corn.
Root vegetables that are starchy are also forbid-
den on the diet. These include potatoes and sweet
potatoes. Yams and Cassava are also not allowed,
and some people believe beets are acceptable on the
diet and some do not. These foods are not allowed
because they generally have to be cooked and are not
believed to have been eaten during Paleolithic times.
Meat and fat recommendations for while on this
diet are where the two main proponents of the diet
show their biggest dietary difference. Audette believes
that eating fat can help a dieter feel fuller on less, and
even reports that he eats a pound of bacon for break-
fast each morning. Cordain believes the dieter should
take an approach that limits the intake of such fatty
meats and includes a variety of lean meats. He believesKEY TERMS
Diabetes mellitus—A condition in which the body
either does not make or cannot respond to the
hormone insulin. As a result, the body cannot use
glucose (sugar). There are two types, type 1 or
juvenile onset and type 2 or adult onset.
Dietary supplement—A product, such as a vitamin,
mineral, herb, amino acid, or enzyme, that is intended
to be consumed in addition to an individual’s diet
with the expectation that it will improve health.
Mineral—An inorganic substance found in the earth
that is necessary in small quantities for the body to
maintain a health. Examples: zinc, copper, iron.
Vitamin—A nutrient that the body needs in small
amounts to remain healthy but that the body cannot
manufacture for itself and must acquire through diet.Caveman diet