Return of the Caveman
While I am an advocate for all things “natural,” I also am an advocate for thinking – using the brain.
A friend recently sent me the link to the site “Hunter-Gatherer.com.” I’m not providing a hot-link to you, because it’s a front-site, with a signup form if you’re “interested.” Put your email in the box and hit send, and Hunter-Gatherer will inform you when there’s something happening there.
The site was setup by John Durant, a 26-year old internet marketing professional.
Grog like SEO! Grog like Stumbleupon! Grog like Affiliate Marketing!
What Is This Paleo Stuff All About?
The “paleo” movement basically states that our species, homo sapiens, has not evolved very much over the past 200,000 years, since it branched off the tree of Homo (that sounds silly! tee hee!).
Anyway, these folks say that the diseases of modern civilization arise largely from us acting like a bunch of fat agriculturalists – eating too many and the wrong kinds of calories, not moving/exercising enough (and sucking at it when we do), and basically being too smart to realize how dumb we are.
This movement has been around for a long long time. Roughly 35 years now. It’s not new.
Not only is it not new. It’s not hard to understand. You can get any of a number of books on Amazon.com, used, for less than the price of your non-paleo mocha latte. If you want.
You can erect my homo anytime...wait...what? I mean, "Ug."
The Caveman Speaks!
You can watch John on the Colbert Report – here.
If you don’t have the time, let me sum it up for you – John says that “human beings have been around for a half or a million years in our current form,” (Which is technically incorrect. Homo Sapiens, which is what we are, is about 200,000 years old) and that it would behoove us to eat and move like we did during that part of our evolutionary history.
John also says that hunter gatherer societies live(d) to about the same ages that we do now. From everything I’ve ever read, this is completely untrue. Average maximum lifespan is usually listed between 35-55 years in anything I’ve read about pre-agricultural humans.
Further, life expectancy increased significantly after the advent of agriculture. Maximum lifespan increased significantly again after the advent of modern medicine.
Apparently, John has taken some notes from Art DeVany, an economist-turned-physiology-expert, who runs his own “paleo” blog and internet business. DeVany chapped my ass a few years ago when I posted a question about one of his (then free-to-all) workouts, and the rationale behind his set/rep scheme. He didn’t publish the post. I deleted his blog from my roll.
Wherefore Art Thou, Customer?
Internet marketers are savvy. They will often put up a “test” website (such as John’s) with a signup form (such as John’s) to see what size audience they can get, before investing time, money, and effort in building an actual site.
They also jump on popular bandwagons. I’m not saying that John Durant doesn’t live, eat, and breathe Paleo. I believe that he does. I’m just saying that this Caveman is no dummy. He’s a smart Caveman. He’s a Caveman with internet access. He’s a Caveman with deer in his apartment.
Beatrice de Gea's photo of John from the NYT article
What Do You Care, Josh?
I don’t care that much. I actually think it’s pretty cool. But I’d really like for people to be well-informed about this stuff, and be listening to people who know what they’re talking about, rather than internet marketers with a caveman fetish, or retired economics professors who like to boost their testosterone levels a lot.
The caveman thing, like all things, will come and go. In the meantime, many people will get caught up in the wave, and ride the diet rollercoaster for a while, messing their physiology up so bad that they’ll actually shave years off in the long run. But as long as it’s a fun ride, that’s all that matters!
Which reveals something about human nature. And about why you like to buy things.
Why You Like to Buy Things
Virginia Satir is said to have said (you like that?) – “The most basic instinct of human beings is not the instinct for survival, but the need to experience the familiar.”
Maybe she’s right. Maybe not.
But right around the same level of that instinct is the need for the unfamiliar. Human beings have a desperate, unquenchable thirst for what is novel. It’s like a drug. Start showing people one new thing, and they want another, then another, and then another…
This is your brain on advertising
The Bottom Line
Be critical. Death is lurking. In fact, you might die right now. I hope not, but you might!
If you are a caveman, or follow a caveman lifestyle, you might live longer. Maybe. Or you might not. The hope of longer life may be part of what John is selling to you. That and novelty. And “happiness.” The old hag in a new dress.
It’s catching, this “paleo” thing. I don’t think it’s entirely wrong, or misguided, but I want you to be sure that it is being sold to you.
The line just above the death one, the penultimate line, is your physiology – the way the human body functions. Knowing more about that is useful knowledge. Then you have a solid baseline by which to judge any diet, any exercise routine, or anything else in your life.
Beyond that, the Caveman movement should be seen for what it is – fun. It’s just play. Play Caveman if you want.
I’ll play Dinosaur, and come to your cave and eat your head.
GRRR!! Now THIS IS REAL!! GRRRR!! snarfsnarf
Hear hear! By the way, in my browser the caption text is the same white color as the background – and therefore invisible unless highlighted.
I’m right with you on this – the extent of my paleo-ness is that I try to eat less wheat than I used to. I think it’s interesting to take a hard look at the “blue zones” where people have been living a very long time for a very very long time. I’m pretty sure people on Sardinia and Okinawa aren’t following the paleo diet. In fact, I think Sardinians eat a large quantity of bread. I’m still waiting for someone to beat Pollan’s rules of “eat food, not too much, mostly plants.” I think I’ll be waiting for a long time.
Hahaha…thanks Colin. I don’t think you’re going to be able to see this reply, though. Something’s up. All of my fonts are default set to white. I’ve asked the guy who did my site to see what he can do about it. Prob be fixed around Wednesday.
Charlie and I were discussing this whole issue, and I think the key element that’s missing from the diet discussion is that people can live to 80 or 90 years old who never exercise and eat like shit – but they live in a tight-knit community, where they are happy, feel loved and supported, etc.
I think that goes beyond everything else. If your physiology is in a negative state due to stress/mood/etc., it doesn’t matter how good your diet is.
On that note I give you my latest blog post: http://www.fifth-ape.com/blog/2010/2/6/control-yourself-take-only-what-you-need.html
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Thanks for reading! Glad it was useful. What are you studying?
Heyy, Found your blog on Bing and I am so glad I did! Keep it up! =)
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Repetitive!
Hi, Very interesting article you have there. I actually run a couple of blogs on this topic, and since I have found some of your articles very informative I definatelty think that my members would enjoy reading them. With that said I would like to place a link to some of your articles on my blogs since they are more detailed than the information posted on my blogs. Thanks for your help!
This is interesting…I’d like to know what you would advise in my situation. Right now I’m aiming to shed around 20 pounds and add muscle mass to my frame. But there are such a huge number of “systems” out there and I have no idea which one to trust. Can somebody point me towards a good plan for burning fat and packing on muscle?
whaaaat this is the best post ever aha.
It seems like you have gathered yourself a fairly sizeable following finally. I’m pleased.
I never knew how much information you could find about this! Thank you for making it all easy to figure out
I’m working on getting six pack abs right now and it’s not easy. Do you have any tips as far as a good six pack abs diet? I’ve heard that oatmeal, egg whites of course, broccoli, blueberries and salmon are all necessary to include in your diet…are there any other foods I should include to build muscle and get ripped abs?
Your suggestions sound good. Being able to see your abs has to do with your abdominal bodyfat levels. Low abdominal fat = more visible musculature. Anything that reduces your fat is good for that.
Before the arrival of agriculture, technology and civilization human beings took part in a diet now referred to as the Paleolithic Diet. This Stone Age diet, in short, consisted of mainly lean red meat and vegetables. In this type of diet animal meat is consumed in large quantities and 45 to 65% of the energy needed by the body is derived from it.
Until people shifted to our modern diets, amazingly, they experienced extremely low rates of cancer, obesity, arthritis, osteoporosis, diabetes and heart diseases. Therefore, nutritionists and scientists believe that the Paleolithic diet is a great tool for combating modern ailments including obesity, cancer and others.
The foods included in this diet are generally lean red meat, eggs, fish, fruits, nuts and vegetables. Items like breads, pasta, milk, refined sugars were excluded from this diet. This diet used to vary region and culture wise in different countries.
The specialty of this diet is it is rich in protein, fiber, minerals, iron, vitamins, mono unsaturated fat, omega3 fats, antioxidants and phyto-chemicals. On the other hand the diet contains lower quantity of saturated fats, salts, and enzyme inhibitors.
Experts feel that the Paleolithic diet have many health benefits and since foods taken are mostly natural they have no side effects. Since milk and dairy products are excluded in this diet it is safe to have some calcium to protect from rickets, osteoporosis, etc.
Learn more about the best ways to lose weight by reading reviews and health tips at http://paleolithicdiet.com
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