Good health is just a stone’s throw awayOnce upon a time, a long, long, time … I mean a really long time ago, obesity and diseases where not at all the issues they are today. Those people of yore lived a life like I lead. I walk everywhere. Eat fresh, local foods. Dress scantily in barely-there loin cloth attire and allow men to pull me all over town by my hair. OK, I don’t really get pulled around by my hair but I am one of the few who walks everywhere in L.A. I maintain my weight by eating like my knuckle dragging ancestors, and you can too by stepping back in time to the Stone Age.
Research shows that the “Stone Age” may have been the ultimate “health-conscious” era. In a study involving 29 patients with heart disease and glucose (blood sugar) intolerance, those who followed a Paleolithic diet had an improvement in blood sugar that was significantly better than those who followed a Mediterranean type diet.
Simply follow the Fred Flintstone Diet. Work in a rock quarry. Sit on Dino and move rocks around all day. Drive a foot propelled car. Eat brontosaurus burgers and voila, a svelte new you and no risk for disease. Alas, most of us are not as lucky as Fred. Most of us don’t have the metabolism of a teenager nor do we have “rock quarry” type jobs. We would all benefit from eating more like our ancestors, at least the ones who never walked fully erect.
In this “Stone Age” study, participants were randomly assigned to follow either a Paleolithic diet (based on lean meat, fish, fruits, leafy green vegetables, root vegetables, eggs and nuts) or a Mediterranean-like diet (based on whole grains, low-fat dairy products, vegetables, fruits, fish, oils and margarines) for 12 weeks. At the end of 12 weeks, glucose levels dropped significantly in Fred’s group, although both diets helped participants lose those “love handles.” No matter what era you live in, whole foods are the way to go.
Instead of imitating the rock stars of today emulate the rock bearers of yesterday. Eat lots of leafy greens, such as collards, kale, Swiss chard. Eat root vegetables, like carrots, turnips, beets and purple potatoes. Forget the “no carb” craze. When your carbs are from “whole foods” they are “good foods.” Choose fruit to satisfy that sweet tooth. Add lean meat and fish as compliments to your vegetable based meals. Eat eggs. They really are an incredible food that so often do not get the credit they deserve.
Think about it. Each egg is a potential source of life. Can you even conceive (pun intended) all of the valuable nutrients contained within? Choose free-range, local, seasonal, fresh and organic or pesticide free. Support your health and your local farmers at the same time.
Visit your local farmers’ market. There are three per week in Santa Monica. I frequent the Sunday market outside of my own cave, but if I’m feeling a little more ambitious or simply cannot wait that one extra day, you’ll find me being drug around by my hair at the Saturday market where I buy bunches of leafy greens, forage for my favorite root vegetables from my farmer friend Alex Weiser, and purchase a plethora of other seasonal fruits, veg-gies, nuts, eggs and fish … food that would make Fred Flintstone proud.
Here’s a recipe that will make you feel like screaming Yaba Daba Doo!
ELIZABETH BROWN MS, RD is a registered dietitian and certified holistic chef specializing in weight management, sports nutrition, disease prevention and optimal health through whole foods. She
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 22, 2008. Read the original PDF.