Don’t fast just because our ancestors may have… do it because it works

The article starts out by kind of trashing the idea of intermittent fasting. It snarkily criticizes people for the use of common sense and logic behind the idea of prehistoric people not eating three meals a day and by necessity following an intermittent fasting lifestyle.

Then it goes on to explain that the people being criticized are perhaps correct. It just says correct for the wrong reasons. Don’t intermittent fast because you believe it is part of how our species evolved. Intermittent fast because science backs it up. Either way, both sides of their opinion makes sense. Even if they don’t want to embrace common sense and logic.

Up until about 12,000 years ago, all humans got their food by hunting, gathering or fishing. As foragers, they would fast until they found, caught or killed their food. There was no breakfast upon waking,, or leftovers for lunch. They ate opportunistically, Freedman and Pobiner say, consuming anything they could get their hands on.
Contrary to what Paleo diet enthusiasts might say, there was no single diet that prevailed; the diets of hunter-gatherers depended largely on location, season, and opportunity. In the polar regions, Eskimo communities relied on wild animal protein, while the Juǀʼhoansi in Southern Africa ate mostly wild plant foods. There was no neighborhood bodega or Trader Joe’s to pick up mango during winter.

Inverse.com

Posted

in

by

Comments

Leave a Reply