| " Americans consult alternative health practitioners some 600 million times a year -- more often than they visit family doctors. In that spirit, Psychology Today sought out these books by three natural health pioneers, holistic innovators who specialize in dietary solutions." " Claim to fame: Wrote The Paleo Diet: Lose Weight and Get Healthy by Eating the Food You Were Designed to Eat (Wiley, 2002)." " Argument: "We're Stone Agers living in the Space Age." Human nutritional needs are genetically determined, and our genes are shaped by natural selection. People gain weight from foods introduced since the agricultural revolution. The result is heart disease, diabetes and obesity in epidemic proportions. The solution is to return to the pre-agricultural diet of Paleolithic people." " His regimen: Like the South Beach Diet except with no grains, salt or sugar. Eats only fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, nuts and seafood. Does not eat any sugars, saturated or trans fats, salt, bread, legumes, potatoes, pasta, processed foods, dairy or grains. Even whole grains are disallowed." " Must-do recommendation: Eat only foods our hunter-gatherer ancestors could have eaten. Because the dominant food source for hunter-gatherers was animals, lean meats compose 55 percent to 65 percent of Cordain's ideal diet. He recommends exercising 90 minutes a day, seven days a week, noting that hunter-gatherers probably did three times that. Cordain concedes that nobody living in the modern age can follow every one of these proscriptions all the time. Most of the beneficial health effects of eating a modern-day Paleo diet can be achieved with about 85 percent or 90 percent compliance." " Research nuts and bolts: Using remains of Stone Age people from around the world, Cordain calculated the energy expenditures of our prehistoric ancestors. A thigh bone, for instance, can tell us roughly how tall and how heavy its owner was. Once he knew the weight, Cordain could calculate how much energy it took that person to move around -- the same way treadmills use your weight to figure the calories you burn during a workout." " By strapping GPS systems onto male Paraguayans while they're out foraging in the jungle, Cordain and his colleagues determined that cavemen probably ran 10 miles a day carrying 25 pounds. Cavewomen worked as hard, carrying children, setting up shelter, foraging for fruits and vegetables, and curing animal skins." " Critics point out that the lives of hunter-gatherers were nasty, brutish and short, with a life expectancy in the 20s. Why emulate that? Cordain's response
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