The Paleo diet, high in meat and veggies while low in carbohydrates such as grains and diary, is based on the theory that foods that benefited metabolisms during human evolution would also likely help modern people. However, a new study shows that eating cooked meals with starchy foods contributed to cavemen's quick brain development.
University College London conducted the study. It was published in the Quarterly Review of Biology.
The "caveman diet" does not include foods that showed up in agricultural development due to the theory that it did not promote major brain growth in the first humans. Instead, it is argued that it was due to a high protein diet.
However, Prof. Mark Thomas argued that carbs should be added to the Paleolithic regimen, and that there is little agreement among medical experts about the best foods in a healthy diet. Scientists also do not know what early humans ate.
The Paleo diet was first followed in the 1960s. It is founded on the concept that after cavemen developed basic tools, they could eat more meat and fewer plant-based foods.
About 1.8 million years ago people's digestive tracts were smaller, due to them consuming cooked meat. Brain development then quickly sped up about 800,000 years ago, according to The Telegraph.
Thomas said that the invention of cooking indeed contributed to larger human brains. However, it was also due to enzymes in the saliva and pancreas that could digest starches.
The British Dietetic Association has classified the Paleolithic regimen as a fad diet. Besides that, due to the high meat intake it also boosts the risk of bowel cancer.
The Paleo Diet resembles the Atkins Diet in that it is high-protein, and low-carbohydrate. However, the former includes more fiber.
British celebrity chef and Paleo diet fan Pete Evans recently countered critics of his baby formula that contains bone broth and liver, according to The Guardian. He argued that the recipe has existed for over two decades, and no health problems have been linked to it.
Here are some examples of Paleo diet meals: