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It may be trendy today, but the general concept behind the Paleo diet dates back to the 1970s, when gastroenterologist Walter Voegtlin noted that our hunter-gatherer ancestors—who subsisted on lean meat, leafy greens, nuts, and berries—knew what they were doing. And in 1985, S. Boyd Eaton, MD, of Emory University, expanded on the idea in an article in the
New England Journal of Medicine, which sparked renewed interest in the diets of our ancient ancestors.
Also known as the Caveman or Stone age Diet, Paleo is based on the presumed diet of our ancestors in the Paleolithic era, essentially foods that could be found by hunting and gathering. When farming practices began, grains, legumes, and dairy quickly became staples of the human diet. But as the Paleo theory goes, our bodies aren’t designed to eat foods that emerged from farming practices, and this genetic mismatch contributes to obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and other modern illnesses. Many studies support these claims. Some highlights: