Forget that diet

Or like a monkey, that works too. A new book has been released, ‘Eating Like Animals’, which is praised by many nutrition scientists. Anthropologist Caley Johnson observed the eating behavior of Stella, who lived in Cape Town at the foot of Table Mountain, for thirty days. Stella ate totally different things every day. In the thirty days she was observed, she ate about ninety different things in all sorts of different combinations. Caley Johnson had what Stella had eaten that day examined in exactly the same quantities in a laboratory. The amount of proteins or fats varied enormously from day to day. But what turned out? When you added everything up (nutritional value, fat, proteins, etc.), Stella had an extremely balanced menu. So balanced that it is almost impossible for a dietitian to compile that with a balanced computer program.

So how did this Stella manage it? Was she a dietitian? No, Stella was a baboon. And what many subsequent studies showed is that many animals like baboons and monkeys are perfectly capable of creating a balanced and healthy diet. Apparently, our ancestors could do that, but we have lost that along the way. According to the authors of the book ‘Eating Like Animals’, we need to crack (hack) and reset our eating patterns. If we eat like an animal again, we will live healthier, fitter, and happier.

Eating Like Animals – David Raubenheimer & Stephen J. Simpson