Why It's Just Simple Math that Humans Become Fat & Sick on Modern Diets
The concept of the ancestral diet isn't just a romantic notion of a bygone era. It's a fundamental truth that drives home a critical point: all animals thrive on the diet they evolved on, and humans are no different. However, we've strayed from this path, and our health has paid the price. Here's why.
The Ancestral Diet: Nutrient Density and Energy Balance
For most of human history, our ancestors had to rely on what nature provided: whole foods, rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, and essential fats. These foods had a high nutrient to energy ratio, providing exactly what the body needed without excess.
Today, that equilibrium has been shattered.
Modern Foods: A Low Nutrient to Energy Ratio
Enter the era of modern processed foods. Laden with refined fats, added sugars, and stripped of essential nutrients, these foods represent a significant departure from what we evolved eating. The nutrient to energy ratio has plummeted, making it mathematically impossible to consume them without overeating energy.
Let's break down why this is problematic.
Excess Energy: The Path to Obesity
In our ancestral diet, nutrients and energy were balanced. But now, everyone consuming modern diets finds themselves short on nutrients but over-consuming energy. The body has no option but to store this excess energy as fat.
Being overweight is more than an aesthetic concern; it's a major health risk. The crux of the issue lies in what's known as the "personal fat threshold." When this threshold is exceeded, the body stores excess energy as visceral fat, a particularly harmful type of fat that can cause metabolic problems, even in individuals at a low body weight.
Chronic Disease: Insulin Resistance and Beyond
Insulin resistance is the dark shadow cast by a diet high in empty calories. It's the root cause of most chronic diseases, and it begins with a poor diet. As visceral fat accumulates, the body's ability to regulate insulin falters, leading to a cascade of health problems.
The tragedy of modern diets is not just the obesity epidemic but the underlying chronic diseases that have become all too common. These ailments are the direct result of abandoning our ancestral diet.
The Battle of Hunger: Satiating Foods to Win
The fight against obesity and chronic disease is not merely a battle of willpower. You can't simply decide to eat less when your diet is filled with low nutrient-to-energy ratio foods. Hunger will always win.
The solution lies in returning to nutrient-dense foods with a high nutrient-to-energy ratio. By eating foods that satisfy our biological needs, we naturally consume the right amount of energy without overeating. This is the essence of our ancestral diet, and it's the key to reclaiming our health.
Conclusion: Returning to Our Roots
The evidence is clear: modern processed foods with a low nutrient to energy ratio are at odds with our evolutionary history. They lead to excess energy consumption, obesity, and chronic diseases. It's not just a theory; it's a mathematical certainty.
The path forward isn't complex or shrouded in mystery. It's a return to the fundamental principles that guided our ancestors: eating straight from nature with an emphasis on nose to tail animal foods.
We don't have to accept the status quo of obesity and chronic disease. By embracing our ancestral diet and recognizing the importance of nutrient-to-energy ratio, we can reclaim our health and thrive just as nature intended.
Our ancestors understood something profound that we've forgotten: true health is about nourishing our bodies with the right kinds of calories, not merely counting them. It's time to return to this wisdom and leave behind the destructive path of modern processed foods.
We can win the battle of hunger and live vibrant, healthy lives. The blueprint is there; we just need to follow it.