WHEN you switch on television documentaries about Stone Age man, you don’t see them tucking into a cheeseburger and chips, washed down with a bottle of Chardonnay. Or a bowl of sugar-coated cornflakes liberally drenched in milk, for that matter. Fred and Wilma Flintstone would be more likely to be chewing venison, other game meats, vegetables, fruits, nuts and berries.
And while we may like to think we have evolved into highly sophisticated beings, a body of experts believe we have barely progressed at all when it comes to digestion and metabolism, and suggest today’s chronic diseases are largely due to "new", post-agricultural foods.
A Fife vet and deer farmer who is a regular trader at Edinburgh’s fortnightly farmers’ market believes we should look to our Stone Age ancestors for lessons on what we eat. Despite the passing of 40,000 years, experts say this is nothing in evolutionary terms - not enough for humans to have adapted to metabolise foods high in fat.
"Mankind had been eating venison for most of his time and it was only on the last stroke of midnight, so to speak, that he had resorted to eating ‘improved’
domestic animals. His system must be better adapted to venison consumption that to the fattier beef and lamb," says Auchtermuchty deer farmer and vet John Fletcher, 57, who has written a book based on his deer knowledge, Fletcher’s Game: A Vet’s Life with Scotland’s Deer.
As he’s a deer farmer, you would
expect Fletcher to say venison is good for us, but he’s not alone, for the Stone Age diet, also known as the caveman, hunter-gatherer or Paleolithic diet, is growing in popularity in the United States.
"The human genetic makeup is identical to that of Stone Agers," says Loren Cordain, a nutritionist at Colorado State University and author of The Paleo Diet. "Those people were
optimally adapted to the types of foods that they could gather or hunt, and there’s no evidence to suggest that modern humans are any different."
Archaeological evidence suggests that Stone Age man did not suffer from heart disease, strokes, osteoporosis, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, allergies or other chronic diseases. Scientists who reviewed dietary data from
archeological sites and bone excavations and examined the health and diet of existing hunter-gatherer populations for the Journal of Nutritional and Environmental Medicine, found that meat, fish, shellfish, leafy vegetables, fruit, nuts, insects and larvae were the
primary ingredients of the human diet during the Paleolithic period - the early Stone Age. Roots, vegetables were later added.
Typically, the Flintstones and their friends would have consumed game meat, such as venison - high in iron and low in fat, but a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. Fruit, vegetables and nuts rich in minerals, vitamins and soluble fibre were eaten in abundance.
In addition to the general health
benefits, the researchers suggested a Paleolithic diet may help prevent strokes because of its low salt content combined with generous levels of fibre, protein, folic acid, vitamin B6, vitamin B12, potassium, magnesium and vitamin C.
And for the protein, Fletcher is unequivocal in extolling the virtues of venison. "It’s got twice as much iron as beef and lamb, which are normally the meats recommended for people to improve the levels of iron in the blood. In addition to that, it’s got less fat than skinned chicken so it’s extremely lean. Venison fat is extremely high in omega-3 fatty acids.
"There is good evidence that the
balance of fatty acids in our diet can actually influence our behaviour. Some people suggest that high levels of
depression and mental illness could be reduced if we had a higher proportion of these fatty acids in our system. There have been very good studies on changing diet in prisons and improved
behaviour - they became less aggressive and more amenable. The effects were very striking."
Meanwhile, islanders in Papua New Guinea who still lead a hunter-gatherer lifestyle are known to suffer remarkably low levels of heart disease.
"Cattle and sheep and pigs were bred to be fat because people wanted tallow for candles. Now, instead of using it for candles, we’re eating it and although a lot of the meat that we get in shops is leaner nowadays, the fat is trimmed off and put into junk food mostly," Fletcher says.
"From a biological perspective, venison and game meat are what we’re physiologically best adapted to eating. We’ve been eating game meat for hundreds of thousands of years and we’ve been eating red deer in Europe for up to 50,000 years and more than 10,000 years in Scotland. The longer you do something, the more your body adapts to it. The fattier beef and lamb is something that we’ve only been exposed to for a couple of hundred years.
"You can see from the bones of
Neolithic middens [rubbish dumps] that red deer have been staple prey species for Neolithic man for 50,000 years. Over 95 per cent of the Stone Age middens that have been excavated in Europe contain a predominance of red deer bones. It’s logical from the point of view of the evolutionary biologist that you should be eating game meats."
In the United States, a number of prominent evolutionary nutritionists and geneticists advocate the Stone Age diet. As well as lean meat providing a good source of protein, 65 per cent of Neolithic man’s calorific intake was from fruits, vegetables, nuts, berries and honey - rich sources of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, and five times what a Westerner today will eat.
Cordain claims people adhering to his Paleo Diet will "lose weight and get healthy by eating the food you were designed to eat".
For Fletcher the answer is simple: "When we’re all fussed about Scots becoming obese, it would be sensible to do something about it."
l Fletcher’s Game: A Vet’s Life with Scotland’s Deer, by John Fletcher, is published by Mercat Press, priced £9.99
How do we compare with Stone Age man?
Stone Age diet: 65 per cent vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, honey, berries, providing 100 grammes of fibre per day. High in vitamins, minerals, antioxidants. Good to combat cancer, heart disease, diabetes, hypertension and other chronic diseases.
Thirty-five per cent lean game, wild fowl, fish, shellfish, eggs. Excellent source of low-fat protein, with omega-3 fatty acids, good for a healthy heart.
Modern diet: 55 per cent "new" foods: cereal grains, processed fats, milk, refined sugar, alcohol, milk products, sweeteners, processed vegetable oils. High in fat, sugar, carbohydrate. Grains, cereals, pasta and bread only arrived 10,000 years ago. Some research has linked wheat to arthritis, headaches, gastrointestinal problems and depression, possibly due to slight allergic reactions. Sugar increases levels of insulin, glucose and triglycerides in the blood - known factors in diabetes and heart disease. Too much polyunsaturated fat can lead to high cholesterol. Twnenty-eight per cent fatty meat, poultry, eggs, fish, shellfish.
Seventeen per cent vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes
Source: Emory University/University of Michigan
Paying lip service to your smile
KYLIE Minogue can do it, so can Britney Spears and Liz Hurley - that is use their smiles to dazzle the paparazzi and the public.
Kylie et al are veterans at smiling and pouting for the camera - and their ability to create a winning look is coveted by every beauty-conscious female who knows her lipstick from her lipstain.
But as these stars know, there’s much more to a smile than brushing their teeth twice a day. Yes, there is teeth whitening or veneers for flashy whites and collagen injections for plump lips, but there are also more subtle and inexpensive ways of concealing, enhancing and flashing.
As National Smile Week begins - turn back to pages 14 and 15 if you missed our jokes - it’s time to take some tips from the experts on how to camouflage or enhance to dazzle alongside the best of them.
Thin lips plague many mouths, but, there’s no need to save up for collagen as savvy make-up application can rival any cosmetic procedure. Here, disguising and enhancing is the key, and according to Lesley Wood, national make-up artist for celebrity favourite make-up brand Pout, natural lip liner is a must. She says: "Using concealer, outline your pout to disguise your natural lip line. Then apply a neutral shade of lip liner just outside your natural lip line and fill in, but avoid matte lipsticks which don’t maximise on the light reflective properties of a shiny lip-gloss which enhances."
Rose Harrison, of the Versace make-up team at John Lewis, agrees, adding: "Lip gloss will give thin lips a more voluminous plump look as well as looking sexy. Pick the colour carefully depending on your skin tone and ask for advice from an adviser."
Frequently used on thin-lipped models on the catwalks is Pout’s LoveGlow skin brightening illuminator, which is dabbed on the bow of the top lip for an illusionary plumping effect. Also hugely popular is the cult product DuWop Lip Venom (£14.50, Pout) - used by Jennifer Lopez - which is designed to increase circulation to the area, naturally plumping the lips and giving a bee-stung effect. Or alternatively, Lights on Lips lip gloss (£15) will give thin lips a more voluminous plump.
For those who want to try a more permanent plump with up to 40 per cent extra fullness without resorting to surgery, Wood recommends the Transformulas Lip Volume (£20, Pout). She explains: "It is scientifically proven to stimulate collagen production, resulting in a softer, fuller and plumper lip with fewer wrinkles, creating a more contoured, defined lip line and structure."
But, for some women, less is not the problem as they have ample pout and this can cause just as much self-consciousness. So, what can they do?
Versace’s Harrison explains the key is to conceal: "Powder can be used on the lips to reduce any high colouring, then a lip pencil gently sketched within the shape of the natural lip. Colours should be kept soft such as pink and peach tones and our sensual feeling lipstick range [£16] gives lips a soft sheen with a hint of colour."
Wood says: "Dark lip shades can be carried off by pout-ilicious types as they tend to thin the lips. Penelope Creme Lipstick by Lola is a brilliantly warm nutmeg pigment that looks beautiful on all skin tones and has great staying power."
The only other potential problem is teeth colouring, and chances are that unless you religiously use tooth whitening products your smile won’t be Hollywood white. But don’t despair.
"Specific colours like orange-red make teeth look more yellow," says Wood. "The easiest way to make teeth look whiter is a nude/pink lip gloss to enhance natural pinkness in the lip."
All that is left to do now is smile.
From The Scotsman 17 May 2004
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