Neanderthin

Neanderthin: Eat Like a Caveman to Achieve a Lean, Strong, Healthy Body is a book written by Ray Audette (see the book here). The author suffered from diabetes (at age 33), and had endured a battle with rheumatoid arthritis for 12 years. His research led him to Paleolithic nutrition - natural diet based on what Stone Age people ate prior to the development of agrarian societies.

The simple explanation of the diet, is that only food which is edible in its raw state AND which was available in the Paleolithic age should be eaten. There is no need to refrain from cooking or other forms of food-preparation when following the Neanderthin Plan.

Neanderthin diet plan

Neanderthin has been called a low-carb diet by some. Grains (oats, barley, wheat, rye, etc) are completely out - as are all refined carbohydrates and sugars. This is a big list of ‘forbidden’ food and includes breads, pasta, rice, and even beans. Dairy is also not allowed (obviously a product of agricultural society). Fruit and vegetables are allowed, along with honey (in small amounts).

It is essentially a similar diet to what the hunter-gatherer would eat. Nuts, eggs, fish, and seafood, along with a high amount of meat. Obviously the meat must be cooked for health purposes.

There is no calorie counting or portion control here - you eat until satiation.

Paleolithic Diets

There has been considerable amount of research and study into eating habits in relation to disease. History shows an interesting record of this, and many conclusions have been drawn. The success of the Neanderthin diet, and other Paleo-diets may have more to do with removing refined foods from the diet - rather than a premise of "eating what the caveman ate".

There are a number of idiosyncrasies in Neanderthin - such as forbidding peanuts - which completely qualify as a raw food.

The sad thing is, is that in modern society healthy (fruits and vegetables) are so expensive compared to their processed counterparts. Nutritionally-challenged breads are so cheap to buy that it’s no surprise that it is a staple of our modern diet.

Resources

PaleoFood - Extensive collection of recipes.
www.neanderthin.com - Official site of the Neanderthin diet.