Paleolithic nutrition for kids

© 2009-2014 Gwen Dewar, Ph.D., all rights reserved

Putting nutrition for kids in an evolutionary context

It'due south become a cliché.

Paleolithic people were athletic, fit, and gratuitous from the chronic diseases associated with modern, affluent, sedentary lifestyles: obesity, hypertension, middle disease, and diabetes.

Why?

They exercised regularly, walking an average of 8 miles a day. That must have counted for a lot. Only their diets were also notably unlike.

They ate no milk products and consumed very lean meat. They ate fish and shellfish. Every bit a result, their diets were low in saturated fats. They consumed virtually no trans fats (Eaton et al 2007).

In improver, a relatively high proportion of their fat intake was in the course of healthy omega-3 fatty acids (Sinclair and O'Dea 1993).

These differences were very of import. A diet of excessive saturated fat and bereft omega-three fatty acids is linked with dumb cerebral development, cardiovascular illness, autoimmune diseases, and cancer.

Merely I'd similar to focus on some other aspect of the Paleolithic diet: The plant foods.

Studies of contemporary foragers reveal a remarkable breadth of foods, including an average of more than 100 dissimilar plant species.

These plant foods accounted for a carbohydrate intake that is similar to that of people living in flush industrialized countries–about 45-50% of daily free energy (Eaton et al 1999).

But there was an important departure. Modern, flush diets feature carbohydrates that rapidly raise claret sugar levels. Carbs similar refined sugars, highly-candy grains, and starchy potatoes. In addition to raising blood sugar, these foods are also relatively poor sources of fiber, vitamins, and minerals.

By contrast, foragers got their carbs from vitamin-and mineral-rich, loftier-fiber vegetables and fruits.

Big deviation? Oh yes. Nutritionists evaluate a food'due south potential for raising blood glucose levels by measuring information technology'south "glycemic index," or GI.

Glucose has a glycemic index of 100. Anything under 55 is considered to be depression. You can bank check the GI of various foods by checking the International Table of Glycemic Alphabetize and Glycemic Load Values (Foster-Powell et al 2002).

Consider how these agricultural staples score:

• Baked russet potatoes, GI approximately 86.
• Corn tortillas (from a Western supermarket), GI approx. 74.
• Breakfast cereals (like corn flakes), GI over 70.
• Wheat flour breads vary. Coarse wheat breads (with uncracked kernels) have GIs in the 50s. White breads have GIs in the 70s.
• Rice varies. Jasmine rice (my favorite) has a GI of approximately 109. Basmati rice has a GI in the range of 58.

Past contrast, many of the starchy roots and tubers eaten by non-Western peoples accept GIs less than fifty. Most green vegetables accept GIs far below 50.

And fifty-fifty sweetness fruits sold in Western supermarkets have GIs under 55:

• Apples, GI approximately 38
• Bananas, GI approx. 52
• Oranges, GI approx. 42
• Mangos, GI approx. 51
• Peaches, GI approx. 42

Which may explain why researchers accept observed an important difference between artificially sweetened fruit juice, and fruit juice that contains no added sugar. Whereas the intake of sugar-sweetened fruit juice has been linked with the development of type 2 diabetes, the consumption of 100% natural fruit juice has not (Eleven et al 2014).

And then here'due south the point: The "Paleolithic" carbs trigger relatively gradual rises in blood sugar levels, which may protect children from a variety of ailments, including diabetes, middle disease, stroke, and kidney disease.

Moreover, the high cobweb content in fruits and vegetables may independently lower a child's risk of obesity, cancer, and diseases of the digestive system.

And there are interesting theoretical speculations about the consequences of rejecting paleo-carbs in favor of candy, starchy foods. As Ian Spreadbury has argued, a diet of highly-processed carbohydrates promote the growth of gut bacteria that blunt our feelings of satiety, encouraging united states of america to overeat (Spreadbury 2012).

In addition, there is evidence hinting that high-starch diets pose a particular risk of obesity for people who possess fewer copies of the AMY1 factor (Falchi et al 2014). Perhaps individuals who carry many copies of this factor (discussed below) are less likely to develop insulin resistance, a condition that contribute to the accumulation of body fat.

And what virtually vitamins and minerals? Studies of hunter-gatherer diets reveal dramatic differences betwixt Paleolithic intakes and what'due south typical for people living in modernistic agricultural societies.

Vitamins and Minerals

According to an analysis by S. Boyd Eaton and his colleagues, contemporary foragers consume higher levels of vitamins and minerals than are currently recommended by the Us RDA (Eaton et al 1999). For case, foragers boilerplate

• 0.357 mg of folate
• 6.49 mg of riboflavin
• 3.91 mg of thiamin
• 600 mg of vitamin C
• 1950 mg of calcium
• 10,500 mg of potassium, and
• 43.four mg of zinc.

These aren't megadoses, and Eaton'due south group doesn't advocate megadoses. Taking supplements of vitamins and minerals in megadoses tin be dangerous—especially for children.

Merely the Paleolithic example helps put modern agricultural diets in perspective. According to information collected in the 1990s, most Americans aren't getting the recommended amounts of magnesium, calcium, or zinc.

Almost i third of Americans aren't getting plenty folate, riboflavin, or thiamin, and 37% fail to get fifty-fifty 60 grams of daily vitamin C.

Implications: What the hunter-gatherers teach the states virtually nutrition for kids

Is the traditional "nutrient pyramid" incorrect?

Information technology seems likely that the traditional food pyramids–those graphics suggesting that people should consume high quantities of highly refined cereals–are wrongheaded. Parents interested in improving nutrition for kids should place a stronger emphasis on loftier-fiber, nutrient-rich vegetables and fruits.

Other research supports this thought. A new written report suggests that the high consumption of fruits and vegetables is one of the fundamental reasons that that the classic Mediterranean nutrition is and so healthful (Trichopoulou et al 2009).

Researchers tracked thousands of Greek men and women for more than eight years. And so they compared diets and mortality. The results suggested that high intake of vegetables and fruits was a potent predictor of survival. By dissimilarity, the effects of high cereal intake (e.chiliad., bread consumption) were small.

Just we needn't avoid all the cereal-based foods. When cereals are less thoroughly refined and processed, they take much lower glycemic indices. Co-ordinate to the International Table of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values, corn tortillas fabricated by the Pima indians take a GI of only 38.

Nor should we assume that the Stone Historic period menu is ideal, or that any deviations from it are automatically bad.

Show that humans have evolved to cope with more "modern" diets

I've heard people assail milk or wheat or soy just considering they are evolutionary "new" foods. That objection is bereft.

Humans accept evolved significant, new adaptations since the rise of agriculture.

For instance, the gene AMY1 codes for salivary amylase, the enzyme that breaks down dietary starch. The more copies you possess of this cistron, the more salivary amylase you lot tin make. People who live in populations with high-starch diets carry more copies of the AMY1 gene, presumably considering natural selection favored it (Perry et al 2007).

Or consider the more than familiar case of the gene for lactase, the enzyme that helps the trunk pause down milk sugars. Most homo adults don't produce lactase. The cistron is turned off when childhood ends. But among certain populations—such as those in the Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa—most people possess the ability to assimilate milk throughout adulthood.

Should lactose-tolerant people give upwardly milk?

Research suggests that at that place are both costs and benefits associated with opens in a new windowmilk consumption.

For instance, studies propose that milk increases insulin resistance. But milk too enhances growth (Hoppe et al 2006; Rich-Edwards et al 2007). And for some people–including those who are vegetarians by option or necessity–milk may provide a crucial source of calcium and animal proteins.

And then I retrieve nosotros demand to avert sweeping generalizations. When it comes downwardly to it, there isn't anything magical about Paleolithic diet. What'southward best for kids may depend on private differences, including genetics and ecology factors, similar the availability of unlike nutrients.

And in instance yous were wondering about life spans…

When many people hear about the low incidence of chronic, degenerative disease amongst hunter-gatherers, they vox the obvious question: "But isn't that considering hunter-gatherers don't live long enough to dice of these weather condition?"

Of course people are less likely to die of heart disease if accidents, warfare, infectious disease, or famine kills them outset.

And it would be silly to compare a grouping of geriatric Americans with a group of young hunter-gatherers!

But that's not what anthropologists like S. Boyd Eaton exercise.

Rather, they examine the wellness condition of younger people. They expect for the early warning signs of chronic disease–biomarkers like increased platelet aggregatability, clinical hypertension, loftier cholesterol, and insulin resistance.

When you compare hunter-gatherers with their similarly-anile counterparts in flush, industrial countries, the hunter-gatherers have much healthier-looking profiles (e.1000., Eaton et al 1988; Joffe et al 1971).

Researchers also examine the health status of older hunter-gatherers. About xx% of hunter-gatherers live to age 60 or beyond, and these individuals are remarkably free of symptoms of chronic, degenerative diseases (Eaton et al 2002).

Does this mean that we'd all be meliorate off equally hunter-gatherers, or that the Paleolithic was a Garden of Eden? Certainly non. Life in the Paleolithic wasn't just shorter. It was undoubtedly much less pleasant than many sentimentalists realize (Bogin 2011).

But the betoken hither is that eating lots of high-fiber, nutrient-rich constitute foods–and trading saturated fats for the "good" fats–has probably played a fundamental office in lowering the run a risk of chronic, degenerative affliction.

More than information about nutrition for kids

If you'd like to consult the International Table of Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load Values, y'all can do and so opens in a new windowhere.

If you'd like more than evidence-based data almost food in general, run into these Parenting Scientific discipline articles almost opens in a new windownutrition for kids

And are you wondering about other diets purported to be "natural" and good for kids?

Not every claim made about the Paleolithic diet is supported by the evidence. And many diets being marketed as "natural" are of questionable value for kids. In fact, some are dangerous.

For more than data, check out this critical look at some popular, "natural" diets and their opens in a new window effects on kids.

---

References: Paleolithic diet for kids

Cordain L, Eaton SB, Sebastian A, Isle of man N, Lindeberg S, Watkins BA, et al. 2005. Origins and development of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century. Am J Clin Nutr 81: 341-354.

Eaton SB, Cordain L, and Lindeberg S. 2002. Evolutionary health promotion: A consideration of mutual counterarguments. Preventative Medicine 34:119-123.

Eaton SB, Eaton SB III, and Konner MJ. 1999. Paleolithic nutrition revisited. In W. R. Trevathan, East.O. Smith, and J.J. McKenna (eds), Evolutionary Medicine. New York: Oxford University Press.

Falchi Yard, El-Sayed Moustafa JS, Takousis P, Pesce F, Bonnefond A, Andersson-Assarsson JC, Sudmant PH, et al. 2014. Depression copy number of the salivary amylase gene predisposes to obesity. Nat Genet. 2022 Mar thirty. doi: x.1038/ng.2939.

Foster-Powell G, Holt SH, and Brand-Miller JC. 2002. International table of glycemic index and glycemic load values. Am J Clin Nutr 76:5–56.

Gibbons A. 2009. Of tools and tubers. Science 324 (5927): 588 – 589.

Hoppe C, Mølgaard C, and Michaelsen KF. 2006. Moo-cow's milk and linear growth in industrialized and developing countries. Annu Rev Nutr. 26:131-73.

Patin Due east, Quintana-Murci L. 2008. Demeter's legacy: rapid changes to our genome imposed by nutrition. Trends Ecol Evol. 2:56-9.

Perry GH, Dominy NJ, Claw KG, Lee AS, Fiegler H, Redon R, Werner J, Villanea FA, Mountain JL, Misra R, Carter NP, Lee C, and Stone AC. 2007. Diet and the evolution of human salivary amylase gene copy number. Nat. Genet. 39(x): 1256–1260.

Rich-Edwards JW, Ganmaa D, Pollak MN, Nakamoto EK, Kleinman M, Tserendolgor U, Willett WC, and Frazier AL. 2007. Milk consumption and the prepubertal somatotropic axis.Nutrition Periodical 6: 28-35.

Sinclair A and O'Dea K. 1993. The significance of arachidonic acrid in hunter-gatherer diets: Implications for the contemporary Western diet. Journal of Food Lipids 1: 143-157.

Spreadbury I. 2012. Comparing with ancestral diets suggests dense acellular carbohydrates promote an inflammatory microbiota, and may exist the chief dietary cause of leptin resistance and obesity. Diabetes Metab Syndr Obes. five:175-89.

Trichopoulou A, Bamia C, and Trichopoulos D. 2009. Anatomy of health effects of Mediterranean diet: Greek EPIC prospective accomplice study. BMJ. 338:b2337.

11 B, Li South, Liu Z, Tian H, Yin X, Huai P, Tang W, Zhou D, Steffen LM. 2014. Intake of fruit juice and incidence of type 2 diabetes: a systematic review and meta-assay. PLoS Ane. 9(3):e93471.

Content of "Paleolithic nutrition for kids" last modified iv/14

lanesurpoked.blogspot.com

Source: https://parentingscience.com/nutrition-for-kids-paleolithic/

Share this post