Caveman Nutrition 101

When you think of cavemen and what they eat, what comes to mind? I always thought of a whole bunch of raw meat, and that's about it. Perhaps this is an artifact of our meat obsessed culture. I pictured some muscle bound man hunting mastodon and other giant beasts.
If you really think about it, however, this is implausible. Our earliest ancestors were nearly identical to us physically, but lacked weapons or other ways to kill. Given this, it is not likely they were chasing down mastodon, who are stronger and faster than we are. It seems that my picture of a big pile of raw meat is simply wrong.
It is far more likely that primitive man existed on a diet of mostly vegetables, with some fruit and nuts, and very little meat. Why? Because vegetables are available year round. The leafy greens grow most of the year, even in cold climates, and when they are not around, root vegetables (potatoes, turnips, and carrots) are. Fruits and nuts are only available part of the year, because they are seeds. Seeds only come out during times of plant reproduction (spring, summer, and fall), and are only ripe during part of those times. Finally, animals are REALLY hard to catch. If you don't believe me, go try and chase down a healthy rabbit the next time you see one, and see how far you get.
Why does this matter? Simple. Our bodies are essentially the same as our primitive ancestors. Thus, we are designed to eat what they ate. We live in a society where fruits, vegetables, and large quantities of meat are easily available for purchase. In our modern world, looking at a caveman can help us choose what to eat.
We consider ourselves evolved, and in many ways we are. Our approach to food is not one of them. We are killing ourselves with what we eat, because we have strayed from what we were supposed to be eating. The Standard American Diet is filled with meat, salt, and processed sugar, and very light on vegetables, fruits, and nuts. Looking at the previous paragraphs, it is obvious that we are not supposed to eat that crap. If this is what we call "evolved," then we need to devolve back to our primal roots and eat more like Thag, our figurative caveman ancestor.

More on what we SHOULD be eating in Caveman Nutrition 102