If taste doesn't work, what should we do?

Last time I mentioned that our caveman ancestors were driven by their taste instincts to foods which were best for them. In their world of scarce food, that meant calorie dense nutrition sources with sugar and fats. These foods packed the most bang for the buck, so it made sense to eat as much of them as you could when you found them, as you could never be sure when your next meal would arrive.

In our modern world, food is everywhere. In the space of a century or two, we went from not having enough food to having far too much. Sadly, there are parts of the world where people are still starving, but on the whole, we in America have too many calories. As such, if you follow your taste like your ancestors did, and eat as much of those sugary and fatty foods as you can, you will end up looking like I did. Obesity is partially the result of our primitive taste not being well suited for easy convenient food.

Thankfully, we have an advantage that our caveman ancestors didn't... our intellect. Once you are aware that your tastes will steer you in the wrong direction, you can engage your brain to put you back on the right course. To do this, you have to imagine yourself in the place of a caveman, and eat like they ate.

Cavemen would have eaten a diet very heavy in vegetables, roots, and grains, as these are the most abundant food sources. Fruits would have been next in quantity, as they are available only seasonally. Meats and animal products would have been the smallest component of their diet, as animals are pretty hard to catch. Cavemen also did not process their food, but ate it as it grew in nature, with some cooking in many instances.


In order to eat like your body needs, follow the caveman nutrition rules:

1. Eat Foods in Their Natural State
2. Eat a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, and very little if any meat, eggs or dairy
3. Choose foods for nutrition, not flavor

Now you know how to follow rule number 3!