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I bumped into a fascinating paper today by Dr. Loren Cordain titled "Plant-Animal Subsistence Ratios and Macronutrient Estimations in Worldwide Hunter-Gatherer Diets." Published in 2000 in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the paper estimates the food sources and macronutrient intakes of historical hunter-gatherers based on data from 229 different groups. Based on the available data, these groups did not suffer from the diseases of civilization. This is typical of hunter-gatherers. Initial data came from the massive Ethnographic Atlas by Dr. George P. Murdock, and was analyzed further by Cordain and his collaborators. Cordain is a professor at Colorado State University, and a longtime proponent of paleolithic diets for health. He has written extensively about the detrimental effects of grains and other modern foods. Here's his website.

Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century. Cordain L, Eaton SB, Sebastian A, Mann N, Lindeberg S, Watkins BA, O'Keefe JH, Brand-Miller J. Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Feb;81(2):341-54. Review. PMID: 15699220

"I've been meaning to post my take on the debate about dietary protein (large pdf) between Loren Cordain and T. Colin Campbell. A reader does it for me."

On December 15, 2006, this editor received an email from Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of the 'China Study' which read as follows: "Recently, I was invited to debate Professor Loren Cordain, author of the Paleo Diet, on the question of the optimum recommendation for dietary protein. We each wrote an opening piece, then we wrote a rebuttal. From my perspective it is an unfinished debate (if ever it is finished?).

"In the pages that follow, two scientists at the top of their respective fields--Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Professor of Nutritional Biochemistry at Cornell University, author of The China Study and Dr. Loren Cordain Professor, Department of Health & Exercise Science, Colorado State University, author of The Paleo Diet-make their competing cases for the role of dietary protein in health and disease. Download Article as PDF"

"Can fifty thousand years of human evolution be wrong? What are we really "designed" to eat? Are high carbohydrate "Food Pyramid" diet standards a health disaster? What do paleolithic fossil records and ethnographic studies of 180 hunter/gatherer groups around the world suggest as the ideal human diet? Find out in nationally acclaimed author and nutritionist Robert Crayhon's interview with paleolithic diet expert, Professor Loren Cordain, Ph.D. "

Plant-animal subsistence ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in worldwide hunter-gatherer diets. Cordain L, Miller JB, Eaton SB, Mann N, Holt SH, Speth JD. Am J Clin Nutr. 2000 Mar;71(3):682-92. PMID: 10702160 Our analysis showed that whenever and wherever it was ecologically possible, hunter-gatherers consumed high amounts (45-65% of energy) of animal food. Most (73%) of the worldwide hunter-gatherer societies derived >50% (> or =56-65% of energy) of their subsistence from animal foods, whereas only 14% of these societies derived >50% (> or =56-65% of energy) of their subsistence from gathered plant foods. This high reliance on animal-based foods coupled with the relatively low carbohydrate content of wild plant foods produces universally characteristic macronutrient consumption ratios in which protein is elevated (19-35% of energy) at the expense of carbohydrates (22-40% of energy).

Evolutionary health promotion. Eaton SB, Strassman BI, Nesse RM, Neel JV, Ewald PW, Williams GC, Weder AB, Eaton SB 3rd, Lindeberg S, Konner MJ, Mysterud I, Cordain L. Prev Med. 2002 Feb;34(2):109-18. Review. PMID: 11817903 doi:10.1006/pmed.2001.0876

The Paleo Diet is a way of eating in the modern age that best mimics the nutrition of our evolutionary and genetic heritage - the ancestral, Paleolithic diet. For millions of years our hunter-gatherer ancestors ate combinations of lean meat, seafood, plants, fruit, and nuts. But today in America, more than 70% of our dietary calories come from foods that our Paleolithic (Stone Age) ancestors rarely if ever ate ... and that modern humans are not genetically adapted to eat. The result is epidemic levels of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, obesity, osteoporosis, arthritis, acne, gastrointestinal disease, and more. Professor Loren Cordain is widely acknowledged as a leading expert on the diet of our Paleolithic ancestors.

"This page contains abstracts and articles in PDF format by Dr. Loren Cordain and his colleagues."

Protein plays a litany of roles in living systems: structural elements, peptide hormones, cell recognition, antibodies… the list is staggering and continues to grow as our understanding of biology expands. What, however, is the role of dietary protein i