The Perfectly Healthy Meal How Ancestral and Gourmet Culinary Practices Guide us to Satisfying and

Nourishing Food

Russ CrandallPaul Jaminet Ancestral Health Symposium 2013

Tr a d i t i o n a l V i e wo f E a t i n g f o r H e a l t h

Taste opposes Healthfulness

“The only way to keep your health is to

eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like,

and do what you'd rather not.”

-- Mark Twain

G o u rm e t v s . Pa l e o

If Taste opposes Healthfulness,then

does Paleo oppose Gourmet?

But Paleo is designed for healthfulness.

Gourmet is designed for taste.

Food Reward & Health

Why Did We Evolve a Food Reward System?

To enrich gourmet chefsand to give us heart attacks?

0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,0000.0%

5.0%

10.0%

15.0%

20.0%

25.0%

30.0%

35.0%

40.0%

45.0%

Fat Intake vs Income

GDP per capita 2009, US $

Fat i

ntak

e, %

of e

nerg

y

Income Determines Diet: Fat

0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,00040%45%50%55%60%65%70%75%80%85%90%

Carb Intake vs Income

GDP per capita, 2009, US $

Carb

inta

ke, %

of e

nerg

yIncome Determines Diet:

Carbs

Global Rich (>$20,000):“Western diet”

50% carb, 13% protein, 37% fat

0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,00040%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Carb Intake vs Income

GDP per capita, 2009, US $

Carb

inta

ke, %

of e

nerg

y

Global Poor (<$5,000):“Plant-based diet”

70% carb, 11% protein, 19% fat

0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,0000.00%

2.00%

4.00%

6.00%

8.00%

10.00%

12.00%

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18.00%

Protein Intake vs Income

GDP per capita 2009, US $Prot

ein

inta

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Tw o G l o b a l D i e t s

Food Choices Are a Compromise

1. Innate Food Preferences. The “food reward system” of the human brain evolved to motivate us to acquire healthy foods.

2. Cost. We try to minimize the time and money we expend to acquire food.

Carbs (flour, bread, noodles, sugar) are cheapThe poor subsist on carbs (plant-based diet)The rich eat more animal food (western diet)

Why Do We See This Pattern?

2,600,000 BC – 10,000 BC

A Hunter-Gatherer Diet

T h e Pa l e o A l t e rn a t i v e

229 Hunter-gatherer societies– Diet typically 30% plants, 70% animal + fish

– Macronutrients ~20% carbs, 15-30% protein, 35-65% fat

Source: Cordain L et al. Plant-animal subsistence ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in worldwide hunter-gatherer diets. Am J Clin Nutr 2000 Mar;71(3):682-92. Figure 1.

Plant food consumption Animal+fish consumption

Pa l e o l i t h i c D i e t s :H i g h A n i m a l , Lo w C a r b

10 hunter-gatherer culturesMacronutrients ~20% carbs, 30% protein, 50% fat

Source: Kaplan HS, Hill KR, Lancaster JB, Hurtado AM. A Theory of Human Life History Evolution: Diet, Intelligence, and Longevity. Evolutionary Anthropology 9:156-185, 2000. http://www.unm.edu/~hkaplan/KaplanHillLancasterHurtado_2000_LHEvolution.pdf.

Pa l e o l i t h i c D i e t s :H i g h A n i m a l , Lo w C a r b

An antelope has 200,000 to 2,000,000 caloriesA tuber has 100 calories

Source, image

Plant food consumption

source

W h y H u n t e r- G a t h e re rD i e t s a re Lo w C a r b

Paleolithic Diets Too Low-Carb– 20% carb … below optimum– Carbs costly, animal foods cheap

Source: Cordain L et al. Plant-animal subsistence ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in worldwide hunter-gatherer diets. Am J Clin Nutr 2000 Mar;71(3):682-92. Figure 1.

Hunter-Gatherer Plant food consumption

Modern Diets Too High-Carb– 50-70% carb … above optimum– Carbs cheap, animal foods

costly

0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,00040%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

Carb Intake vs Income

GDP per capita, 2009, US $

Carb

inta

ke, %

of e

nerg

y

A re B o t h D i e t s I m p e r f e c t ?

Modern diets are

too high-carbbecause carbs are cheap

Paleo diets were

too low-carbbecause carbs were hard to gather

We should

follow food rewardto a gourmet cuisine based on ancestral foods

Food environmentsdistort diets away from optimum healthfulness;

but food reward pushes back

T h e C a s e f o r Ta s t e

The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook.

Fat gives things flavor.

If you're afraid of butter, use cream.

I had my first French meal and I never got over it. It was just marvelous. We

had oysters and a lovely dry white wine. And then we had one of those lovely

scalloped dishes and the lovely creamy buttery sauce. Then we had a roast

duck and I don’t know what else.

Julia Child

N e w Pa l e o G u r u ?

G o u rm e t v s Pa l e o

If Taste supports Healthfulness,then

we need to synthesize Paleo and Gourmet!

Paleo is designed for Healthfulness.

Gourmetis designed for Taste.

H o w D o We S y n t h e s i z e Pa l e o a n d G o u rm e t ?

Take the Best of the Two Strategies

Paleo Strategy: • Health first• Restrict the food set to

remove toxic/allergic/autoimmune foods

• Short history of recipe development

• Offbeat ingredient substitutions in traditional recipes; simple flavors

Gourmet Strategy:• Taste first• Unlimited food set• 1,000+ year history of

recipe development• Complementary

ingredients, complex flavors

Paleo vs. Gourmet:Two Meal Implementations

Paleo Meal: • Restricted food set• Simple flavors

Gourmet Meal:• Unlimited food set• Complementary

ingredients, complex flavors

Rotisserie Chickenand steamed veggies

From Paleo Solution

Crawfish Étouffée with stock, butter, cream, scallions, garlic, celery, onion, tomato, peppers,and bacon served with rice

From Saveur Magazine

G o u rm e t A p p ro a c h t oA n c e s t r a l C o o k i n g

Strike a balance of flavors using seasonings, acids, and fats in every dish

Focus on natural sources of umami:broths, mushrooms, tomatoes, seaweeds,

fermented fish pastes/sauces

Gourmet dishes often require extended preparation or cooking times; embrace the

process!

G o u r m e t A n c e s t r a l

Kebabs

Ancient method of cooking; gourmet and street fare today

Onion, lemon juice, vinegar, spices used to flavor and tenderize

Basted in fats for more flavor

G o u r m e t A n c e s t r a l

Congee

Fast and easy source of calories for warriors

Served as gourmet dish during Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD)

Add-ins developed over time: eggs, rice wine, fish sauce, dried fish, mushrooms, ginger

G o u r m e t A n c e s t r a l

Beef Bourguignon

Originally a pauper’s meal, became widely-celebrated gourmet dish

Red wine, stock, herbs, and aromatic veggies

Often considered the most flavorful dish in Western cuisine

C o n c l u s i o n

1. Our food reward system wants us to be healthy,

so our most healthful food will be Gourmet Ancestral Cuisine

2. If we broaden our food palette to include traditional gourmet approaches and representatives from all food types,

then current Paleo recipes can be easily modifiedto give us

Gourmet Ancestral Cuisine.

Thank You!