Did "Cavemen" eat oatmeal?

 

The term "Paleo Diet" is over used in my line of work. Go into any natural food store and you will see what I mean. Many companies use the term to market their products to consumers looking to eat the way the "Cavemen" ate more than 10,000 years ago in the Paleolithic Era. Just what exactly is the Paleo Diet?
   The Paleolithic Diet consists of what food would have been generally available to our ancestors at the time; meat, berries, and nuts with no dairy or grains consumed. Homo sapiens living in the Paleolithic would have been nomadic hunter gatherers and not part of sedentary populations. Human populations didn't become sedentary until after the advent of farming.
   New archaeological evidence suggests that the people of the Paleolithic were eating grains long before they even learned to farm them! Stone tools or grinding stones were discovered along with evidence of many different species of starchy granules mostly consisting of wild oats. "Cavemen" ate oats!
   This is one of the many reason why I enjoy the field of Anthropology so much. Whenever new evidence in the field emerges we have to rethink and reformulate our ideas about our past. The field of Anthropology is always evolving. Pun intended.


I have posted the links with two very interesting articles below discussing the new exciting evidence.

http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2015/09/11/ancient-oat-discovery-may-poke-more-holes-in-paleo-diet/

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/14/440292003/paleo-people-were-making-flour-32-000-years-ago

The Human Food Project: Anthropology of Microbes

I am fascinated by bacteria, good or bad. I find it very interesting that something so very small can have such a profound affect on our health. Eating a diet with foods high in probiotics (good bacteria) will help strengthen the already healthy bacteria in our digestive tracts. Modern day diets that tend to be low in probiotics and high in medications (such as antibiotics) can strip away the good bacteria in our bodies potentially causing poor health and disease. I recently came across an amazing website documenting a project that is studying how microbial bacteria in our environment can affect our health.

"Nobody tells a giraffe how to eat. But for the first time in history, humans don't know what to eat. We no longer know what human food is". - Jeff Leach, Founder of the Human Food Project

As an Anthropologist, Jeff Leach's motivation for the Human Food Project came after his daughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes. He became interested in how bacteria in our environments affects our diets and our health. Jeff studies the food habits of the Hadza, a modern hunter-gatherer tribe in Tanzania, Africa.

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Anthropologists like Jeff, are interested in the Hadza tribe because they are exposed to a diverse bacterial community in their daily lives. It is possible that their exposure to many type of bacteria make them more immune to modern day health issues and diseases. It is Jeff's hope that by researching tribes like the Hadza, in addition to studying our ancestral and microbial past he will gain insights into understanding modern human health and disease.

For more information please click on the link below.

http://humanfoodproject.com/

Label GMOs - San Diego

Label GMOs San Diego will be at the Carlsbad Farmers Market this Wednesday the 27th from 1-5PM. Come help us educate market shoppers about the dangers of Genetically Modified Foods. The Carlsbad Farmers Market is located on Roosevelt St. between Grand and Carlsbad Village Dr.
Hope to see you there. Please email me with any questions! It's our right to know!

Gardening is not a crime!

But wait....apparently in Oak Park, Michigan gardening is a crime. The city planners office is threatening Julie Bass with jail time because she planted a vegetable garden in her front yard! Unbelievable! The city code in Oak Park requires everything in front yards to be "suitable" plants. What does that even mean? Aren't vegetables suitable plants?

Read the full story here: http://www.naturalnews.com/032960_Julie_Bass_home_gardening.html

Fermentation Friday: Tomatillo Salsa

It's no secret that I love tomatillo salsa. I love it even more when it's fermented. Fermented salsa may sound a bit strange at first but after you taste it you will change your mind. The sour accent blends quite well with tomatillos and hot peppers. In addition, it's very easy to make!

You will need:
6 to 8 medium sized tomatillos - If you don't like salsa verde then use tomatoes!
Hot peppers - In the last batch I used: 2 jalapenos, 1 habenero, and 1 cayenne (My salsa was VERY hot).
Garlic - 2 large cloves
1 lime or lemon
1 Tablespoon of sea salt (Do not use salt that has iodine. Iodine is antimicrobial and can prevent proper fermentation).
1/2 bunch of cilantro

Combine all ingredients in the food processor. Transfer the salsa to a large glass jar and cover to ferment for 24 to 48 hrs. Leave a few inches of space at the top of the jar so the salsa has space to bubble. If it is too close to the top it could bubble over while it ferments. If you like the taste after 24 hours then there is no need to ferment any longer. However, keep in mind, if you ferment for 48 hours it gives the salsa more time to acquire healthy bacteria.

Probiotic salsa verde! Yum!

Fermentation Friday: Fun facts about lacto-fermented foods!

For a basic introduction into fermented foods please see my earlier post: http://thefoodanthropologist.blogspot.com/2011/05/fermented-foods.html

1. Good bacteria (Lactobacilli) are on the surface of all living things.
2. Lactobacilli stimulate the immune system and help the body fight viral infections.
3. Lactobacilli behave like anti-oxidants.
4. The fermentation process preserves food.
5. Lacto-fermented foods contain high quantities of vitamin C. During the 18th Century the British explorer Captain James Cook sailed with large barrels of sauerkraut so he and his crew would not get scurvy on long voyages!
6. The lacto-fermentation process removes toxins from food! This is why other cultures ferment or soak many grains before they are used in recipes.
7. Consuming lacto-fermented foods improves digestion.

I highly recommend reading the book Wild Fermentation by Sandor Katz. This book taught me how to make many fermented foods such as sauerkraut, bread, chutney, and kefir!