Our Ancestors Ate PUFAs (Probably) - Food For Thought

[Tyler Woodward]

Ray never claims that he thinks that "Peat-esque" diet is ancestrally consistent and probably for good reason. I think it would make a lot of sense for our ancestors to have eaten PUFAs as Winter approached to intentionally slow metabolic rate to gain some fat for the winter. It wouldn't make a lot of sense for our ancestors to go into the Winter when food was scarce with their metabolic rate was through the roof. Also, many foods like fish, avocados, and nuts tend to have a relatively higher amount of Vitamin E which cancels out some of the PUFAs effects. You really think our ancestors just caught some wild salmon and said, "oh, nah this thing is filled with PUFAs" and threw it back in ?.
Now I'm not saying that we should eat PUFAs as modern-day humans, but the majority of us also live within a few miles of whole foods and a year-round plentiful food supply. If we're attempting to be as optimal as possible we would likely want to avoid as many PUFAs as possible to keep our metabolic rate as high as possible and I think for this reason it's very likely that our ancestors didn't live as long as we do today.
Food for thought

 

[Jam]

Ray never claims that he thinks that "Peat-esque" diet is ancestrally consistent and probably for good reason. I think it would make a lot of sense for our ancestors to have eaten PUFAs as Winter approached to intentionally slow metabolic rate to gain some fat for the winter. It wouldn't make a lot of sense for our ancestors to go into the Winter when food was scarce with their metabolic rate was through the roof. Also, many foods like fish, avocados, and nuts tend to have a relatively higher amount of Vitamin E which cancels out some of the PUFAs effects. You really think our ancestors just caught some wild salmon and said, "oh, nah this thing is filled with PUFAs" and threw it back in ?.
Now I'm not saying that we should eat PUFAs as modern-day humans, but the majority of us also live within a few miles of whole foods and a year-round plentiful food supply. If we're attempting to be as optimal as possible we would likely want to avoid as many PUFAs as possible to keep our metabolic rate as high as possible and I think for this reason it's very likely that our ancestors didn't live as long as we do today.
Food for thought

But is this true? From all of the evidence I have seen, people who survived through adolescence, and weren't felled in war, actually lived as long, if not longer, than we do. The thing is, infant mortality was very high and this is what crashes the “average” lifespan of our ancestors.

 

[Tyler Woodward]

But is this true? From all of the evidence I have seen, people who survived through adolescence, and weren't felled in war, actually lived as long, if not longer, than we do. The thing is, infant mortality was very high and this is what crashes the “average” lifespan of our ancestors.

I'm talking about way back before the agricultural era. I think we probably shortened our average lifespan for thousands of years during the agricultural era because we were so reliant on grains and thereby extremely micronutrient deficient.

 

[Metabawlic]

Ancestral food preparation is sophisticated. We have little knowledge of how exactly they processed their foods. Maybe they had some techniques to neutralize PUFA in fall/winter foods? One example we do have is the vikings fermenting cod liver oil which seems to reduce Omega 3 and might have some other unknown effect on the PUFA's in it.

 

[Dr. B]

But is this true? From all of the evidence I have seen, people who survived through adolescence, and weren't felled in war, actually lived as long, if not longer, than we do. The thing is, infant mortality was very high and this is what crashes the “average” lifespan of our ancestors.

the earliest humans would have lived the longest, imo. the environment, food quality, etc should generally get better and better the further back in history you go.
in modern times, modern medicine tries selling the lie that lifespan is increasing. and it seems like they want to deny and cover up any evidence of humans being taller, healthier, older lived. shirali muslimov used to be in the book of world records but was removed for supposedly being unverifiable. he probably did live to 170, he was in the mountains, supposedly drank milk all day. basically good conditions to live. all the tallest human examples you hear of are people with pituitary issues who died in their 20s and 30s. it's very odd.

 

[Nicole W.]

Ancestral food preparation is sophisticated. We have little knowledge of how exactly they processed their foods. Maybe they had some techniques to neutralize PUFA in fall/winter foods? One example we do have is the vikings fermenting cod liver oil which seems to reduce Omega 3 and might have some other unknown effect on the PUFA's in it.

I believe Native Americans boiled acorns in the winter, skimming off the fat, then turned the remainder into mash. They must of known that the fats in acorns were not beneficial.

 

[Giraffe]

Hungry gap - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Nicole W.]

Hungry gap - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Yep. This is the time period when maple syrup/ sugar became a major constituent of the diet for Native Americans. It got them through the last months of winter/ early spring without having to starve.

 

[Lollipop2]

Ray never claims that he thinks that "Peat-esque" diet is ancestrally consistent and probably for good reason. I think it would make a lot of sense for our ancestors to have eaten PUFAs as Winter approached to intentionally slow metabolic rate to gain some fat for the winter. It wouldn't make a lot of sense for our ancestors to go into the Winter when food was scarce with their metabolic rate was through the roof. Also, many foods like fish, avocados, and nuts tend to have a relatively higher amount of Vitamin E which cancels out some of the PUFAs effects. You really think our ancestors just caught some wild salmon and said, "oh, nah this thing is filled with PUFAs" and threw it back in ?.
Now I'm not saying that we should eat PUFAs as modern-day humans, but the majority of us also live within a few miles of whole foods and a year-round plentiful food supply. If we're attempting to be as optimal as possible we would likely want to avoid as many PUFAs as possible to keep our metabolic rate as high as possible and I think for this reason it's very likely that our ancestors didn't live as long as we do today.
Food for thought

If they did eat PUFA, which is likely, it was from the whole food NOT highly refined seed oils that used to be used for painting. Big difference.

 

[DonLore]

If they did eat PUFA, which is likely, it was from the whole food NOT highly refined seed oils that used to be used for painting. Big difference.

Yeah, try getting 20 grams of omega-6 from natural foods every day. Some nuts you could achieve that, but I think nuts are not that easy to find in nature in large amounts. So people didnt get that much pufa, especially in the more tropical climates. But now most people eat 20 grams if not more of omega-6 without even getting the micronutrients the whole foods would have

 

[Ritchie]

Well of course, depending on where they were, they would have ate alot of fish and sea food, nuts, seeds and the like.

 

[Hugh Johnson]

Our ancestors ate what they had access to. It means very little in terms of health.

 

[Dr. B]

Well of course, depending on where they were, they would have ate alot of fish and sea food, nuts, seeds and the like.

the fish were eaten alongside the fish heads which provided thyroid. plus maybe the bones too, providing calcium. and maybe it is still safer than eating omega3/omega 6 oils. although im not sure since supposedly bears get themselves fattened up for hibernation by eating fatty fish.

 

[Perry Staltic]

I believe Native Americans boiled acorns in the winter, skimming off the fat, then turned the remainder into mash. They must of known that the fats in acorns were not beneficial.

They boiled acorns to remove the tannins

 

[Perry Staltic]

I think nuts are not that easy to find in nature in large amounts.

American Chestnuts used to be super abundant in the US until the chestnut blight wiped them out.

 

[Nicole W.]

They boiled acorns to remove the tannins

When they removed the tannins they also removed the oil, reserving it for use as an ointment.

Native Americans Removed Acorn Oil and Replaced It With Bear Fat - Fire In A Bottle

Firsthand accounts show that Native Americans removed acorn oil but happily combined animal fats with starch.

fireinabottle.net

 

[Perry Staltic]

When they removed the tannins they also removed the oil, reserving it for use as an ointment.

Native Americans Removed Acorn Oil and Replaced It With Bear Fat - Fire In A Bottle

Firsthand accounts show that Native Americans removed acorn oil but happily combined animal fats with starch.

fireinabottle.net

Do you know the pufa content of American Chestnuts? They were probably as much or more of a staple than acorns were. They were eaten raw and roasted.

 

[Jam]

Do you know the pufa content of American Chestnuts? They were probably as much or more of a staple than acorns were. They were eaten raw and roasted.

Chestnuts are very low fat. 1 cup of roasted chestnuts, providing 350 kcal, only contains 1.2g of PUFA.

 

[Nicole W.]

Do you know the pufa content of American Chestnuts? They were probably as much or more of a staple than acorns were. They were eaten raw and roasted.

Overall fat content is extremely low in Chestnuts. I think PUFA is 1.2% per cup of chestnuts. They seem very nutritious with significant amount of b vitamins and even vitamin C. They would be a good source of vitamin C in the fall/winter when presumably foods containing vitamin c would be harder to find.

 

[Lollipop2]

Yeah, try getting 20 grams of omega-6 from natural foods every day. Some nuts you could achieve that, but I think nuts are not that easy to find in nature in large amounts. So people didnt get that much pufa, especially in the more tropical climates. But now most people eat 20 grams if not more of omega-6 without even getting the micronutrients the whole foods would have