This is really a fluff article from the NY Times, which is kinda sad. It implies that the Paleo diet (meat and raw veggies, very low carb) might be invalidated by this discovery which pushes the date of the use of flour to 30,000 years ago. However, it doesn’t explain why that actually threatens the notion of the Paleo diet. Consider that there were probably many paleo humans that lacked flour, the evidence could be regional, and it doesn’t change the fact that humans evolved from millions of years of a mostly raw vegetable diet. So what does 10,000 years matter? We’re left to guess.

Chances are that you know at least one person with a wheat (gluten) sensitivity. It is important to not confuse the “potato-like” tuber evidence found on the mortars and pestels of paleo peoples mentioned. The highly industrialized, over-fertilized, hybridized and now possibly GMOed wheat that you find in nearly every processed food you purchase has little resemblance to the wheat that humans cultivated three thousand years ago. So while the article seems to be on the topic of archeological diet, only the grain lobby would really want the article written as an attack on a low carb diet.

I have neighbors that have tried the Paleo diet. They’re looking for the next nutty diet. I’ll keep encouraging them to eat meat and raw veggies. It’s effective at maintaining healthy gut flora and keeping your insulin levels even.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2010/10/19/science/19bread.xml

[categories health]