After the publication of my two books, many people ask me what exactly is the “power ‘ evolutionary” and what is the difference with the known terms “paleo diet” and “real food”. It is true that the three concepts are related, but each one has its own characteristics and fundamentals.
In this article, we will examine what is in each one, with the goal of understanding their differences and understand why I focus and promote the power of evolution.
Why use the term “feed” and not a “diet” or “nutrition”?
First, let’s look at why I prefer to speak of ‘feeding‘ and not ‘diet‘ or ‘nutrition‘ evolutionary, which also tends to be another very common question.
The term diet, I’ve never liked too; it has a very structured, scheduled or scheduled feeding, with rules and restrictions that guide the choice of food. No animal on the Earth (or the human being up to the modern age) you need to follow or do a diet to be healthy and not overweight; you’re simply fed up with ‘your food’, with those that you (your genetics) has evolved, to which it is adapted, and, therefore, it will not damage.
On the other hand, nutrition is a related term with nutrients (fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals,…) and also I like this reductionist approach of isolating and think on nutrients rather than foods. Humans eat food, eat food, don’t eat vitamin B12, magnesium, monounsaturated fatty acids, or protein; eat avocado, apple, arugula, or salmon.
In contrast, power refers more specifically to that: the act of eating food, what do the humans for our body to develop all its functions successfully, survive and pass on their genes.
Feeding Evolutionary: ‘Nothing makes sense in biology if it is not in the light of evolution’
The phrase is not mine; it is of Theodosius Dobzhansky, a geneticist and evolutionary biologist Ukrainian, and is the title of an essay published in 1973. In it, he argues that many of the biological phenomena —from the structure of the molecules to the behavior of organisms— can only be fully understood when considered in the context of their evolutionary history and the mechanisms of evolution. For example, the way in which species adapt to their environments, the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics, the diversity of species in an ecosystem and, even, certain characteristics and behaviors of humans and other animals, can be understood better when you consider how these traits have been shaped by evolutionary processes over time. That is to say, any attempt to study and understand the biology and physiology without taking into account the evolution will result in an incomplete understanding. The theory of evolution is essential to interpret both the diversity of life as the adaptations of organisms to their environments.
The power evolutionary adopts a broad vision to embrace the idea that human evolution is a continuous process and that our diet should be adapted accordingly. Not only focuses on the food eaten by our ancestors, but also in how we have evolved to process different foods throughout the story.
For example, the domestication of animals and cultivation of plants allowed for the development of foods such as dairy, legumes, tubers, and whole grains. In some populations, this led to genetic adaptations, such as the ability to digest lactose in adulthood, or the increase in the number of copies of the gene AMY1, which facilitates the decomposition efficient carbohydrates. The power evolutionary considers these adaptations, and allows the inclusion of dairy, legumes, and some grains if the person can tolerate.
Additionally, the food and evolutionary stresses the importance of understanding our own body. This includes consideration of the individual genetic, sensitivities to food, lifestyle and personal preferences. Therefore, there is not a single power for all; what is beneficial or harmful to one person may not be to another.
All this said, we must not forget that the central pillar of my vision of the power supply evolutionary is that, the more time that has ‘lived’ a food with us, the more we are adapted genetically to him, the better we feel, the less it hurts and, therefore, the less we get sick. Hence the water we feel better than a Coca-Cola, a few cherries better than a bun industrial, a few dried fruits better than a cookie or a fish better than bread or pizza.
Paleo diet: Return to the Past
The paleo diet is based on an approach that is more rigid and restrictive, focusing on the food that is believed that our ancestors ate during the Paleolithic (hunting, fishing, and harvesting of plants), and eliminating the foods derived from agriculture and livestock that appeared beginning in the Neolithic period. It is argued that, given that our ancestors did not have access to grains, legumes, tubers, dairy and processed foods, these foods are not suitable for our consumption.
While this approach has helped many people improve their health, particularly by reducing the consumption of processed foods —and in that aspect is very welcome, presents some challenges. One of them is that the paleo diet can be very restrictive, which can hinder their long-term sustainability for some people. In addition, by excluding certain food groups, it reduces the range of possibilities to obtain nutrients varied. If a person will like the taste and don’t feel bad a good fermented dairy such as kefir or yogurt, why deprive yourself of him and his probiotics? Do you or fiber a few chickpeas? Do you, or to increase the resistant starch through the cooked and cooled oatmeal?
It is important to note that human evolution did not stop at the Paleolithic period, and there are adaptations later, that allow many people to consume foods such as dairy products and legumes without problems.
Real food: Focus on Quality and Naturalness
The movement of the ‘real food’ (real fooding) advocates for a focus on the quality and naturalness of food. This means choosing foods fresh, raw or minimally processed, and avoid those with artificial additives, preservatives, and added sugars.
It is a movement that has done a lot of good, helping to raise awareness to many people of how harmful it is to base your diet on industrial products and ultraprocesados.
The power evolutionary is based on this “real food”, since, as we have already mentioned, the food industrial ultraprocesados are recent in the evolutionary history of the human being (not to have existed during the 99.99% of our evolution). For this reason, we are not adapted to them, there are food (our body does not recognize them as such); they are “food products”.
The only downside that I see is that the term “real food” doesn’t convince me at all and prefer to call it “natural food”, as I believe, gives rise to less confusion. In the end, real also is a food product industrial, as “there is”; in contrast, the “natural food” is that nature provides us, not a factory who has submitted the original raw material (natural) to multiple processes, making the food resulting in something that looks like human food.
Conclusion
After analyzing these approaches, I find that the power-evolutionary is the most promising due to its adaptive nature and his account of human evolution continues. In addition to the benefits it shares with the paleo diet (such as the promotion of food, not processed), it also allows for greater variety and flexibility.
The inclusion of foods that have been shown to be beneficial, even if they are from the source is more recent than the Paleolithic, resulting in a diet more diverse and nutritious. This diversity is not only more sustainable, but also helps to cover a broader spectrum of essential nutrients.
Through a deeper understanding of our evolutionary history and individual needs, the power supply evolutionary presents a path to balanced and sustainable for those looking to optimize their health through nutrition.
