1. Ancestral, But Not PaleoA look at health, diet and lifestyle through thelens of modern history and evidenceBrian Mansfieldbrian@brianmansfield.net@blmansfield

2. Some questions Is the invention of agriculture really the reasonfor the failing health of the human race? If not agriculture, then what? Or when? 3. Time Travel How far back do we need to go? What are the diseases of modern life? When did these diseases become common? What changed? What causes modern disease? A paradigm shift 4. Paleo Perspective Began 2.6 million years ago Ended around 10,000 B.C. 5. Causes of Death before 10,000 B.C. Infant Mortality Childbirth War Infection Predators 6. Before 10,000 B.C. How many people were overweight? How many were obese? Hint: Very few 7. Causes of Death10,000 B.C. To ~1840 A.D. Infant Mortality Infection Trauma War 8. 10,000 B.C. To ~1840 A.D. How many were overweight? How many were obese? Still a VERY small portion of the population Not much change from the earliest days ofhuman life 9. Ok, so what's the point? From early in human existence until about1840, death was brought on by natural causes Very few people were overweight or obese. These diseases were rare or unheard of: Diabetes Alzheimer's Cancer Autism Heart Disease Asthma Arthritis Liver failure 10. Fast Forward~1840 A.D. To 2014 A.D. Common diseases include: Cancer Heart Disease Liver Failure Diabetes Autism Alzheimer's Asthma 11. So? Humans have existed somewhere between: 4,000 years 3+ million years Depending on your perspectiveRIGHT? But obesity and other previously unheard-ofdiseases have only been seen in the past 150years. And are now COMMON. 12. But that's because people in earlyhuman existence didn't live longenough to get those diseases.Right? 13. Surprisingly, No(Math nerd alert) If a woman has 10 kids (I know, a lot, but staywith me) and 5 make it to an average age of75 and the other 5 don't make it to their firstbirthday, what is the life span of her children? Give up? 14. Answer: 38 years. Pretty young. And according to thecommon theory, pretty accurate. But is it true? What if those 5 children didn't die before theirfirst birthday? What would their life expectancy be if theysurvived their first year?(I promise, this is the last math problem) 15. Answer: If each of the 5 made it a more advanced age,say between 65 and 80, the average would bein the mid-70s. (Remember, 5 made it to 75) A life span of about 75 years The math: (75x5)+(65+71+77+74+80)10 =74.2 Years 16. So what does that mean? Many people think that ancient man lived only30-40 years Many people fail to account for the lower rateof infant mortality, which is now around 3.5%for modern countries but was much higher inthe distant past. The point: Averages can be very misleading The other point: Ancient man lived about aslong as we do now. 17. A conundrum If humans have always had a life span ofabout 75+- years, then why didn't we startseeing new diseases in older people until themid-1800s? And if obesity was so rare for nearly theentirety of human existence, what changed tocause the diseases of modern life? 18. It was agriculture...Right? The Paleo movement teaches that: the invention of agriculture and the end of thehunter-gatherer lifestyle damaged our health. Grains and legumes should be completelyshunned from the human diet. Dairy should be limited or avoided. 19. The evidence says...No The diseases of modern life didn't show upuntil the middle of the 1800s, twelve thousandyears later. For all that time, people somehow thrived inan agriculture-based society without obesity,cancer, heart disease, diabetes, etc. So if agriculture wasn't the big change... 20. ...then what was? The world's food system has undergonemassive changes since the 1800s. Paleo is a good start, but... Knowing what has changed can help you forma rock-solid, indestructible foundation foryour health and the health of your family. Armed with the proper perspective, you'llnever again have to ask, Is this OK to eat?You'll have the knowledge to make the rightdecision every time. 21. This is just the beginning! Interested in Ancestral health from a differentperspective? Don't miss out! Find me on Twitter:@blmansfield