ahs13 russ crandall and paul jaminet — the perfectly healthy meal: how ancestral and gourmet...
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We examine the principles of recipe and meal design in three approaches – standard Paleo, traditional cuisines, and Perfect Health Diet – to evaluate their similarities and differences. We then compare and contrast how various traditional recipes are implemented in the three approaches, and discuss the relative merits of each approach. Our goal is to answer the question: how can we synthesize the best of each approach to design the most healthful, satisfying, nourishing, delicious food possible?TRANSCRIPT
The Perfectly Healthy Meal How Ancestral and Gourmet Culinary Practices Guide us to Satisfying and
Nourishing Food
Russ CrandallPaul Jaminet Ancestral Health Symposium 2013
Tr a d i t i o n a l V i e wo f E a t i n g f o r H e a l t h
Taste opposes Healthfulness
“The only way to keep your health is to
eat what you don't want, drink what you don't like,
and do what you'd rather not.”
-- Mark Twain
G o u rm e t v s . Pa l e o
If Taste opposes Healthfulness,then
does Paleo oppose Gourmet?
But Paleo is designed for healthfulness.
Gourmet is designed for taste.
Food Reward & Health
Why Did We Evolve a Food Reward System?
To enrich gourmet chefsand to give us heart attacks?
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,0000.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
45.0%
Fat Intake vs Income
GDP per capita 2009, US $
Fat i
ntak
e, %
of e
nerg
y
Income Determines Diet: Fat
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,00040%45%50%55%60%65%70%75%80%85%90%
Carb Intake vs Income
GDP per capita, 2009, US $
Carb
inta
ke, %
of e
nerg
yIncome Determines Diet:
Carbs
Global Rich (>$20,000):“Western diet”
50% carb, 13% protein, 37% fat
0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,00040%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Carb Intake vs Income
GDP per capita, 2009, US $
Carb
inta
ke, %
of e
nerg
y
Global Poor (<$5,000):“Plant-based diet”
70% carb, 11% protein, 19% fat
0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,0000.00%
2.00%
4.00%
6.00%
8.00%
10.00%
12.00%
14.00%
16.00%
18.00%
Protein Intake vs Income
GDP per capita 2009, US $Prot
ein
inta
ke, %
of e
nerg
y
Tw o G l o b a l D i e t s
Food Choices Are a Compromise
1. Innate Food Preferences. The “food reward system” of the human brain evolved to motivate us to acquire healthy foods.
2. Cost. We try to minimize the time and money we expend to acquire food.
Carbs (flour, bread, noodles, sugar) are cheapThe poor subsist on carbs (plant-based diet)The rich eat more animal food (western diet)
Why Do We See This Pattern?
2,600,000 BC – 10,000 BC
A Hunter-Gatherer Diet
T h e Pa l e o A l t e rn a t i v e
229 Hunter-gatherer societies– Diet typically 30% plants, 70% animal + fish
– Macronutrients ~20% carbs, 15-30% protein, 35-65% fat
Source: Cordain L et al. Plant-animal subsistence ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in worldwide hunter-gatherer diets. Am J Clin Nutr 2000 Mar;71(3):682-92. Figure 1.
Plant food consumption Animal+fish consumption
Pa l e o l i t h i c D i e t s :H i g h A n i m a l , Lo w C a r b
10 hunter-gatherer culturesMacronutrients ~20% carbs, 30% protein, 50% fat
Source: Kaplan HS, Hill KR, Lancaster JB, Hurtado AM. A Theory of Human Life History Evolution: Diet, Intelligence, and Longevity. Evolutionary Anthropology 9:156-185, 2000. http://www.unm.edu/~hkaplan/KaplanHillLancasterHurtado_2000_LHEvolution.pdf.
Pa l e o l i t h i c D i e t s :H i g h A n i m a l , Lo w C a r b
An antelope has 200,000 to 2,000,000 caloriesA tuber has 100 calories
Source, image
Plant food consumption
source
W h y H u n t e r- G a t h e re rD i e t s a re Lo w C a r b
Paleolithic Diets Too Low-Carb– 20% carb … below optimum– Carbs costly, animal foods cheap
Source: Cordain L et al. Plant-animal subsistence ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in worldwide hunter-gatherer diets. Am J Clin Nutr 2000 Mar;71(3):682-92. Figure 1.
Hunter-Gatherer Plant food consumption
Modern Diets Too High-Carb– 50-70% carb … above optimum– Carbs cheap, animal foods
costly
0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,00040%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
Carb Intake vs Income
GDP per capita, 2009, US $
Carb
inta
ke, %
of e
nerg
y
A re B o t h D i e t s I m p e r f e c t ?
Modern diets are
too high-carbbecause carbs are cheap
Paleo diets were
too low-carbbecause carbs were hard to gather
We should
follow food rewardto a gourmet cuisine based on ancestral foods
Food environmentsdistort diets away from optimum healthfulness;
but food reward pushes back
T h e C a s e f o r Ta s t e
The only time to eat diet food is while you're waiting for the steak to cook.
Fat gives things flavor.
If you're afraid of butter, use cream.
I had my first French meal and I never got over it. It was just marvelous. We
had oysters and a lovely dry white wine. And then we had one of those lovely
scalloped dishes and the lovely creamy buttery sauce. Then we had a roast
duck and I don’t know what else.
Julia Child
N e w Pa l e o G u r u ?
G o u rm e t v s Pa l e o
If Taste supports Healthfulness,then
we need to synthesize Paleo and Gourmet!
Paleo is designed for Healthfulness.
Gourmetis designed for Taste.
H o w D o We S y n t h e s i z e Pa l e o a n d G o u rm e t ?
Take the Best of the Two Strategies
Paleo Strategy: • Health first• Restrict the food set to
remove toxic/allergic/autoimmune foods
• Short history of recipe development
• Offbeat ingredient substitutions in traditional recipes; simple flavors
Gourmet Strategy:• Taste first• Unlimited food set• 1,000+ year history of
recipe development• Complementary
ingredients, complex flavors
Paleo vs. Gourmet:Two Meal Implementations
Paleo Meal: • Restricted food set• Simple flavors
Gourmet Meal:• Unlimited food set• Complementary
ingredients, complex flavors
Rotisserie Chickenand steamed veggies
From Paleo Solution
Crawfish Étouffée with stock, butter, cream, scallions, garlic, celery, onion, tomato, peppers,and bacon served with rice
From Saveur Magazine
G o u rm e t A p p ro a c h t oA n c e s t r a l C o o k i n g
Strike a balance of flavors using seasonings, acids, and fats in every dish
Focus on natural sources of umami:broths, mushrooms, tomatoes, seaweeds,
fermented fish pastes/sauces
Gourmet dishes often require extended preparation or cooking times; embrace the
process!
G o u r m e t A n c e s t r a l
Kebabs
Ancient method of cooking; gourmet and street fare today
Onion, lemon juice, vinegar, spices used to flavor and tenderize
Basted in fats for more flavor
G o u r m e t A n c e s t r a l
Congee
Fast and easy source of calories for warriors
Served as gourmet dish during Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD)
Add-ins developed over time: eggs, rice wine, fish sauce, dried fish, mushrooms, ginger
G o u r m e t A n c e s t r a l
Beef Bourguignon
Originally a pauper’s meal, became widely-celebrated gourmet dish
Red wine, stock, herbs, and aromatic veggies
Often considered the most flavorful dish in Western cuisine
C o n c l u s i o n
1. Our food reward system wants us to be healthy,
so our most healthful food will be Gourmet Ancestral Cuisine
2. If we broaden our food palette to include traditional gourmet approaches and representatives from all food types,
then current Paleo recipes can be easily modifiedto give us
Gourmet Ancestral Cuisine.
Thank You!