The Paleolithic Prescription: A Program of Diet and Exercise and a Design for Living

by S. Boyd Eaton, Marjorie Shostak, Melvin Konner

Book Overview

In a startling new book a team of distinguished physicians and anthropologists tell how the diet and activity patterns of our prehistoric ancestors can be adopted today to achieve far greater physical and mental health, vitality and longevity.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060158719
• ISBN13: 9780060158712
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
• Length: 306 Pages
• Weight: 1.32 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Extremely well-reasoned analysis

Stop reading right now if you don't believe in evolution. Evolution is central to the book's tenets. The Paleolithic Prescription is far from a diet book. It builds a very compelling case from fossil records and modern-day hunter gatherers that the lifestyle our bodies have evolved to excel in consist of FAR more exercise and fiber and far less sugar and fat than our modern culture gives us. Whether you read this book to gain a better understanding of the human body or to simply inform your choices on diet and exercise with real science, it's a great read. Highly recommended.

sound advice

i've read a lot of crazy things both for and against the so called "cave man" diet. some would say its an unfounded fad diet from the 80's. on the other side you have cave man diet websites telling you beans and potatoes are toxic. this book isn't either. i feel its a sound, well reasoned look at diet from a different perspective. the basic premise is to look at the foods man's body evolved on. what has man been eating for the last 50,000 years? how is this different from todays diet? how can this paleolithic diet be approximated with modern foods? what would the heath benefits be? how does the modern diet differ in salt content, fat content, carbohydrate content? what diseases are more prevalent with todays diet? its looks at both the fossil record and modern hunter gather societies to determine the content of the paleolithic diet. in addition to diet it covers (in less depth) exercise, and some lifestyle. weather you take up the diet or not i feel its informative and very interesting.

R-Evolutionary Hypothesis, but outdated specifics

This book introduced the paleolithic diet idea. The scholarship and originality are great. This idea is the basis of any kind of intelligent diet save two, the Medit. and Japanese. It is the best of them all. But for the more current and based on recent science you need to check out the Cordain book or Audette. I have researched diet for years and the paleo concept not only makes the best sense scientifically per evolution and biochemistry, but in practice as well. Hats off on the start of the best diet movement yet.

Paleolithic Diet in Moderation

The paleolithic diet recommendations in this book are a bit more conservative in that whole grain breads and pastas, legumes and some low fat dairy products are allowed. I believe alot of the other popular paleolithic diet books severely restrict if not eliminate these items along with most carbohydrates. In fact, the diet recommended in this book reminds me a great deal of the Mediterranean Diet. Someone interested in eating healthier versus someone wanting to lose weight will find it very helpful. Provides a good foundation from which to become familiar with the paleolithic diet without being too extreme.

A prescription for living based on our evolutionary past.

The Paleolithic Prescription provides detailed advice on living well based on evidence from our evolutionary past.The authors,physicians and anthropologists from Emory University,have written an eminently readable work.They deserve great credit for their extensive research.The book's main theme is that humans today are genetically little different from our hunting and gathering ancestors.The agricultural revolution some 10,000 years ago and the industrial revolution some 200 years ago radically changed our relationship with the Earth.The authors marshall evidence that much degenerative disease can be attributed to our essentially pre-agricultural bodies being unable to adapt to post-agricultural and post-industrial conditions.Both the Zone books by Dr.Barry Sears and Protein Power by the Eades list The Paleolithic Prescription as a reference.The principal focus of the book is nutrition but the authors also contrast the relationship between the sexes that occurred when we forsook our evolutionary heritage.The book is not based on conjecture.A handfull of hunting and gathering peoples still exist on our planet.Extensive anthropological observations as well as fossil evidence provide convincing evidence.The authors do not deny the merits of modern medicene.They feel we can apply the lessons of past life ways and enjoy optimal health in the best of both worlds.I would like to ask the authors if the lowering of the infant mortality rate through the conquest of infectious disease [with its subsequent deterioration of the gene pool] is in the planet's best interests in the long run.This is a profoundly important book.I rank it among the top 5 most influential books of my life. It is essential reading for anyone caring about preventing degenerative health problems:cancer,cardio-vascular,asthma,arthritis,etc.