Let’s face it: When it comes to our eating habits, most of us Americans know the ABCs of nutrition backwards and forwards: Eat lots of vegetables and fruits, be sure to get a healthy dose of grains — whole grain if at all possible — and keep the meat lean and relatively free from those dreaded saturated fats. But when it comes down to the time of reckoning at our favorite restaurant, we almost always go for the options that fly in the face of our vast nutritional knowledge. The succulent taste of a juicy hamburger, a side of salty fries and a large chocolate milkshake to wash it all down offer a fusion of flavor that is practically irresistible. Have you ever stopped to wonder why that is the case?
It all comes down to what kept you and me alive in the days of old, when food was a luxury eagerly sought after but not always found. Imagine weeks upon weeks of subsisting on foraging for roots and berries because you are unable to find anything else to eat — until, that is, the eagerly-awaited discovery of a deer grazing in the nearby meadow. Under starvation-like conditions, this happenstance encounter can guarantee your well-being for weeks to come. Knowing the critical importance of this moment, you immediately quiet your movements and still your breathing, noticing the aching hunger pains quickly melting away and your stiff muscles becoming limber once again as adrenaline pumps through your bloodstream to ready your body for the intense struggle to come.
Sensing the timing to be right, you delicately raise your crudely made spear and hurl it with all your might. You are rewarded with the sound of a soft thud as the deer collapses before you, unable even to find the strength to put up the vain show of resistance you have seen from hunted prey in times past. This gift of providence is exactly what your starving body needed, a realization confirmed by the voracity in which you dive into the fresh meat, still pulsing with the life-bringing liquid so cherished by you and the others back at camp. And so, after appeasing your deep hunger, you wrap up what remains of the deer and begin your journey back home.
In the midst of such harsh conditions, our bodies evolved mechanisms, like taste receptors and special fat-storing processes, that drove us to seek out energy-dense foods that could provide the metabolic power needed to tackle the particular challenges of that day. All this was necessary in a context when food was scarce, but that era is long gone. Now, many have unlimited access to food whenever and wherever, all without the enormous expenditure of energy that was commonplace in securing enough food to call a meal. And to further compound the predicament, we have embraced technology as a means to make our life ever easier, further distancing ourselves from the natural process dominated by the principle of survival of the fittest.
What does this all mean for you and me? A deep disconnect between what our bodies do and do not need to continue functioning properly. We still crave the fats, the salt and the sweets as if we don’t get more than our fair share every day. How to fix the problem? Try taking out the simple carbs from your diet and substitute for complexity like the dark leafy vegetables your ancestors enjoyed. And when the sweet tooth in you becomes unbearable, buck the tendency to imbibe and reach for those healthy fat options like avocados or cashews instead. Believe it or not, sufficient dietary fat intake will make all the difference in curbing those sugar cravings, so for the sake of your pancreas and long-term health, start listening to what your body is really telling you and start eating like a caveman. You’ll be amazed at how right it feels.
David Sterns is a student at Georgetown University School of Medicine. This is the final appearance ofALMOST-DOCTOR DAVE this semester.
