A valuable tip for anyone who wants to take on a paleolithic diet
- Oliver Marcell Bjerregaard
- Oct 9, 2017
- 2 min read
I was introduced to a paleolithic approach through Ido Portal. I have since then delved into the approach and studied giants such as Charles Poliquin, Dr. Loren Cordain, Rob Wolf, Thomas Rode and many more. With its increasing popularity more and more books and articles are published on the subject and people are jumping head into the diet without following the FTF-principle (a term picked up from Ido Portal) which is "first things first". Regarding the FTF-principle I think the most basic thing you should do before starting the diet is follow a very basic and logical approach.
Pack a backpack with a solid lunch and drive (or in my case walk) to the nearest big forest. Prepare to walk around for 4-5 hours. Follow a trail for a little while and then depart from it and walk straight into the "wilderness". I'm from Denmark, so i'll have to base this from my experience with Danish woods. What do you observe while you walk around? You see all kinds of different mushrooms, different kinds of green plants such as nettles, dandelion, kale, goutweed, knotweed and much more. If it's summer, then you'll find all kinds of different berries as well; blackberries, strawberries, blueberries, cherries, raspberries, etc. You might see a pack of deers, you'll find different kinds of birds, rabbits, squirrels, egg-filled bird nests, etc. You might pass a lake or in my case the sea as well; here you'll find clams, crabs, seaweed, fish, oisters, crayfish, shrimps, etc.
On the beach you might find buckthorn or sea-kale. Returning to the forest you'll also find a huge variety of insects; different beetles, worms, ants, etc. Looking around you'll also find a variety of nuts and seeds. If you're prepared to get some dirt on your hands, then you'll find onions, alliaria petiolata or different kinds of edible roots.
I could continue, but I think the point has been made. These are the things our (or to be fair: my) paleolithic ancestors ate (at least those who were from the northern countries; Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, etc.) This is a fundamental approach you should follow. I'm not saying you should spend days upon days hunting and gathering these things in the nature, but when you walk around the supermarket, grocery store, etc. these are the things you should be looking for. These are the fundamentals. Of course, everyone can benefit from spending more time in the forest, but that is for another post.
It's important not to look at the world through a straw (picked up from Poliquin) - variety is key. If you want to know more about what you should or could eat according to your own body I suggest you look up Rob Wolf, Charles Poliquin, Ben Greenfield or Dr. Eaton. If you're interested in the Paleo diet as a tool for weight loss, Niels Jørgensen is an excellent source of knowledge: https://nielstraining.dk/vaegttab/ (though it's written in danish)
