05-The gift of the Caveman Part 2

The Gifts of the Caveman Part Two: How to Eat like a Caveman

Eating like a caveman is very different than modern man. There are no supermarkets, no mealtimes, no delivery. Cavemen didn't spend so much time eating food as collecting food. I see three states: feasting, grazing, and fasting. Unabated, modern man continues the first two. The last has fallen away. At best, it is sampled at specific times by the orthodox. It is no longer a way of life.

After listening to a story about fasting, I thought about the few times I'd skipped breakfast over the previous months. The same: whether I ate breakfast or not, I was always hungry about the same time of day. On the days I didn't eat that first meal, I moved about more. I immediately began skipping breakfast. I started micro-fasting everyday about a year ago. I'm still doing it because I enjoy it. I don't care about how many pounds I've lost; and, I have lost a few; I am talking about how I feel and how food tastes. I dream about food. I'd never dreamed about food in my life.

The concept is simple. I wake, walk the little ones, drink my spice milk (recipe: local honey, unrefined coconut oil, whole milk, and equal helpings of turmeric, cayenne pepper, ginger, and a double dose of cinnamon), take my supplements (nothing fancy or excessive but complete and consistent, because when it comes supplements, I believe a little everyday is better than a whole lot on any single day), and then later, I will eat between a six and eight hour period before bed.

Sometimes I make it simple: I only eat once. When I do, I feast in slow motion, engaging, enjoying, and consuming every bite. Sometimes, I spend more than two hours cooking and eating simultaneously in either a prolonged feast of grazing or grazing on a profound feast. And I always remember what Dr. Andrew Weil says, there is only one disease: malnutrition. In other words, it is not a matter of eating enough but getting enough nutrition out of what we eat.

Of course, if you only eat a few times over a few hours, each bite means more. Imagine chewing with the palate of a child, eating real food like a caveman– real spices, real ingredients, and real variety. But it's more than just eating well. It is about being present. Consider the extent of ritual associated with meals. Why; because the act of eating is paramount. For the caveman, it was magic. Food not only sustained life but also defined life. For the caveman, consumption was not a pastime; it was time (season). Eat like a caveman.

Cavemen did not eat everyday and our cells are programmed to take advantage of this reality. The great thing is, it doesn't take a full twenty-four hours to begin reaping the benefits of internal-cellular house-cleaning but it does requires a number of consecutive hours without food. Also limiting the total number of hours between our first and last bite of the day allows our cells to get more “sleep.” We are poisoning ourselves with food because we never take a break. We eat all day, everyday. 

Move, drink clean water, and eat when the day is half over and only for a few hours. Eat well. Think of the hunting and the gathering and the cooking and the smelling. Eat only the healthy varieties of whole foods (processed quickly food becomes poisonous). Then tell interesting stories to each other before finding deep sleep. That is living like a caveman.