EXCLUSIVE: I’m the doctor who invented the paleo diet – this is what I eat in a typical day

It’s the diet that’s all about going back to our roots.

The paleo diet — also known as the caveman or stone age diet — is about eating only foods similar to what people ate during the Paleolithic Era, which happened millions of years ago.

It means eating only foods that come from hunting and gathering — whole, unprocessed foods, such as vegetables, nuts, seeds, and meat. The diet also includes cutting out bread and pasta.

It was largely brought to the mainstream by Dr. Loren Cordain, who popularized the movement with his 2010 book The Paleo Diet. At age 72, he still follows a paleo diet every day, just like his wife.

The diet has a host of documented health benefits, including halves the risk of colon cancer.

In the 1890s, writer John Harvey Kellogg advocated eating as our ancestors did, citing starchy and grain-based foods as consistent with “the habits and preferences of our primitive ancestors.”

In 1975, gastroenterologist Walter Voegtlin wrote The Stone Age Diet, advocating a meat-based diet low in vegetables and starchy foods. He stated that until about 10,000 years ago, humans were “exclusively fresh eaters.”

Ten years later, Dr. Stanley Boyd Eaton and Melvin Konner published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine suggesting that modern humans are biologically very similar to their primitive ancestors, making us “genetically programmed” to consume pre-agricultural foods.

In 1987, Dr. Cordain was a researcher at Colorado State University when he came across that article. He told DailyMail.com, “I said, ‘Wow, this is a great idea.'”

He collected references and ended up with several huge directories of research on Paleolithic diets. When he later called Dr. Boyd Eaton, the investigator told Dr. Cordain, “It seems you know more about these things than I do.”

“It’s one of the greatest compliments I’ve ever received,” said Dr. Cordain. “I was a nobody in those days.”

A study by researchers at Emory University studied the dietary habits of 2,301 men and women between the ages of 30 and 74.

For women on the most Paleolithic regimen, the risk of developing colon cancer dropped by 29 percent. In men, the risk was halved.

For breakfast, Dr. Cordain had blueberries and a mixture of cantaloupe and other melons, as well as eggs and ground bison. As a treat, he occasionally drinks a glass of red wine or dark chocolate

Dr. Cordain shared what he eats with DailyMail.com, plus his grueling workout routine:

Breakfast

Dr. Cordain starts his day with a few classic options, including eggs and a selection of fresh fruit.

Instead of bacon or sausage as a source of protein, however, he opts for fish.

“It just depends on what’s available at the market and what I ate the night before,” he said, adding that he sometimes adds leftovers to his breakfast.

‘Sometimes it’s the same; sometimes it’s different.’

Cod, herring and halibut are some of his favorites.

“I like small fish too,” he said, adding, “unsalted.”

When asked what he had for breakfast today, he said, “My fruit was blueberries and a mixture of cantaloupe and other melons and eggs.”

He also ate ground bison, although he also has a penchant for grass-fed beef.

Dr. Cordain also normally does a rigorous exercise routine in the morning before breakfast.

He starts with a 90-minute bike ride, followed by a half-hour swim of about 900 metres. Later in the day, he finishes by walking or jogging for two hours.

“I would say exercise plays an important role in everyone’s life,” he said. “The more exercise you can get, the better.”

Dr. Cordian likes chicken livers because it’s a “highly nutritious food.” “One of the ideas in the paleo diet is that you want to eat foods that give you the maximum amount of nutrients per calorie,” he explained.

Lunch

Lunch is less regulated.

“I don’t sit down and formally eat one, two, three meals a day,” he said. “Sometimes I just browse.”

“Usually the big meal of the day is breakfast or dinner.”

When DailyMail.com spoke to him, he ate a “lunch” consisting of a bowl of clams, chicken livers, apricots and eggs.

Dr. Cordian said chicken livers are included because it is “a very nutritious food.”

“One of the ideas in the paleo diet is that you want to eat foods that give you the maximum amount of nutrients per calorie,” he explained.

Dr. Cordain gives the example of a Twinkie, which contains very few nutrients but is packed with calories.

The appestat, a region of the hypothalamus responsible for appetite, seeks nutrients but is led by calories. This causes the appestat to make you eat more.

“In other words, your taste buds are saying, ‘Hey, sweet is good. I want it more and more,’ but you’re getting less and less nutrients,” he said.

Dr. Cordain also cited research by epidemiologist and obesity expert Adam Drewnowski on the links between this phenomenon and weight gain.

“That’s kind of the underlying idea behind obesity: people who eat low-density foods are eating too many calories to get to the nutritional level they need.” And people who eat nutritious food achieve a lower calorific value, which is why they are often leaner.’

Dinner

Dr. Cordain recommends caution when eating out at a restaurant.

“You have to be careful what you order,” he said. “If you get guac, is the guac made without salt?”

“One thing I won’t do is if we go to an Italian restaurant and they don’t have anything but pasta, I’ll try to get a non-pasta dish like meatballs without pasta.”

When asked about tonight’s dinner, he went to the kitchen to see his wife cooking.

My wife has lamb chops. Lamb chops are the main dish. The salad is made of tomatoes and avocado, and she bakes some vegetables. Those are onions and zucchini with a little pepper.’

Dr. Cordain said he is “essentially a teetotaler” but will drink the occasional glass of red wine

Dessert

“In general, I try to eat fruit for dessert,” he said, adding after a pause, “and occasionally I might have a glass of red wine.”

Red wine is rich in antioxidants called polyphenols, essential natural compounds that prevent cell damage that can lead to infection and inflammation.

A type of polyphenol in red wine called resveratrol has been found to help prevent damage to blood vessels, lower LDL cholesterol and prevent blood clots.

Dr. Cordain has slowed down his wine drinking over the years.

‘I’m actually a teetotaler. In my youth I was not a teetotaller at all. I had a lot of fun,” he said. “But I was a bachelor and now I’m a retired married man with three grown boys.”

Occasionally he has a bit of dark chocolate, but he generally avoids sweets.