We all have that friend—that friend who won't even look at a slice of bread because they're participating in the latest faux-hippie, fitness-addict trend, the Paleo diet. "Cavemen didn't eat carbs so why should I?" they say. Well, they're just plain wrong.
Cavemen actually ate tons of carbs, according to new research from paleobiologists at the Natural History Museum in London. Studies of 15,000-year-old skulls recovered from a cave in Morocco reveals that ancient humans had quite the cavity problem thanks to their carbo-loading habits. This is at the tail end of the Paleolithic period, thousands of years before the development of agriculture. These even indulged in sweet snacks in form of carb-rich acorns that would've tasted a bit like chestnuts.
This discovery sends a shot right through the very foundation of the Paleo diet which eschews carbs in favor of meats and fresh vegetables. While some nuts are allowed under the diets rules, sweet treats most certainly are not. But if the idea behind the Paleo diet is to eat the same foods that pre-agriculture humans ate, this new discovery raises some questions. For one: does the Paleo diet actually mimic the diet of Paleolithic man? Science says not quite.
Image via Flickr / Lord Jim