I've been reading The Stone Age Diet (1975) by Walter L. Voegtlin, M.D., F.A.C.P., this weekend. I saw it referred to on some Paleo blogs and decided to look it up. The book is out of print and apparently cannot be purchased at this time. I'm reading a PDF that someone scanned and put up on the net. The scan quality is fair, but readable. There is some question over the copyright, the author being deceased, so I will not provide a direct link to the file here. Seek and ye shall find.

Dr. Voegtlin covers similar ground to the topic of this blog article by J Stanton. He compares the digestive anatomy of carnivores and herbivores, providing details on dogs, sheep, and humans. I'm afraid that the frugivores reading this may disagree with his conclusions, no doubt because their reading comprehension is limited by the lack of essential docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in their diets. 😉

Dr. Voegtlin provides a short history of human evolution and the likely dietary changes that have occurred over millions of years. I'm sure that some of the information is now out of date, given that he wrote his book 37 years ago. However, I did find his examination of the progression of dietary changes from the early neolithic to modern man to be instructive.

One point in particular in Dr. Voegtlin's book that grabbed my attention was about the origin of the modern dogma on the necessity of raw fruits and vegetables as essential for human health. It seems to be an almost unquestioned 'fact' nowadays no matter which end of the dietary spectrum one believes in that one will become vitamin and mineral deficient without eating lots fruits and vegetables. Some extreme vegan diets advocate eating nothing but raw plants. In the Paleo arena, it is taken for granted that our ancestors gathered loads of vegetable matter for consumption in addition to meat. For example, Dr. Terry Walhs advocates eating something like nine cups of vegetables per day. Is this really necessary? Frankly, was it even possible before the advent of modern systems of global transportation and storage? Why do we assume that vegetables contain nutrients we can't just get in more assimilable form from animal sources?

In the preceding chapter, mention was made of a mysterious illness descending upon many unsuspecting Orientals coincidentally with a greatly increased consumption of rice. This augmented use of rice in the diet followed the discovery of a method of processing (polishing) which made it more palatable, more digestible, less bulky, and less prone to spoilage.

This exotic malady, apparently limited to Asians living in the Orient, attracted the interest of a Polish-American biochemist, one Casimir Funk. By ingenious pioneer research Funk, about 1911, found a cure for this illness in the cast-off bran from the polished rice and established it as a deficiency or nutritional disease. The malady was named "beri-beri." It could be cured rapidly and specifically by feeding rice bran, or by injecting an extract of the rice polishings. Funk considered this unknown substance contained in the rice bran to belong in a class of chemicals called amines, and since it appeared to be vital to health, suggested the term vitamine, later contracted to vitamin. In 1927, Dutch chemist Jansen isolated Funk's vitamin and named it thiamine. Eventually it was placed in the vitamin inventory and classified as Vitamin B1.

It was immediately apparent to those interested in nutritional problems that, since beri-beri did not afflict the millions of people who had never tasted rice, Vitamin B1 could not possibly be a vital principle found only in rice bran. A search for it among other nutriments found thiamine to be widely distributed in nearly all foods. The Japanese and Chinese had succumbed to beri-beri because the thiamine-deficient polished rice had crowded out nearly all other foods which did contain the vitamin. The concept of vitamins was a thrilling and challenging discovery in medical research - a field of science which had been rather barren since Jenner's discovery of vaccination against smallpox over a century before. In rapid succession, other vitamins were discovered: Vitamin A (1913), Vitamin D (1918), Vitamin C (1919), Vitamin E (1922), Vitamin B3 (1928), Vitamin B5 (1930), Vitamin B2 and K (1938), etc.

Today we know that vitamins cure nothing that is not the result of a vitamin deficiency, and that vitamin deficiencies have always been rare indeed, except in a few instances such as alcoholism, food fad-ism [like eating 30 bananas a day?!], starvation, abnormalities of absorption, or chronic illness with loss of appetite. However, the early nutritionists knew little about vitamin potentials or limitations. Only apparent was the fact that here were a number of remarkably powerful substances, an appropriate pinch of which would snatch a patient succumbing to beri-beri, scurvy, or pellagra from the graveside, and in a few days restore him to health and vigor. These were truly wonder drugs, almost magical in their ability to heal and restore health.

Perhaps, mused the nutritionist, a lack of vitamins causes us to grow old, or hardens our arteries, or allows our hair and teeth to fall out. Perhaps an increased intake of these vitamins would prevent cancer and many other diseases beside beri-beri. scurvy, and pellagra. Was it possible that Ponce de Leon's fountain of youth could be as simple as a chemical mixture of vitamins?

It appeared reasonable to all concerned that increased vitamin intake would be of great benefit to mankind.

There was, however, one difficulty. In the mid-twenties, one could not go to the drug store and buy a bottle of high potency multi-vitamins. At that time the only vitamin preparation to be found on the druggist's shelves was cod liver oil. Synthesis and commercial production of vitamins lagged far behind their discovery and chemical identification. Concentrated preparations of vitamins were fantastically valuable and were to be found only in the research laboratories. It was not until World War II that the first preparations of four different vitamins in a single capsule were offered for sale. These early capsules were lacking in some as yet undiscovered vitamins, not always of standard potency, and entirely too expensive to take just for fun.

It had been noted that if a carrot, for instance, was boiled, a significant amount of its Vitamin A seemed to be destroyed. Soon it was found that many of the other vitamins were heat-labile, that is, they were destroyed or reduced in potency by heating. An excellent answer to the lack of commercially available, cheap vitamins appeared to be: eat your fruits and vegetables raw.

At this point much of the digestive difficulties with which we are beset today would have been avoided, had someone stopped to examine three questions:

1. Can man actually digest, without difficulty, a much greater and more constant intake of raw fruits and vegetables than he had ever attempted in the past?
2. Does man actually succeed in absorbing more vitamins from raw plant material than from cooked?
3. Would human health actually be improved if vitamin intake could be increased past the level supplied by conventional diets of the time?

Had these questions been examined critically, a great skepticism would have answered the first, for the material
presented in Chapters 4 and 6 of this book [comparing the digestive tracts of dog, sheep, and man] would have been appreciated.

From the historical context of human nutrition, the modern preoccupation with vitamins, and by extension vegetables, was not due to any real deficiency with our evolutionary diet of animal foods. Instead it came from the population boom of the early industrial age combined with massive poverty in overpopulated cities.

Here is an excerpt discussing the difference between putrefaction and fermentation in the colon:

Putrefactive bacteria, or proteolytic organisms, as they may be euphemistically designated, when they attack meat and fat change those substances into fatty acids, glycerine, and conglomerates of amino acids called proteases and peptides. In other words, bacterial decomposition of meat and fat by putrefactive bacteria in the colon yields the same products as does normal digestion by the pancreatic juice. However, these bacteria, if offered simply carbohydrates, are capable of decomposing them also, but when this happens acid and gas are produced.

Fermentative organisms act only upon carbohydrates or plant food. This process is called fermentation. This process of fermentation is one of the most important biological reactions in nature. It is used industrially in the manufacture of many different acids.

When fermentation takes place in your colon, the products are carbon dioxide (a gas) and alcohol. The latter is promptly fermented further to acid, such as acetic acid or vinegar.

The carnivorous animal, eating nothing but meat and fat, cannot possibly allow carbohydrates of any sort to reach its colon, for there is none of it in his diet. Therefore no food arrives there to support a fermentative colony. The proteolytic bacteria live happily on the minute amount of protein and fat which escapes carnivorous digestion and prosper, maintaining a thriving bacterial community. Since there is no carbohydrate present they cannot produce any acid, and the resulting alkaline reaction of the colon is very much to the liking of these organisms.

Civilized humans rarely eat nothing but meat and fat; there is nearly always carbohydrate of some sort in each meal, usually a large amount. This means that more or less carbohydrate escapes digestion and reaches the colon. Even small amounts of carbohydrate may support a modest fermentative community. If the amount of carbohydrate is larger, a more flourishing fermentative population develops, and if there is, in addition, a considerable proportion of highly indigestible carbohydrate in the diet, the fermentative organisms become overwhelming. The production of acid zooms and the fermenters not only multiply but also invite their cousins - the yeasts, molds, and fungi - to settle in this Promised Land of acid and carbohydrate you offer them. The latter are also efficient fermenters and, as their numbers increase, a vicious cycle is established wherein more and more of the carbohydrate escaping digestion in the small intestine is changed to acid. The colon gets more and more irritated and irritable. Diarrhea and abdominal distress appear.

I'll leave it to you good people to find the book and read the rest of it for yourself.

Interesting... If I eat pizza, 1 out of 2 chances that I will end up with a temporary hemroids for a while, and it's mostly from the dough.
Only overcooked (reheated pizzas) dough though, and only dough used in pizzas.

I digest meat well enough, only if it's freshly made meaty food though...
Once it involved reheating and leftovers, that's when problems start to occur...

I've heard or read somewhere that said leftovers is really bad for humans... Even if it's refrigerated.

Im fascinated by this article! I use to think the more often and larger your stool was the healthier you were. This became my goal, lived on RAW fruits and a lot of RAW veggies years on end..
What happens differently in the body between raw and cooked vegetables?
My colon is worn out after years on ONLY raw produce.
Would the steamed veggies absorb like meats because the cell walls are are broken down by the cooking pocess?

Thank you JS! I love love your blog!

I was a whole foods vegan for 20+ years, raw vegan for the half of that. As a vegan in general I lost my menestral cycles on and off the whole 20 yrs. (I went 7 yrs straight without one! But I'm anti BC so i tried to follow more vegan guro advice instead ), no sex drive what so ever, bone fractures came easily the last several yrs, sugar cravings -I had to sweeten everything, stomach bloat after every meal, always hungry, cavities & root canals all of a sudden during raw vegan stage, brain fog, moody, I'did not sleep well, constipated cooked vegan, raw vegan gave me IBS .... The worst diet i followed, to a T,was 80/10/10. Still recovering from that.

This article really gave me peace about meat. If it were healthy to never have to poo again I would think I was in heaven!

How many grams of fiber is really necessary anyways for a good digestive system? Have you come across the truth on that matter??

Happy Thanksgiving!
If you can't tell yet- I'm pretty thankful I came across your blog 🙂

What I find interesting that no one seems to have mentioned our teeth in accordance with what we should be eating. If you want to a clear indication of our own natural and balanced diet then it seems only logical to take an inventory of our own teeth, and their individual types & functions, of both primitive and modern man. In my personal opinion cereals should be approximately 50% of the diet, fruits and vegetables - 35-40%, meat - 10-15%. If factoring the laws of nature to our diet in accordance with our teeth I would challenge anyone to take down a cow with their bare hands and teeth and consume it...at best I think I could wrestle down and eat a Barracuda.

We consume a sickening overabundance of meat, and most of it is wasted, thanks to the fast food industry and chain restaurants. Although I am a vegetarian (and also a bodybuilder who does not take supplements) I don't deny that meat is a contributing factor in a healthy diet, but I simply have lost all faith in meat production. I feel we as a race have placed far too much trust in an industry which inundates livestock with antibiotics, steroids, and hormones - even to perfectly healthy animals. What these compounds are doing to the human body over time is quite literally killing us. The criteria for which meat is considered certified and fit for human consumption is obscene, but most of this goes unnoticed by the general populace. I spent five years of my life working for a reputable meat packing company and I tell you, if I never eat meat again it will be too soon. We seemed to have stopped questioning what we are putting into our bodies and from where it comes from. There is already so much crap in our environment today, which inevitably comes out in our meat, and, yes, vegetables too, but if you take into account all the unnatural elements we add on top of this, we the consumers are the only losers. Corporate fat cats and their sidestepping and avoidance of proper and humane health standards just to make the almighty buck are the winners every time.

I know after writing this I could come under attack because of the large level of pollutants (crap) also existing in the fundamentals of a vegetarian diet but I have the luxury of living close to the country and I am able to buy as natural food as possible. Nothing is perfect, but I guess what I am trying to say is that everything should be balanced. Constantly question the fuel your giving your body's engine. Listen to your body and don't blindly follow the supposedly undisputed guidelines of the latest diet or some unknown 'diet guru' that manages to sell a book or two. You know inside what is right and what is wrong.

Also, in regards to the digestion issues I have been reading, I think most people forget to chew their food properly. We live in such a fast paced society and gulping or rushing down a meal is usually the culprit for many issues. I suffered from Irritable Bowel Syndrome for many years and only took control of it after my MD enquired as to whether I was masticating my food properly. I realised after my appointment that in fact I wasn't chewing nearly enough, if my mother was to be believed. As laborious as the procedure was I persevered to start chewing my food 30-40 times with each bite (excruciatingly dull at times) until the stuff in my mouth was almost liquid. There is a lot to be said of the mechanics of chewing/saliva and its purpose of pre-digesting food before it reaches the stomach and intestines. Anyways, not a cure by any means but I have not had a problem with bloating since....that only comes now with drinking too much Guinness.

BTW Marmite is an excellent source of B12. You either 'love it' or you 'hate it'.

Andrew

My cow has been stealing my dog's food that included chunks of meat. Now the cow has lost lots of wait despite good apetite. I suspect the meat has affected it since it can not digest it. Any expert opinion? And treatment