James O'Keefe, MD and
Joan O'Keefe, RD

By: Dr. James O’Keefe

A recent New York Times article profiled a group of New Yorkers who consider themselves “modern cavemen.” The hunter-gatherer lifestyle really can be ideal. Here is a link to a Mayo Clinic Proceedings article I co-authored with Dr. Loren Cordain, one of the leaders of the hunter-gatherer movement. The article, Cardiovascular Disease Resulting From a Diet and Lifestyle at Odds With Our Paleolithic Genome: How to Become a 21st-Century Hunter-Gatherer, can be found here.  When you eat the Forever Young way, you are essentially eating a hunter-gatherer style diet. Straight from our book, The Forever Young Diet and Lifestyle, here are the basics you need to know to live a hunter-gatherer’s lifestyle and eat the hunter-gatherer diet.

Nine Steps Toward a Hunter-Gatherer’s Diet

If you want to be in sync with your genetic heritage, here are the steps you should follow to become a hunter-gatherer.
1. Thrive on the earth’s natural bounty. Eat whole, natural, fresh foods; avoid highly processed foods.

2. Consume a diet high in fruits, vegetables, nuts and berries, and low in refined grains and sugars.

3. Increase consumption of omega-3 fatty acids from fish, fish oil, and plant sources like walnuts, canola oil, greens, soybeans, and flaxseed.

4. Avoid trans fats entirely. Eliminate fried foods, hard margarine commercial baked goods, and most packaged and processed snack foods. Also eliminate consumption of fatty meats and high-fat dairy.

5. Increase consumption of lean protein such as skinless poultry, fish, game meats, and whey protein. Eat only lean, fresh cuts of red meat and limit consumption of saturated fats, including fatty, salty processed meats like bacon, sausage and deli meats.

6. Incorporate olive oil or canola oil into your diet, Avoid corn, safflower, sunflower, and vegetable oils.

7. Choose purified water, tea, nonfat unsweetened dairy or soy milk, and red wine. Avoid soft drinks, fruit juices, high-fat dairy, and sports drinks. Even 100 percent fruit juices are still loaded with too much sugar and should be considered off-limits. However, low sodium vegetable juices are very nutritious.

8. Use your body as it was designed and programmed over the millennia and engage in daily exercise from a variety of activities that incorporate aerobic and strength training as well as stretching exercises. Outdoor activities are ideal.

9. Develop and maintain relationships that provide social support (e.g., spouse, family, friends, neighbors, community, etc.) Try to also include some activities that involve altruism and nurturing.

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