We examine the principles of recipe and meal design in three approaches – standard Paleo, traditional cuisines, and Perfect Health Diet – to evaluate their similarities and differences. We then compare and contrast how various traditional recipes are implemented in the three approaches, and discuss the relative merits of each approach. Our goal is to answer the question: how can we synthesize the best of each approach to design the most healthful, satisfying, nourishing, delicious food possible?

1. The Perfectly Healthy Meal
How Ancestral and Gourmet Culinary
Practices Guide us to Satisfying and
Nourishing Food
Russ Crandall
Paul Jaminet Ancestral Health Symposium 2013

2. Tr a d i t i o n a l V i e w
o f E a t i n g f o r H e a l t h
Taste opposes Healthfulness
“The only way to keep your health
is to
eat what you don't want,
drink what you don't like,
and
do what you'd rather not.”
-- Mark Twain

3. G o u r m e t v s . P a l e o
If Taste opposes Healthfulness,
then
does Paleo oppose Gourmet?
But Paleo is designed for
healthfulness.
Gourmet is designed for
taste.

4. Food Reward & Health
Why Did We Evolve a
Food Reward System?
To enrich gourmet chefs
and to give us heart attacks?

5. 0.0%
5.0%
10.0%
15.0%
20.0%
25.0%
30.0%
35.0%
40.0%
45.0%
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,000
Fatintake,%ofenergy
GDP per capita 2009, US $
Fat Intake vs Income
Income Determines Diet: Fat

6. 40%
45%
50%
55%
60%
65%
70%
75%
80%
85%
90%
0 10,000 20,000 30,000 40,000 50,000 60,000 70,000 80,000 90,000
Carbintake,%ofenergy
GDP per capita, 2009, US $
Carb Intake vs Income
Income Determines Diet: Carbs

7. Global Rich (>$20,000):
“Western diet”
50% carb, 13% protein, 37% fat
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000
Carbintake,%ofenergy
GDP per capita, 2009, US $
Carb Intake vs Income
Global Poor (<$5,000):
“Plant-based diet”
70% carb, 11% protein, 19% fat
0.00%
2.00%
4.00%
6.00%
8.00%
10.00%
12.00%
14.00%
16.00%
18.00%
0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000
Proteinintake,%ofenergy
GDP per capita 2009, US $
Protein Intake vs Income
Tw o G l o b a l D i e t s

8. Food Choices Are a Compromise
1. Innate Food Preferences. The “food reward system” of the
human brain evolved to motivate us to acquire healthy foods.
2. Cost. We try to minimize the time and money we expend to
acquire food.
Carbs (flour, bread, noodles, sugar) are cheap
The poor subsist on carbs (plant-based diet)
The rich eat more animal food (western diet)
Why Do We See This
Pattern?

9. 2,600,000 BC – 10,000 BC
A Hunter-Gatherer Diet
T h e P a l e o A l t e r n a t i v e

10. 229 Hunter-gatherer societies
– Diet typically 30% plants, 70% animal + fish
– Macronutrients ~20% carbs, 15-30% protein, 35-65% fat
Source: Cordain L et al. Plant-animal subsistence ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in worldwide hunter-
gatherer diets. Am J Clin Nutr 2000 Mar;71(3):682-92. Figure 1.
Plant food consumption Animal+fish consumption
P a l e o l i t h i c D i e t s :
H i g h A n i m a l , L o w C a r b

11. 10 hunter-gatherer cultures
Macronutrients ~20% carbs, 30% protein, 50% fat
Source: Kaplan HS, Hill KR, Lancaster JB, Hurtado AM. A Theory of Human Life History Evolution: Diet, Intelligence, and Longevity.
Evolutionary Anthropology 9:156-185, 2000. http://www.unm.edu/~hkaplan/KaplanHillLancasterHurtado_2000_LHEvolution.pdf.
P a l e o l i t h i c D i e t s :
H i g h A n i m a l , L o w C a r b

12. An antelope has 200,000 to 2,000,000 calories
A tuber has 100 calories
Source, image
Plant food consumption
source
W h y H u n t e r - G a t h e r e r
D i e t s a r e L o w C a r b

13. Paleolithic Diets Too Low-Carb
– 20% carb … below optimum
– Carbs costly, animal foods
cheap
Source: Cordain L et al. Plant-animal subsistence ratios and
macronutrient energy estimations in worldwide hunter-gatherer
diets. Am J Clin Nutr 2000 Mar;71(3):682-92. Figure 1.
Hunter-Gatherer Plant food
consumption
Modern Diets Too High-Carb
– 50-70% carb … above optimum
– Carbs cheap, animal foods
costly
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
0 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000
Carbintake,%ofenergy
GDP per capita, 2009, US $
Carb Intake vs Income
A r e B o t h D i e t s
I m p e r f e c t ?

14. Modern diets are
too high-carb
because carbs are cheap
Paleo diets were
too low-carb
because carbs were hard to gather
We should
follow food reward
to a gourmet cuisine based on ancestral foods
Food environments
distort diets away from optimum healthfulness;
but food reward pushes back
T h e C a s e f o r Ta s t e

15. The only time to eat diet food is while
you're waiting for the steak to cook.
Fat gives things flavor.
If you're afraid of butter, use cream.
I had my first French meal and I never
got over it. It was just marvelous. We
had oysters and a lovely dry white wine.
And then we had one of those lovely
scalloped dishes and the lovely creamy
buttery sauce. Then we had a roast
duck and I don’t know what else.
Julia Child
N e w P a l e o G u r u ?

16. G o u r m e t v s P a l e o
If Taste supports Healthfulness,
then
we need to synthesize Paleo and Gourmet!
Paleo is designed for
Healthfulness.
Gourmet
is designed for Taste.

17. H o w D o We S y n t h e s i z e
P a l e o a n d G o u r m e t ?
Take the Best of the Two Strategies
Paleo Strategy:
• Health first
• Restrict the food set to
remove
toxic/allergic/autoimmune
foods
• Short history of recipe
development
• Offbeat ingredient
substitutions in traditional
recipes; simple flavors
Gourmet Strategy:
• Taste first
• Unlimited food set
• 1,000+ year history of
recipe development
• Complementary
ingredients, complex
flavors

18. Paleo vs. Gourmet:
Two Meal Implementations
Paleo Meal:
• Restricted food set
• Simple flavors
Gourmet Meal:
• Unlimited food set
• Complementary
ingredients, comple
x flavors
Rotisserie Chicken
and steamed veggies
From Paleo Solution
Crawfish Étouffée with stock,
butter, cream, scallions, garlic,
celery, onion, tomato, peppers,
and bacon served with rice
From Saveur Magazine

19. G o u r m e t A p p r o a c h t o
A n c e s t r a l C o o k i n g
Strike a balance of flavors using
seasonings, acids, and fats in every dish
Focus on natural sources of umami:
broths, mushrooms, tomatoes, seaweeds, fer
mented fish pastes/sauces
Gourmet dishes often require extended
preparation or cooking times; embrace the
process!

20. G o u r m e t A n c e s t r a l
Kebabs
Ancient method of cooking;
gourmet and street fare today
Onion, lemon
juice, vinegar, spices used to
flavor and tenderize
Basted in fats for more flavor

21. G o u r m e t A n c e s t r a l
Congee
Fast and easy source of
calories for warriors
Served as gourmet dish
during Tang Dynasty (618-907
AD)
Add-ins developed over time:
eggs, rice wine, fish
sauce, dried
fish, mushrooms, ginger

22. G o u r m e t A n c e s t r a l
Beef Bourguignon
Originally a pauper’s
meal, became widely-
celebrated gourmet dish
Red wine, stock, herbs, and
aromatic veggies
Often considered the most
flavorful dish in Western
cuisine

23. C o n c l u s i o n
1. Our food reward system wants us to be
healthy,
so our most healthful food will be
Gourmet Ancestral Cuisine
2. If we broaden our food palette to include
traditional gourmet approaches and
representatives from all food types,
then current Paleo recipes can be easily
modified
to give us
Gourmet Ancestral Cuisine.

24. Thank You!