Plant-animal subsistence ratios and macronutrient energy estimations in worldwide hunter-gatherer diets

Both anthropologists and nutritionists have long recognized that the diets of modern-day hunter-gatherers may represent a reference standard for modern human nutrition and a model for defense against certain diseases of affluence. Because the hunter-gatherer way of life is now probably extinct in it...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American journal of clinical nutrition 2000-03, Vol.71 (3), p.682-692
Main Authors: CORDAIN, L, MILLER, J. B, EATON, S. B, MANN, N, HOLT, S. H. A, SPETH, J. D
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agriculture
Animals
Anthropology
Anthropology, Cultural
Biological and medical sciences
Body Composition
Climate
Culture
Diet
Diet - history
Energy Intake
History of medicine
History, Ancient
Human physiology applied to population studies and life conditions. Human ecophysiology
Humans
Hunting
Meat
Medical sciences
Nutritional survey. Food supply and nutritional requirement
Plants, Edible
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Both anthropologists and nutritionists have long recognized that the diets of modern-day hunter-gatherers may represent a reference standard for modern human nutrition and a model for defense against certain diseases of affluence. Because the hunter-gatherer way of life is now probably extinct in its purely un-Westernized form, nutritionists and anthropologists must rely on indirect procedures to reconstruct the traditional diet of preagricultural humans. In this analysis, we incorporate the most recent ethnographic compilation of plant-to-animal economic subsistence patterns of hunter-gatherers to estimate likely dietary macronutrient intakes (% of energy) for environmentally diverse hunter-gatherer populations. Furthermore, we show how differences in the percentage of body fat in prey animals would alter protein intakes in hunter-gatherers and how a maximal protein ceiling influences the selection of other macronutrients. Our analysis showed that whenever and wherever it was ecologically possible, hunter-gatherers consumed high amounts (45-65% of energy) of animal food. Most (73%) of the worldwide hunter-gatherer societies derived >50% (> or =56-65% of energy) of their subsistence from animal foods, whereas only 14% of these societies derived >50% (> or =56-65% of energy) of their subsistence from gathered plant foods. This high reliance on animal-based foods coupled with the relatively low carbohydrate content of wild plant foods produces universally characteristic macronutrient consumption ratios in which protein is elevated (19-35% of energy) at the expense of carbohydrates (22-40% of energy).
ISSN:0002-9165
1938-3207
DOI:10.1093/ajcn/71.3.682