“To be healthier, let’s eat like our ancestors.” This sentence could sum up the philosophy of a popular trend on social networks. Through the concepts of “ancestral nutrition” or “ancestral diet”, many accounts share nutritional advice: the foods that should be favored, and those that should be banned from our plates. Their argument? Thanks to this diet, our “ancestors” were in much better health than today. We should therefore return to a more “natural” diet, reconnecting with the common sense that guided their dietary principles.
This trend, which exists both among French-speaking and international content creators, is sometimes confused with that of the “paleo diet” or “paleo diet”, for paleolithic. The latter, older, therefore works to preach advice inspired by what diet would have been like in this period of prehistory.
Behind these assertions, what is the historical reality? Can we really claim to know the diet of our ancestors? And besides, which ancestors are we talking about?
All our ancestors did not eat the same depending on the times, places and social environments
First observation: talking about “an” ancestral diet is an abuse of language. “Food evolves over the centuries. It is specific to a given era and social context. We do not have access to the same products depending on whether we are a peasant in the 12th century or a lord in the 15th century, points out Fabien Müllers, lecturer at the University of Tours and food historian. And this observation is the same for all periods of History.” Even in a given period, “diet is not at all the same depending on profession, social origin, age, geographical location or gender”, describes Stéphane Le Bras, lecturer in History. contemporary at the University of Clermont Auvergne and specialist in the history of food.
How can we explain that on the Internet, the diets promoted often contain large quantities of meat? “Work has shown that Neanderthals had a much more meaty diet because they were in environments where there were few plants,” explains the lecturer at the University of Tours. But the scientist also recalls that “in France, the first farmer-breeders arrived around 5,500 BC. So during the Paleolithic, we couldn't drink milk, we didn't eat any domesticated meat. It was during the Neolithic, in the south of France, that the first sedentary farmer-breeders appeared. »
The difficulty of knowing precisely the diet of our ancestors
Another obstacle that arises when we seek to establish what the diet of our ancestors would have been: the difficulty of knowing precisely their composition. “We are starting to have biochemical techniques that allow us to determine whether people had a meat or vegetarian diet, or whether the resources were terrestrial or marine. But we are unable to know exactly what they ate, explains Marie-Pierre Horard-Herbin about the prehistoric period. When we talk about the Paleolithic, we have very few human remains. So talking about these populations is very pretentious, because we don’t have a lot of information.”
“We are unable to determine the quantity of meat that people ingest, even with skeletons and the most recent techniques,” continues the specialist. We will only be able to say whether the diet is meat or strictly vegetarian.” The few collections of recipes that have come down to us are rather recent since they date back to the Roman period in Europe. And there too, “they do not refer to the diet of the entire population”.
Another problem: food is not produced today under the same conditions. “Products evolve even if they keep the same name. This is the case for wine but also for agricultural products, which are notably modified by genetics,” explains Stéphane Le Bras.
Our ancestors healthier because of diet, really?
Can we really know the role of diet on the health of our ancestors? “To claim that we can measure the precise impact of diet on populations, even very recent ones like Roman populations, is false. The archaeological data does not allow this to be established for the moment,” says Marie-Pierre Horard-Herbin.
An observation shared by Nicolas Parel, dietitian at the Haute Ecole de Santé de Genève. “We don’t really have a Paleolithic cohort study. Presumably, there would be fewer chronic illnesses than there are today. But it hasn't been that long since these diseases have been a major public health problem. » Above all, the specialist warns against boiling down health solely to diet. “There is also lifestyle, sedentary lifestyle, pollution… Today we are getting older, and we know that one of the main factors of these diseases is the aging of the population. »
For the dietitian, it is clear that reducing some of the so-called ultra-processed foods could be beneficial. “But without necessarily going towards such raw foods. Foods like yogurt or bread did not exist during the paleo era and have positive benefits. »
Diets that don't really follow nutritional recommendations
For the specialist, these old diets have the particularity of being for many gluten-free, lactose-free, legumes-free and so-called industrial products, and therefore of containing a lot of meat products, fruits, vegetables, and oils. However, the scientist recalls: “on social networks, there is not “one” paleo diet. As there are no solid scientific bases, everyone goes their own way. »
One thing is certain: for Nicolas Parel, this type of diet rather goes against current recommendations. “Today, we consider that it would be better to reduce the proportion of food of animal origin, we are talking about one third animal proteins for two thirds vegetable proteins. We are rather moving in the direction of consuming more whole grains and legumes, whether for health reasons or ecological reasons. We also know that raw milk should be avoided due to the risk of infections and pathologies. » Caution is therefore required before embarking on these so-called miraculous diets.
