Raw Paleo Diet Forums > Hot Topics

The Stone Age Diet

<< < (2/3) > >>

TylerDurden:
Topic moved to hot topics as it covers cooked diets.

PaleoPhil:
Yeah, you may not want to read this book, Tyler, if you haven't already, as you may find it very upsetting. There is only a smidgeon of pro-raw-meat language and it is decidedly anti-raw-plant-foods. Here is the semi-positive stuff about raw meat, and even here he seems to lean toward believing the pro-cooked meat Stefansson more than the other explorers:

From WALTER L. VOEGTLIN, M.D., F.A.C.P., The Stone Age Diet

pp. 121-123: <<The Alaska Eskimos and those living adjacent to the sea have access to large marine animals, such as the seal and walrus, as well as to fish, game birds, caribou, and moose. Their economy differs from those preceding in that they have an abundance of fats and oils to the point where they are used freely for heat and light as well as for food. The Eskimo considers anything from the vegetable kingdom as a substitute for food, to be eaten only to avoid starvation. [23 LIVING OFF THE COUNTRY Angier, Bradford, The Stackpole Company, Harrisburg, Penn.-1956] Mr. John Simpson, Surgeon, R.N., wintered with the Point Barrow Eskimos in 1854. [7 CANCER: DISEASE OF CIVILIZATION? Stefansson, Vilhjalmur Hill and Wang, New York-1960] His is one of the earliest descriptions of the Eskimo diet, noting that they avoided all vegetable foods and salt, living on fat and lean meat, which was either raw or undercooked. These folk were robust, muscular, and active, inclining to spareness, rather than corpulence, although their round faces and thick clothing gave the impression of being overweight. Anthropologist John Murdoch [7] observed these people about 1880 and confirmed the absence of vegetable materials in the diet, except during periods of famine. About 1896 J. H. Romig, M.D. [7], observed the Bering Sea Eskimos and found them living as they had for many centuries. He describes an Eskimo meal being served to the husbands, fathers and sons by the women. The food, cooked mostly by boiling, consisted of game and fish, dried smoked salmon and other dried fish, seal, and fish oils. When cooked the meat was rather rare; during the winter much frozen meat and fish was consumed raw. The only plant substance mentioned by Dr. Romig was cranberries, which were saved for special occasions, mixed with seal meat and tallow and eaten with snow. ....

The most accurate observations of the Eskimo were those of Vilhjalmur Stefansson. [41 THE FAT OF THE LAND Stefansson, Vilhjalmur The MacMillan Company, New York-1957] ... Contrary to the statements of others, Stefansson avers that the Eskimo does not eat the entire animal, nor is much of their meat eaten raw. Cooking is by boiling or roasting. He spent a total of eleven and a half years among the Eskimos, of which time about nine years were spent on the Eskimo diet. ....

Recent intrusions of civilization have markedly altered the Eskimo diet in some instances. ... About 60% of the natural foods are eaten raw and 30% are boiled.>>

goodsamaritan:
I've read the book.
It is not written from a healer's point of view.
If the man was a healer attending to many sick patients he would know raw meat rocks much louder than cooked.

TylerDurden:
Yes, it's unfortunate that Voegtlin liked to refer to  Stefansson's dodgy, unsupported  claims re Eskimos supposedly not eating much raw and not eating all the organs. I mean, I understand why Stefansson lied/distorted the evidence as few people would have been interested in eating a partially-raw meat diet like the Inuit, but he should have been honest.

carnivore:
yeh, if we want a book on raw meat diet, we'll have to write it ourselves !

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page

[*] Previous page