Not your average cave-woman
Jane Brody at the New York Times wrote an article critical of the paleo diet. One of her objections is that average life spans in the pre-agricultural era were hardly longer than 40 years, so we have no idea what effect the paleo diet would have on longevity and prevention of late-onset “diseases of civilization.”
She writes:
Keep in mind that the life expectancy of people before the advent of agriculture 15,000 years ago rarely reached or exceeded 40, so their risk of developing the so-called diseases of civilization is unknown.
First of all, the widespread adoption of agriculture is thought to have occurred 10-12,000 years ago, not 15,000 years.
Secondly, even in 1900 average life span in the U.S. was only 47 years.
But read her entire article for yourself. She didn’t change my mind.
Steve Parker, M.D.
Paleo Diabetic 