100 Million Years of Food: What Our Ancestors Ate and Why it Matters Today

Description

There are few areas of modern life that offer as much information and advice, often contradictory, as diet and health: eat a lot of meat, don't eat meat; whole-grains are healthy, whole-grains are a disaster; and on it goes. Biological anthropologist Stephen Le cuts through the confusing mass of information to present the long view of our diet. Like his mentor Jared Diamond, he uses history and science to present a fascinating and wide-ranging tour of human history as viewed through what and how we eat. Travelling the world to places as far-flung as Vietnam, Kenya, Nova Scotia, and Iowa, Le visits people producing food using traditional methods as well as modern techniques, and looks at how our relationship to food has strayed from centuries of tradition, to mass-produced assembly lines dependent on chemicals that bring with them a host of problems. 100 Million Years of Food argues that our ancestral diets and lifestyles are the best first line of defense in protecting our health; the optimal diet is to eat what your ancestors ate. In this clear-cut and compelling book, we learn not only what to eat, but how our diets are the product of millions of years of evolution. . For readers of Michael Moss

Stephen Le earned his doctorate in biological anthropology from UCLA, where he held a prestigious Chancellor's Fellowship. He also holds a master's degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University and an undergraduate degree in mathematics. He has held grants from the National Science Foundation and the Japan Society for the promotion of science, and his research has appeared in the Journal of Theoretical Biology and Cross-Cultural Research.

"This deliciously entertaining book will help you to enjoy eating your food, to enjoy thinking about your food, and to stay healthy." --Jared Diamond, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and the New York Times bestselling author of Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse The vastness, breadth, and ambitiousness of Stephen Le's 100 Million Years of Food makes it compelling and engaging.--Mark Kurlansky, author of Salt and Cod Le mixes advice, personal anecdotes, and medical science in this fascinating food-for-thought narrative.--Booklist In this accessible debut, Le offers a nimble hybrid that is equal parts travel memoir and informed speculation about the biology of human nutrition. The author, with roots in Vietnam and Canada, also explores how different cultures approach food in support of his thesis that straying from one's ancestral diets is a leading cause of modern disease. It's a surprisingly clear-eyed approach....The book's conclusions about what to eat and drink are common sense, but the journey Le takes to get us there is worth the cover price.--Kirkus Reviews