Have you been wondering why there is so much diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer occurring around the world? In part, it’s because we don’t honour our evolutionary design. We evolved to move; hunt and gather, and eat natural foods; animals, vegetables and fruit.
If you want to improve your health and not become a statistic, consider eating like your ancestor:
Eat lean beef, chicken, fish, seafood, and eggs
By adding a serving to each meal (size and width of the palm of your hand) will satisfy your appetite, and provide enough dietary protein you need to keep healthy. They will also provide enough fats to keep all your essentials ticking over.
Eat your vegetables
Do as your Grandma said – eat your greens. Two servings a meal (again, size and width of the palm of your hand) of non-starchy vegetables will provide a heap of the vitamins and fibre your body needs to operate. Add some starchy vegetables like kumara at one or two meals, to help keep your energy levels up.
Have some fruit from time to time
Fruits are highly seasonal, so eat them as such. The high sugar content makes them great to re-fuel your energy stores straight after exercise. If fruit is making up a big part of your diet (like 4+ servings a day), or you are trying to lose weight, consider pulling them back to one to two servings a day.
Do you really need grains, dairy and beans?
We stood 10000 years ago as we stand today. That is our digestive system, biology, and physical structure. Refined grains really only became a staple in our diet 200 years ago. Dairy consumption was a little older at 6500 years ago. Beans (legumes) are also a relative newcomer to the diet, considering they need to be cooked before being (nice pun) eaten safely.
So, while many people can consume these foods with no obvious side effects, there is an evolutionary case that they don’t naturally belong at the dinner table.
If you’re interested in eating like your ancestors, try working them out of your diet for 30 days, and see how 
you look, feel and perform. Otherwise, come find me at the gym and we can chew the fat.
Still not convinced?
Just consider how New Zealanders ate and lived before Europeans arrived in Aotearoa, just 8 generations ago (241 years). And then consider the health statistics (page 57) since Captain Cook arrived in 1769.
Quick note
These guidelines are for general health, not for specific health concerns or performance above and beyond what is ‘normal health’.