Food Choices Page #2

south in latitude,

then you end up eating

more animal foods.

And if you get far

north, like for example,

the inuit eskimos, they

are largely carnivores,

because that's what's available.

But that's a small

population of people

that exists on the extremes

of the environment.

That's the exception,

not the rule.

- We have become

the most successful

species on this planet.

No one comes close to us.

We share it with animals,

and insects, and microbes,

and plants, but

we're number one.

And the way we got to number one

was all about survival.

We see in color, i

believe, because fruits

and vegetables are colorful.

Our hand is perfectly

designed to pick,

forge, grab and dig,

peel, and feed ourselves

fruits and vegetables,

nuts, beans and seeds,

plant food, food made

by mother nature.

- This idea that we're

hunter-gatherers,

is true, we're hunter-gatherers.

But mostly, we've

been gatherers.

One of the problems

has to do with sexism.

It has to do with the

fact that the gatherers

were grandparents,

women, and children.

The hunters were men,

and they got the glory.

The people who really

provided the bulk

of the calories, for most

of the civilizations,

through all verifiable

human history,

have been the women,

children and grandparents.

- Even when i

began considering the idea

of eating mostly a

plant-based diet,

I was still hounded

with many questions.

How was I going

to be able to live

without animal foods?

I didn't want to become

nutrient deficient.

And how about things

like protein, calcium,

and omega 3's?

In my head, I always

associated these nutrients

with animal foods.

I needed to find out

if those were valid

concerns, or simply myths.

- It's almost

impossible to design

a protein deficient diet

surrounding, you know, a variety

of whole plant foods.

- What people need to know

is there's never been a

case of protein deficiency

ever described in

the world literature,

on any natural diet,

that met the sufficient

amount of calories.

- You know, back to

1839 when protein

was discovered, it had

this incredible reverence

associated with it, and

it just gained traction.

But the evidence is

very clear that humans

do not need to eat

a lot of protein,

and when they do, they get

a lot of health problems

as a result.

I mean human protein needs

are just a tiny percentage

of calories, maybe two

and a half, three percent

of calories.

And if you were to

eat the lowest protein

foods, in the plant world,

which would be foods like rice,

you're at eight or

nine percent protein.

So you're not going to

become protein deficient.

But, the promoters of

the low-carb diets,

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