There seems to be a growing number of people who believe that by following our “natural instincts” with food choices we would arrive at a highly nutritious balanced diet

There are many ways to consider how we make food choices, but for the sake of this argument consider foods with regards to two attributes:

Palatability -do they deliver a high amount of calories through high sugar or a high fat content? And, Is there plenty of variety available in order to stop you getting bored?

Satiety– i.e. how filling are they? Protein and fibre are most commonly recognised for their relationship to satiety.

Remember if we are to follow our instincts, our number one instinct is survival.

Following our instincts would lead to eating foods that allow us to consume the most amount of calories without getting full.

High palatability, low satiety.

Or rather a wide variety of high sugar and high fat foods that are low in protein and low in fibre.

This would allow maximum intake (in Kcal) with little energy expenditure leading to increased energy storage and an increased SURVIVAL rate without food.

If a caveman ancestor of yours were to find themselves in today’s world, they would not be researching the soil quality of where the buffalo they just purchased was reared.

More likely they would be filling their basket with pick and mix, Ben and jerry and deep pan pizza.

I don’t question that eating largely vegetables and animal products is a good basis for a healthy diet, but I do question whether eating mostly meat, fish and veggies is down to following our instincts.

For me an important factor in getting in shape is first understanding physiologically why we make the decisions we do.

From there you can make informed decisions to counteract your instincts and stop relying on them to get you in shape.

Feel free to get in touch to get a plan in place.

Thanks for reading.

Spence