The sloth eats leaves only
Look around nature and you will find herbivores eating all day long, or resting, or slowly digesting their ingested leaves or pastures. The sloth is an extreme example. Is it possible that their carbohydrate-rich meal results in a sugar-based metabolism that keeps them in a sluggish state all life long?
Lions: Alert, smart and powerful
Lions, on the other hand, sleep and digest their meals over several day periods (usually 3 days or so). Very often they nap all day long. But when they are hungry again, they don’t seem weak or sluggish. Quite the contrary, they seem to be bright and alert, and so powerful they can bring down zebras, buffalos, and even elephants and giraffes. Their meals consist of protein and fat, mostly and they engorge themselves as much as possible. You can say that they feast and fast. There is certainly no comparison between these cats and herbivores when it comes to alertness and strength. It is truly amazing to see how the work in a group as if they communicated with just their eyes. Is it possible that they are at their most focused and energetic during fasting, just before the feast?
The African Wild Dog
Just like wolves in the northwest of the US, African wild dogs hunt in groups. They say that this is their advantage. I’d say that they have focus, communicating skills and stamina. Yes, stamina: They can catch pray that it is actually faster than they are because they can outlast them in the run. Yet, they eat only once a day, and when they do they feast. Meanwhile, their favorite pray spent their every waking moment grassing and filling up their ruminant stomachs and digesting their cellulose-rich meals. Ruminants only digest cellulose because the bacteria and protozoa in their large stomach may produce cellulase that breaks down cellulose into glucose molecules. The very survival of wild dogs depends on their focus and their stamina. Wouldn’t it be logical to think that humans too are able to focus better and have more stamina when they eat once a day and/or eat protein/fat, rather than carbohydrate-based meals?
The Black bear feast and fast, for months
The bear is one amazing creature in its adaptation to the seasons. Their diet is mainly carb-based and spends the entire summer feasting on berries, and plant matter. However, they are known to eat fish, but they are mostly opportunists. Their goal is to engorge in preparation for the hibernation months. Humans also have a tendency to engorge themselves when there is enough to eat, perhaps in preparation for days of scarcity. However, when the scarcity comes, we do something like bears do when in hibernation: we reduce our metabolic rate, rather than use our fat stores
It may appear that we have a variation of the same adaptation. It is very likely that when we were hunter/gatherers, we would have tried to build our fat reserves in times of plenty. Then, we would save our stores as much as possible, in times of scarcity.
Are Gorillas herbivores or omnivores?
Gorillas are mostly herbivores, but the can get protein (17%) from insects. They are able to digest cellulose, and that is their main source of calories. This is why their abdomens are 40% larger than that of a human being.
Are we carnivores or omnivores?
What if we did like the African dogs or the lions instead? Perhaps we evolved in a balance where we could feast and fast in periods of 1, 2 or 3 days. Our ancestors might have accidentally found out how the meat from a burned carcass is easier to digest. They might have had the motivation to learn to manipulate fire, at the risk of a few minor burns. Then, our brains evolved to larger and larger sizes and our abdominal viscera grew smaller and smaller. After all, we no longer had the need to digest cellulose. We no longer had the need to supply as much blood to the abdominal viscera. Is this how pre-humans evolved from the genus Australopithecus to the genus Homo? It is generally accepted that members of the genus Homo routinely used fire.
The very definition of hunter/gatherer suggests that we adapted to whatever circumstances we encountered, particularly when Homo erectus decided to leave Africa and populate the world. We did not differentiate into either gorilla with a bamboo-mostly diet or wild dogs with a carnivore diet. Yet we could outlast any fast antilope with perseverance, stamina and group strategy, just like the wild dogs. You might say that it was our versatility what prepared us to survive and thrive into the successful species we are today.
Let us learn from other species without spoiling our capacity to adapt. Let us eat like the omnivores we are, but all in moderation. I for one like to eat an equal proportion of carbs, lipids, and proteins. The concept of eating once a day makes perfect sense to me. However, I see carbs as a source of energy to be stored for a period of scarcity, just like the black bear. On the other hand, I will not restrict calories because that would slow down my metabolism. I will take advantage of the focus and endurance I get when I am well within my fasting period. I will avoid excess carbs because lipid-based energy is more efficient.
