5 Lessons From The New Paleo

At Paleo f(x), the hunt (and gather) is on for clues to the next stage of human evolution.

- Lou Schuler

THIS WASN’T WHAT I EXPECTED TO FIND AT PALEO

f(x), the world’s largest gathering of paleo enthusiasts (people who harvest habits from the past to avoid the diseases of modern civilisation). The youth and vitality of the attendees was the first surprise. There would be more revelations from trainers, chefs, and doctors. What they all had in common: a hunger for the latest info on fitness, nutrition, weight loss, and health. Here are five wild takeaways:

LESSON 1 YOU ARE WHAT YOU DON’T EAT

Arthur De Vany, a retired UC Irvine economics professor, is just shy of his 80th birthday when he takes the stage at Paleo f(x). But he looks much younger. De Vany developed his own version of the paleo diet in the ’70s – the Stone Age of nutrition – and is one of its most charismatic advocates.

“My diet hasn’t changed in 40 years,” he says. “The first ingredient is nothing.” It’s not really nothing; he might have a turkey leg and a slab of honeydew melon for breakfast, and a steak and salad for dinner. But it’s those eight hours without food that De Vany says does the most to slow his biological clock.