The New Evolution Diet
Art De Vany’s new book The New Evolution Diet was released just before the Christmas holiday, so I was able to get the Kindle version and read it while I was traveling.
Before I talk about his book, let me just say that I was completely surprised by how much I liked using the Kindle software
I have trouble finishing books, and staying in one spot in general for long, so being able to switch between different devices and reading a few pages while I had a few spare minutes (like in the airport) was brilliant.
Now, if you don’t know who Art De Vany is he is commonly referred to as the patriarch or grandfather of the paleo movement and evolutionary fitness. As best I can tell, he has been doing this stuff longer than anybody else. By “stuff’ I mean eating a paleo style diet, doing intermittent fasting, and engaging in high intensity and varied exercise.
If you are also new to the evolutionary fitness and the paleo diet, then Art’s book will make an excellent introduction to those concepts. I found that the book read more like a narrative rather than a diet book, in that it felt like how I’d envision sitting across from him in a study, discussing nutrition and fitness. Much of the book recounted his personal experiences, and how the New Evolution Diet and fitness concept fits into his daily life.
An entire chapter is devoted to providing a detailed meal plan, so a new devotee will not be left wondering what types of meals to cook. As well, the science used to explain why one should eat this manner of food is proffered in such a way that it doesn’t read like a biology lecture, but is nonetheless informative and well cited.
If you are more acquainted with paleo principles and the benefits of high intensity exercise, much of what you’ll read in the book may not be new information. However, the insight you’ll gain into the life of such a remarkable person should well offset this circumstance. As well, the citations throughout the book are coupled with a meticulously presented reference index which even contains short abstracts of the articles in question. That was a nice touch.
I don’t agree with all of his reservations for certain food types, primarily things like butter. But it seems even Art is a little divided on the subject as well, since in one place he mentions butter should be avoided, but in a recipe he suggests using a bit of butter for cooking. Any inconsistencies aside, Art was sure to point out that much of this idea must be tailored to individual needs or conditions. I can certainly appreciate the importance of an individual and deliberate approach to diet. Few things rarely work well for everybody.
At the end of the book is a short chapter written by Nassim Taleb in which he discusses how his ideas on randomness and Art’s ideas on fitness resulted in an epiphany that transformed his life. It’s an interesting perspective and further illustrates the importance that infrequent yet intense events hold in our lives.
Overall, the book was a good read and helped me make good use of the time I spent at the airport and on planes over the holiday. I recommend it for anybody wanting to make some diet or fitness changes for the New Year.
You can buy Art De Vany’s book online at Amazon.com
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4 Responses to Art De Vany’s New Evolution Diet
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Nice review David! I think you covered the book in concise fashion.
“I can certainly appreciate the importance of an individual and deliberate approach to diet.”
That’s a great point. Much like you, I tend to disagree with him on the animal fat consumption. If I didn’t eat a lot of fat, I’d feel perpetually hungry. I also tend to eat less frequently than he suggests, usually just twice a day. Any further thoughts on those two points?
Greg Linster´s last [type] ..Book Notes- My Start-Up Life
Hi Greg!
In regard to the fat intake, I found that I was generally pretty hungry on a diet of lean meat, mass amounts of veg/fruit with mainly just nuts and eggs for fat. That was back when I was experimenting with the Zone a la Crossfit.
What I eat now is pretty high in fat and protein, with meals consisting of an entire pound of bacon not uncommon. Protein is of course more satiating than anything, and the fat is a pretty potent source of energy. The research vindicating fat with respect to heart disease, and my understanding of leptin’s role in appetite control, leaves me to believe that fat isn’t a problem bodyfat and energy management.
With a healthy metabolism, your body will know when you’ve eaten enough, and shutdown your appetite in a manner that will prevent you from gaining inordinate amounts of body fat.
With regard to meal frequency, I’ve more recently started an experiment to observe how my body responds to a 2 meal a day (no snacks) plan. The toughest part in the beginning was adjusting to eating a much larger first meal. A lot of food needs to go down your gullet for lunch if you only eat twice a day.
There’s plenty of research out there demonstrating that lower meal frequency helps with insulin sensitivity, so it seems like a beneficial thing to me.
I’ve read Mark Sisson’s Primal Blueprint – besides the butter issue, are they much different? Or is de Vany’s book more standard paleo diet focused?
Fitz´s last [type] ..2010 in Review – High Mileage- Injury Prevention and General Strength
Sisson will endorse the eating of plenty of bacon, which is probably something that De Vany would not recommend. In general, I believe he thinks most people eat too much fat.