For millions of years, humans (and their relatives) dined on a hunter-gatherer diet consisting of meat, fish, fowl and the leaves, roots and fruits of many plants.

About 10,000 years ago, there was a shift. Stone Age man discovered and implemented new agricultural and culinary methods, drifting from the traditional hunter-gatherer diet to one based on grains - a food that was previously useless and inedible. These new foods which were included at that time are often called “Neolithic” foods. 

Because our genetics haven’t changed much since the Paleo days, some researchers believe this shift to “Neolithic” foods has caused much of the chronic disease we face today.

Here are the basic elements of the Paleolithic Diet:

Stone Age Man Avoided:

• Grains- including bread, pasta, noodles
• Beans- including string beans, kidney beans, lentils, peanuts, snow-peas and peas
• Potatoes
• Dairy products
• Sugar
• Salt
  

Stone Age Man Enjoyed:

• Grass-fed meat
• Free roaming chicken + eggs
• Wild fish
• Fruit
• Vegetables (especially root vegetables, but not including potatoes or sweet potatoes)
• Nuts, eg. walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia, almond. But not peanuts (a bean) or cashews (a family of their own)
• Berries- strawberries, blueberries, raspberries etc.
  

References