Mammals are highly adaptable creatures, which is one of the secrets to their long success and how they managed to survive the events that wiped out the dinosaurs. One look at a mammal's teeth shows just how adaptable we are. 

As humans, we have the ability to cut, tear, and grind our food. An ability that reptiles do not have the luxury of. Could you imagine only eating with your front teeth and avoiding the back ones? We would be greatly limited in our food choices!

Diet Adaptability

Special diets are a dime a dozen, and they all claim to be the perfect diet for humans. Paleo, keto, raw food, and vegetarian are just a few of the more popular ones. The main theme of all these diets is that they claim to be the way humans are made to eat. 

Although this statement is true to some degree, the truth is that we are able to survive and even thrive on all of these diets. This is our mammalian power of adaptability. 

Take for example the Paleo diet which is modeled after what people think our ancestors ate during the paleolithic era. It primarily consists of nuts, seeds, vegetables, fruit and meat, or what humans would come across as hunter/gatherers. 

The key is that this diet tries to mimic a hunter/gatherer lifestyle from a specific timeframe. It limits your food choices to that which would only be found in the wild and assumes that grains and other farmed foods are bad for the body. 

However, if this were the only diet that humans could eat how would we have survived so many generations of farming and agriculture that came after the paleolithic era. 

The same can be said of all diets available to us currently. All of these diets have their unique qualities and almost all of them are healthy for our body.

It’s important to note that this does not refer to severely restricted diets such as the cabbage soup diet, that severely restrict your food choices.

What’s that mean for me?

Our ability to adapt to different diets allows us freedom to choose what fits us and our lifestyle best. Just look at all the different cultures in the world and what they eat. Although there are healthier diets such as the Mediterranean diet, there really is no one correct diet for humans.

What this adaptability comes down to for us in the modern world is choosing a diet that we can stick with for a prolonged amount of time. 

An unsustainable diet leads to weight cycling and confusion as you search for the next perfect diet. Many people jump from one fad diet to the next, hoping to find the perfect diet intended for humans.

The key is to choose a diet based on what is easily available for you in your area and one that you can envision yourself following for years to come. Sticking with one diet and making sure to check off all the boxes of a healthy lifestyle will bring long-term results. 

For some people following a low-carb diet works well for them and is sustainable while for others it may lead to increased stress and eventual failure. 

How do you know what diet is right for me?

This is the difficult part of choosing a diet/lifestyle that is sustainable and effective for you. Many people take the trial-and-error approach. Although this does work, it takes much longer and can lead to many years of disappointment.

Working with a dietitian can help take the guesswork out of finding which diet is best for you. Your lifestyle, preferred food choices, geographic location, culture, budget, etc. are all important factors that play into your decision. 

If you are ready to stop guessing and start following a diet/lifestyle that best fits you, schedule your free consultation to get started today!

Written by: Adam Skowyra MPPD, RDN, LD