"No toys for you!" - The McDonald's Happy Meal toy ban.

Most people who know me, know that I'm a big proponent of feeding our children healthy food. So, it may come as a surprise when I say I'm against San Francisco's recently passed ban on toys included with children's meals that have been deemed "unhealthy."

Sure, I can see the parallels between the fight to remove characters like Joe Camel and Spuds McKenzie that were used to market harmful substances to kids and the attempt to remove kids' toys that are given away with junk food. It sounds good on paper - get rid of the toys, kids won't care about going to McD's anymore, and obesity will steadily decline. Wouldn't that be nice? Keep dreaming people.

The problem with a law like this one is that it assumes a lot. First it assumes the writers of the law know what is healthy and what is unhealthy. Second, it assumes that kids are the one's making the decisions and that we must save them from their easily manipulated choices. Finally, it assumes that the toys are the nudge needed to tip the scales in favor of poor food choices when the reality is much, much worse.

The Great Paleolithic Bread Controversy - Is this the beginning of the end?

Some of you may have seen the "big news" a couple weeks ago when a study was released that seemed to peg the first bread at around 30,000 years old. Like almost all Yahoo! news items related to nutrition, I wanted to comment on it immediately after reading it but I have been too busy to get this blog up and running so it has had to wait until now. I've been trying to avoid the commentary on other paleo/primal blogs so my thoughts wouldn't be influenced by others. On the other hand, I'm fairly certain the paleo community will echo my thoughts and then some. They have probably thoroughly picked this study apart and moved on by now.

To be honest, I was a bit surprised to see this news report get a feature on Yahoo!. Maybe it's a statement to the rising popularity of the paleo movement, but I just didn't think your average American would care that bread existed around 30,000 years ago. Most people would probably think bread has always existed. So what's the big deal?

Why "Voices from the Cave?"

Two Reasons:

First of all, there is a lot we can gain by examining the lifestyles of our hunter/gatherer (HG) ancestors. There is a reason disease was practically unheard of in HG tribes and I don't think it has anything to do with the conveniences of modern living. If we listen to the "Voices" of our ancestors, we may be able to find optimal health and fitness in the toxic environment we call the modern world.

Second, I needed a place to unload. "The Cave" is my place to go and get stuff off my chest without driving my friends and family crazy. The other alternative, keeping all these random thoughts in my head, wasn't working so well, so I've decided to let them loose on the public. Sorry about that.

Living the paleo/primal lifestyle in the modern world is definitely challenging but also very rewarding. I hope that by sharing my thoughts and experiences, it will help others on their journey.