Refined Sugars
There is a long list of ingredients which are essentially "sugar". Some allow small amounts of honey or pure maple syrup - but this would have been a rare treat.
Grains
Yes, there were wild grains, and a few roasted kernels have been found in ancient fires. But really - how much wild grain could have been collected at a time? Answer: not much. Corn is a grain.
Starchy Tubers
No starchy tubers, including
Potatoes
Sweet potatoes
Yams
Cassava
Manioc
Some say beets
Legumes (Beans, Peas, Peanuts)
These are usually outlawed on the premise that most of them can't be eaten without cooking. Much is made of the lectins in legumes, which some people may be sensitive to (research into lectins is in its infancy and not a lot is known about this with any certainty).
Dairy ProductsEarly people did not eat dairy products before animals were domesticated. It has been pointed out that there has been adaptation to dairy products in some genetic lines, but no author of this type of diet endorses eating dairy including milk, butter, cream, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, etc.
Some Meats
Most processed meats (made with nitrites and additives) are not allowed, including hot dogs, bacon, sausage, and lunch meats, although sometime more healthy forms of these can be found. Cordain does not allow fatty cuts of meat, including poultry skin and dark meat.
Oils
Definitely avoid the following:
Corn oil
Cottonseed oil
Peanut oil
Soybean oil
Rice bran oil
Wheat germ oil
This includes products, such as mayonnaise, which include these oils.
Cordain has a long list of preferred oils in his book based on their ratio of Omega-6 to Omega-3 fatty acids. He also is down on tropical plant oils (coconut and palm) which have high levels of saturated fats. Other writers definitely include these tropical fats as fine to eat.
Most authors of this type of diet advocate not adding salt to food or buying heavily salted food.
Vinegar - Lemon or lime juice is preferred over vinegar; no pickled products.
Yeast is not allowed
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Seriously? It's just another version of a low calorie diet. The claim that it works cause the food is digested slowly might be part of the reason..cause you feel full longer...which means you eat less...which means you eat less calories.
But again, if someone wants to try this, go ahead but it's not some miricle cure. It is the same message under a different label. Calories in vs Calories out.
It's really not going to be for most people, or something long term. As San said, if it worked for you, great.
