The human digestive system has EVOLVED over thousands of years utilizing and adapting to a vast array of foods. Our forbears’ bodies were capable of digesting a variety of whole foods found in their environments, like meats, fish, nuts, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, etc. While some changes have happened very slowly throughout our history, the recent changes to American diets has been fairly abrupt. What has happened to us? Why are we suddenly becoming so obese and ill? Although there have definitely been some changes to our digestive systems over the past 10,000 years, none of those changes can compare to the changes in the foods we eat. The last 100 years or so have seen Americans reinvent their diet in at least 100 different ways to accommodate our rapidly changing lives. From convenience to fad dieting, we have completely moved away from what our bodies had recognized as slow digesting nutrient dense whole foods. Our search for the “Magic Pill” has led us to fast digesting, overly processed foods because they seem to make sense and they offer quick results.

The industrial revolution was a period from the 18th - 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, technology, mining, transport, and daily nutrition rapidly occurred. Our digestive systems were not quite ready for the rapid pace. The foods that we had been eating had never been processed and packaged. The flours that we had used to make breads, crackers, etc had never been super-pulverized and stripped of essential nutrition. Sugars and fats had never widely been added to make our foods taste better. Our diets were comprised of simple foods, simply prepared. With more widely available ingredients, large populations had access to different ways to make their food taste good. In fact, we made these foods taste so good, we could not stop eating them!

After all of the fad diets and processed foods, there is a strong movement to get back to basics. Nutritionists, scientists, and doctors all over the world are proving that diets comprised of natural, whole foods can help you stay lean, fit, and are more likely to keep you disease free. Macronutrients (protein, carbohydrates, fats) are the primary components of everything we eat. Understanding these building blocks is the start to discovering a daily diet that makes sense for our bodies and our modern lifestyles. Each person should know when to eat them (especially relative to exercise) and why the timing is so important!

Boot Camp EVOLVED is dedicated to providing you with information on whole foods!

Below is a huge location of information. Simply click on a photo category to search for foods in that particular group. You will be able to find photos, definitions, nutritional information, health benefits, and more!