High carbohydrate intake - this is probably the largest single cause of modern diseases such as hypertension, obesity, syndrome X, heart disease and cancer .

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Stone Age Diet - this is a diet which we all
should follow-by Mahboob Ali Khan
Our gut evolved in harmony with the environment
Human beings evolved over millions of years eating particular foods. Neanderthal man was a
carnivore and only ever ate meat, fish and shell fish. Fat would have been a treasured food. The
carbohydrate content would have been, for much of the year, zero. More recently Paleolithic man
expanded the diet to include root vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds which he could scavenge from
the wild, but even these would only be available occasionally in season. It is only in the last few
thousand years since the Persians, Egyptians and Romans that we began farming, and grains and
dairy products were introduced into the human diet. A few thousand years from an evolutionary
point of view is almost negligible. Many people have simply failed to adapt to cope with
carbohydrates and dairy products and it is very likely that these foods cause a range of health
problems in susceptible people.
Modern studies on ancient tribes who continue to eat a Stone Age (Paleolithic) diet show that
these people do not suffer from diabetes, obesity, heart disease or cancer. If they can survive the
ravages of the cold, infectious diseases, childbirth and war wounds, then these people live
healthily to a great age.
I am coming to the view that whatever our medical problem may be, or even if we simply want
to stay well, we should all move towards eating a Stone Age diet based on protein (meat, fish,
eggs), fat and vegetable fiber. Recent Western diets get 70% of their calories from wheat, dairy
products, sugar and potato and it is no surprise that these are the major causes of modern ill
health such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, obesity and degenerative disorders.
Traditional Chinese diets have no dairy products, no gluten grains, no alcohol and no fruit.
The principles and the practice of the Stone Age diet
There are six aspects of modern Western diet and gut function which commonly cause symptoms
from irritable bowel syndrome to fatigue. These are:
 High carbohydrate intake - this is probably the largest single cause of modern diseases
such as hypertension, obesity, syndrome X, heart disease and cancer
 Low fat intake
 Allergies to foods
 Toxins in the diet (toxic fats, artificial additives, colorings, flavorings; artificial
sweeteners; pesticide residues, plasticizer residues, etc) social chemicals (alcohol,
caffeine, tobacco etc)
 Poor digestion of food due to low stomach acid - see Hypochlorhydria and poor
pancreatic enzyme production - see Pancreatic exocrine function which may result in.....

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 Fermentation of food instead of digestion - see Fermentation in the gut and CFSThe
Stone Age diet tries to address the top four problems at the same time, since they often
co-exist in the same patient. This is the diet I like all my patients (including me) to eat
long term. This is because it is the evolutionarily correct diet and by eating this we can
avoid long term health problems and postpone degenerative conditions. I would settle for
getting my Parkinson's disease when I am 120!
As a general principle it is important to remember that:
 Carbohydrates (CHO) cause fatigue even in "normal" people. Carbohydrates lend
themselves to a fermenting gut, which causes all sorts of other problems!
 Food allergy is a common cause of many symptoms such as irritable bowel, asthma,
mood swings, headache, arthritis, allergic muscles and, of course, fatigue. The
commonest offenders are grains, dairy, yeast and toxins in the diet. One may also become
allergic to fermenting microbes in the upper gut - indeed, I see this as a common cause of
muscle and joint pain, i.e. arthritis.
 Chemicals in the diet inhibit enzyme systems and slow down metabolism - this applies to
drugs as well as food additives and pesticide residues, hormone residues, antibiotic
residues etc.. Inshore sea fish can be expected to have a mercury load. Avoid additives,
colorings, flavorings etc, avoid plastic wrappings (especially if heated!) on food and try
to switch to organic foods wherever possible.
 Gut dysbiosis and poor digestion of foods results in malabsorption of macronutrients
and essential micronutrients.
This diet, therefore, is based on protein, fat and vegetable fiber. It avoids the common allergens
and is as free from chemicals as possible. Actually, in the long term I see this as a diet for life.
My view is that we should be mimicking Stone Age principles. The following is the
evolutionarily correct diet. Once the diet is established, one can allow occasional indiscretions
and the nature of these will depend on individual responses! For example, I can get away with
occasional fruit, but not on a regular basis or my gut simply starts to ferment.
There is no one size fits all stone age diet, but general principles that need to be honed to
individual needs. The basic diet is as below, but changes may need to be made if there are
allergies to foods and/or problems with the fermenting gut. The general principles are as follows:
For otherwise healthy people with no symptoms and no disease: No added sugar or refined
carbohydrates. Use addictions such as alcohol and caffeine judiciously. Breakfast like an
emperor, lunch like a king, supper like a pauper. Only eat at mealtimes with knife and fork. Eat
slowly and chew. No fruit juices on a regular basis because these are rich in addictive sugars
especially fructose. Berries are fine. High sugar fruits should be avoided. Avoid chemical
additives. As organic as possible. One day a week of fasting or major calorie restriction eg
500kcals at breakfast and none for the rest of the day. Eat foods in season, locally grown for
freshness.

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For pregnancy and breast feeding: All the above but be particularly strict to avoid addictions and
chemicals. No fasting.
With age: All the above Cut out dairy products, except butter. It is the milk protein which
contains growth promoters and may be carcinogenic.
With almost any symptom: All the above. Allergy is the great mimic and can produce any
symptom. Cut out major allergens – dairy, gluten grains, yeast and other suspect foods.
Fermenting gut: All the above. Cut out carbohydrates since these are readily fermented. Some
people have upper gut fermentation by anaerobes and they may, in the short term, also need to
cut out vegetable fibre.
Any major pathology eg heart disease, cancer, organ failures, CFS/ME, psychiatric disease,
inflammatory bowel disease, arthritis, auto-immunity, autism and other conditions that impact
greatly on well-being: All the above. Allergy, fermenting gut, carbohydrate intolerance,
Allowed foods
 Any meats: choose from chicken, beef, lamb, pork, turkey, duck, 'game' meats such as
venison, pheasant, goose etc. Bacon and ham. Salami. Liver, kidney and offal are fine
too. Fatty meat is ideal and tastes wonderful!
 Eggs - an excellent source of lecithin (eat soft yolks).
 Any fish: salmon, mackerel, cod, haddock (care with smoked fish which often contains
dyes). Tinned fish in brine or olive oil is fine. Tinned shrimps, prawns, mussels, cockles
etc.
 Any green vegetables
 All salads: avocado, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, celery, peppers, onion, cress, bamboo
shoots, mushrooms etc.
 French dressing: make your own from olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, mustard.
 Use cold pressed nut and seed oils liberally such as sunflower, olive, sesame,
grapeseed, hemp, linseed, rape and so on.
 Lard and dripping for cooking and frying.
 Spices and herbs: chilli, cumin, ginger, coriander, pepper, cloves, vanilla pods (so long
as sugar free), etc
 Herbs, salt (ideally Solo - a sodium reduced sea salt), olives, pork scratchings
We need two types of fats - long chain fatty acids to build membranes (vegetable and fish oils)
and medium chain fatty acids as a fuel to burn (animal fat i.e. lard, coconut oil, cocoa butter fat).
Eat both types of fat, medium chain fatty acids in abundance to fuel your body and brain - the
brain is particularly in need of animal fats. Vegetable fibre is fermented by friendly bacteroides
in the lower gut to short chain fatty acids - another good fuel source.
Fermented foods are excellent because the carbohydrate content has been fermented out and gut
friendly microbes grow. Sauerkraut is an example of a fermented vegetable. Kefir can be used to

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ferment soya milk, coconut milk or rice milk and is very easy to work with - one sachet lasts a
life time since cultures can be grown from previous.
The following foods are very low in carbohydrates. Initially avoid them, but whether to include
them subsequently depends on whether or not there is a fermenting gut problem and how bad it
is.
 Dark chocolate at least 70% cocoa solids.
 Berries
 Seeds: sunflower, poppy, sesame.
 Nuts: peanut, Brazil, hazel, cashew, pistachio, walnut etc.; nut butter spreads, tahini
(sesame seed spread).
 Pulses: when cooked these are rich in starches and vegetable fibre the latter is excellent
but some people will ferment the starch in pulses
 Oats and oatcakes - again some people with fermenting guts will not tolerate oat cakes.
Allowed drinks
 Bottled or filtered water
 Herbal teas: redbush ("rooibosch", "11 0'clock tea"), rosehip, ginger, fennel peppermint,
dandelion drinks 100% chicory root coffee.
 Tea and coffee in moderation are fine so long as caffeine is tolerated
AVOID fruit! Fruit is high in sugar in the form of fructose, which is readily fermented. In some
people this interferes with the mechanism by which the liver corrects low blood sugar thereby
making this problem very much worse. See Hypoglycaemia - the full story and fructose
intolerance.
Most foods from packets and tins will have hidden additives, so avoid these. Be careful with
sausage which contains rusk.
ALL OTHER FOODS ARE FORBIDDEN!!! - this means unfiltered tap water, alcohol, all
grains including wheat (bread, biscuit, cake, pasta, pastry), rye (Ryvita), other grains (corn, rice,
millet), dairy products (milk, butter, cheese, yoghurt, dried milk), vinegar and sugar. Avoid high
carbohydrate vegetables such as potato, sweet potato, parsnip, swede. Try to avoid drugs and
medicines, many of which contain fillers of corn, lactose, colourings etc. Toothpaste must be
avoided.
Think of carbohydrates as an addiction - in this respect a "no carb" diet is easier than a "low
carb" diet. Low carb simply keeps the craving.
Getting Worse on the Diet
This is almost to be expected. The reasons for worsening are as follows:

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 Hypoglycaemia - this is the commonest reason for worsening and may take weeks to
settle. There are some nutritional interventions which help greatly (see Hypoglycaemia)
 Caffeine withdrawal - again common. Usually results in headache which clears in four
days.
 Food allergy withdrawal may cause many different symptoms. Some people report
feeling 'flu like. Typically this last four days, but symptoms like eczema, arthritis, allergic
muscles and fatigue can take weeks to clear. One patient with prostatism took 4 months
to clear his symptoms!
Meal suggestions
Breakfast
 Bacon, eggs, fried tomato.
 Smoked fish (kippers, mackeral with lemon juice).
 Nuts and seeds with soya yoghurt (see Probiotics)
Lunch
 Cold meat, fish (tinned fish in olive oil is fine), prawns, salami, smoked fish, rusk free sausage (ie
100% meat), avocado
 Salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, celery, peppers etc), French dressing.
 Green vegetables with nut/seed oils
 Home-made soup (made from meat stock, not cubes, only with allowed vegetables).
 Nuts and seeds with soya yoghurt
 Oatcakes
Supper
 Meat, fish or eggs, green vegetables.
 Berries, soya yoghurt.
 Nuts, seeds
Initially be careful with root vegetables such as potato and parsnip, which are relatively high in
carbohydrate. Whether to include them in the diet later depends on if there is a fermenting gut
problem. Most people can introduce some; others not at all!
Always remember: Breakfast like an Emperor, lunch like a King and supper like a pauper!
You will find some excellent, clever recipes for the more difficult aspects of the menu here
Recipes for Stone Age diet

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A whole lot of great recipes!
One of my patients has produced a fantastic collection of recipes for the Stone Age diet and for
anyone with a fermenting gut. Enjoy!
 Recipes for the Stone Age diet and fermenting gut diet
What to do if you are no better on the diet
Stick with it! This is the evolutionarily correct diet and greatly reduces your risk of heart disease,
cancer and degenerative conditions! The three common reasons for not improving are:
 Because of multiple allergies to foods (so that there is something on the diet that you continue
to react to). In this case consider a rotation diet, or starting on desensitisation. See Enzyme
Potentiated Desensitisation (EPD)
 Because of a gut dysbiosis - i.e. the wrong bugs in the gut. Consider a gut fermentation test or
Comprehensive Digestive Stool analysis to look for parasites, bacterial overgrowth or yeast
overgrowth. See Fermentation in the gut and CFS
 Poor digestion of foods - see Hypochlorhydria, Pancreatic exocrine function
More reasons why not to eat wheat and dairy
Problems with eating wheat
 Refined wheat (i.e. white flour used to make white bread, biscuits, cake, pasta, etc) is quickly
digested and has a high glycaemic index. This means that blood sugar levels will run high after
eating wheat, which in the long term causes obesity, diabetes, syndrome X and heart disease.
Running a high blood sugar stimulates release of insulin which is a growth promoter and is
undesirable if you wish to avoid cancer.
 Wheat contains gluten. This small tough molecule, especially in a person with inefficient
digestion, gets into the bloodstream, where it acts as an endogenous opiate. This means that it
has morphine like qualities and so in susceptible individuals will be addictive. This may cause
problems such as:
 Gluten endogenous opiate like activity may be a cause of symptoms in autism
 Wheat may be addictive for some people and cause psychiatric problems
 Endogenous opiates switch off natural killer cell activity, which may reduce resistance to viral
infections and cancer.
 Wheat bran for some people is directly irritating to the gut and can be a cause of diarrhoea.
 Wheat contains toxic substances called lectins, which in susceptible individuals can cause
haemolysis of the blood and other such damage. Indeed coeliac disease may be due to lectin
damage.
 Wheat allergy is extremely common. It is estimated that 40% of the population are allergic and
wheat allergy may cause headaches, migraine, irritable bowel syndrome, anxiety, depression
and fatigue. Wheat allergy in the gut can also present as coeliac disease. Undiagnosed coeliac
disease is a major risk factor for stomach lymphoma (a cancer)

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 Wheat has high levels of phytic acid. This chelates minerals, thereby preventing their absorption
and puts one at risk of mineral deficiency syndromes such as anaemia and osteoporosis.
 Wheat protein, gluten, is a tough molecule and readily passes from the gut into the bloodstream
without having been properly digested. In some individuals this will elicit an antibody response
and if it just so happens that those antibodies fit one's own antigens, then this is the basis of
autoimmunity. Indeed, eating wheat has been associated with autoimmune disorders such as
underactive thyroid, pernicious anaemia, Addison's disease and so on.
And here is a scientific paper discussing the relationship between eating wheat and other grains and
inflammation The Dietary Intake of Wheat and other Cereal Grains and Their Role in Inflammation.
Problems with eating dairy products
Dairy products are foods meant for growing calves. Nature did not mean them to be consumed
by humans, or even worse adult humans. Whilst dairy products are promoted for their nutritional
content, such as B vitamins and calcium, actually there are great problems associated with eating
dairy products:
 Fresh milk contains lactose, which requires an enzyme lactase for its digestion. Only 10% of the
world's population carry this enzyme and so the vast majority of people will be unable to digest
lactose. Lactose intolerance can present with irritable bowel syndrome, wind, gas, pain and
diarrhoea. Following gasteroenteritis, even those people who can digest lactose will develop a
temporary lactose intolerance. With any gut upset, all sufferers should avoid eating dairy
products for at least one week.
 Milk proteins are very allergenic and allergy to milk is common. The common symptoms are
catarrhal problems, headache, irritable bowel syndrome, depression, anxiety and chronic
fatigue, but allergy is the great mimic and sensitivity to dairy products can cause almost any
symptom. Milk passes readily from the gut into breast milk, where it may cause colic and
projectile vomiting in the baby.
 Dairy allergy is the commonest allergy in children, often presenting with hyperactivity, catarrhal
conditions, asthma, recurrent tonsillitis and sore throats, sinusitis, migraine and later on,
premenstrual tension.
 . 30% of the population make antibodies to whey protein which cross react with platelets to
make them more sticky. Eating dairy products, therefore, causes sticky blood, which is a major
risk factor for arterial disease.
 The ratio of calcium to magnesium in dairy products is 10:1, whereas our physiological
requirements are for 2 parts calcium to 1 part magnesium. Since calcium and magnesium
compete for absorption, taking dairy products induces a relative magnesium deficiency.
Magnesium deficiency is common in heart disease, arthritis, chronic fatigue and osteoporosis.
 Milk is generally believed to be a good source of vitamin D. This is untrue. The worst cases of
Rickett's occur in Asian inner city children, who avoid sunshine but have a high consumption of
dairy products. Dairy products are a poor source of vitamin D. We should all be taking 2,000 i.u.
vitamin D daily - see Nutritional Supplements.
 Dairy products are meant for young growing calves. From an evolutionary point of view calves
had to grow very quickly in order to avoid being eaten by a sabre toothed tiger and therefore

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dairy products contain growth promoters. This is undesirable in anybody who wishes to avoid,
or indeed has cancer. In China, where there are no dairy products consumed because everybody
is allergic to them, there is a very low incidence of breast cancer and prostate cancer. Anyone
who is in doubt about this, I recommend that they purchase "Your Life in Your Hands" by
Professor Jane Plant, who cured herself from breast cancer simply by avoiding dairy products.
Some more principles of a healthy diet for all
 Correct minerals in soil. In addition to choosing the right foods to eat, one can further improve
their nourishing value. The first is that ideally these foods should be grown from a soil in which
the mineral content has been corrected. Modern farming simply applies three elements, namely
NPK (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium), resulting in soils which are grossly out of balance.
There is a net loss of minerals such as selenium, zinc, magnesium, cobalt, copper, manganese (to
name but a few) from the soil into plants, animals and humans, and out of this natural cycle.
 Free from toxins. Foods must also be as free from toxins as possible, such as pesticide residues,
hormone residues, antibiotic residues etc. To achieve this, buy organic as much as possible. One
of the criticisms I have against organic farming, however, is they do not routinely treat the soil
and correct mineral levels.
Inshore seafish can be expected to have a mercury load.
 Fresh foods, unprocessed. Food which tastes good is likely to be good food. Taste is a sense
which is trace element sensitive - i.e. foods which are deficient in trace elements don't taste so
good. Furthermore zinc is necessary for taste buds to work and so food for the zinc deficient is
tasteless. These people tend to go for salty, sweet or spicy foods to compensate and end up
eating junk, thereby worsening the zinc deficiency. Most people can tell you the difference
between home grown fresh vegetables and 3 day old shop vegetables. The true free range
chicken is a rare beast but quite different in taste from the factory bird. This "food vitality" may
be difficult to quantify but it makes it no less real!
 Locally grown foods in season. As soon as food is stored, it starts to rot and loses quality. Eat
fresh, whilst in season. Varying the diet with the seasons protects against developing allergies
and a varied diet makes it less likely to become deficient in any one micronutrient.
 Healthy fats. As a Nation we have been brainwashed into believing that fat is bad for you. This
suits the food manufacturers well because fats are expensive and it is difficult to profit from
them except cooking oil and margarine, which they have erroneously convinced us have health
benefits.
Carbohydrates, however, can be bought cheap and sold expensive -potatoes can be bought for
£100 per ton and sold for £10,000 per ton as crisps. Fat is good for you - it is a case of eating the
right sort of fats.
For example, margarine is bad for you. It is artificially prepared by heating oils to high
temperatures. This causes formation of trans fatty acids, which are poorly metabolised in the
body. Use best quality "cold pressed, virgin" olive oil for cooking and salads. Other oils have
often been heated and therefore denatured. The mono-unsaturated fats are thought to be best in
protecting against heart disease.

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Our Western diet is relatively deficient in omega 3 and 6 fatty acids - eat oily fish twice weekly
and use a variety of cold pressed organic nut, seed and vegetable oils.
 Meat. The worst nourished patients I see are often vegetarians! I believe that being a veggie is a
major risk factor for CFS. It is hard work to prepare and eat the right foods for optimum balance
of protein, fat, vegetables and essential micronutrients. Proteins are essential in a diet,
especially for someone who is ill or stressed. The problem with meat appears to be how we cook
it (primitive man would have eaten his meat raw!). Burned fats are oxidised fats, which are full
of free radicals which are damaging to arteries and possibly carcinogenic. If you do have highly
cooked meats (eg roasts and barbeques), make sure you have something with it to "neutralise"
the free radicals, for example, lots of vegetables. Meat which is boiled (stews, soups) does not
contain oxidised fats.
 Water. Drink good quality water. Spring water (direct or bottled) is undoubtedly the best. Some
people with severe allergies can only tolerate water in glass bottles. Second best is filtered
water (water filters should be changed regularly), with tap water a poor third. Many drinks (tea,
coffee, cocao alcohol, pop) contain substances which are diuretic and make you pee out
minerals. Tea is the main cause of iron deficiency anaemia in the country. Tea is high in tannin
which binds minerals into insoluble tannates which cannot be absorbed. It is better to drink
these beverages between meals and not with food. Instead, fruit juice (not fruit "drink") will
enhance absorption of trace elements because of its vitamin C content, so drink this at
mealtimes, but it must be diluted otherwise this will present a high sugar load.
 Variety. Have as varied a diet as possible - everything in moderation is the key. Eat at least 8 oz
of green vegetables daily.
Four white devils
1. Sugar has no nutritional value but is highly addictive. Avoid it. (Read more under
"Hypoglycaemia"). Avoid refined flours - for example, white flour has been stripped of the outer
layer which contains most of the nutrients and fibre.
2. Excessive salt in prepared foods is too high - too great a proportion of one kinds of mineral (i.e.
sodium) can cause deficiencies in others. However on a true stoneage diet you will have to add
salt, ideally sea salt.
3. Avoid dairy products. Our physiological requirements of calcium:magnesium is in the ratio 2:1.
Dairy products contain them in the ratio of 10:1 and since these two elements compete for
absorption, excessive consumption of dairy will result in a relative magnesium deficiency. They
are also highly allergenic and contain growth promoters. They are a likely cause of type I
childhood diabetes. (Read more under Cow's milk allergy - a common cause of problems in
children and adults.)
4. Avoid Preserved foods. As soon as something "dies", the decay process begins and it and loses
it's goodness. So avoid such "dead" foods as those in tins and packets. Buy fresh, "alive" foods.
However, high quality frozen produce is probably a close second. Help maintain what's there by
cooking foods lightly. Vegetables which are boiled to death lose most of their trace elements in
the water. Or if you like your vegetables done this way then you should drink the cooking water
(or use it in the gravy). Eat foods as unprepared as possible - raw foods are excellent.

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Choose food which has "had a life". Eat meat which has "had a life". The fatty acid content of
factory farmed fish, pork and poultry reflects that of the food it eats - i.e. poor quality. Eat free
range - lamb and beef probably offer the best value in this country. There is a myth that chicken
is a healthy meat - if one could see the conditions under which chickens are kept and the quality
of food they eat one would understand why chicken is a low quality food.
Make breakfast a substantial meal. Breakfast like an emperor, lunch like a king, supper like a
pauper! This is especially important for people suffering from fatigue.
In Brief
 Breakfast: protein/fat (eggs, meat, nuts, seeds, fish)
 Lunch: meat, fish, vegetables.
 Supper: ditto
 Snacks: nuts, seeds and berries.
 Eat meals at regular times.
 Take time over eating.
 Chew food properly.
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