[bitL]

Tell that to someone forced to paleo diet due to health/performance reasons. We obviously don't have as complicated ingestion system as cows nor as simple as cats so we aren't "designed" to eat vegetables/meat only but most likely both.

[collyw]

I find it hard top believe that we need both. People have populated (almost) every part of the world for centuries, and have vastly different diets wherever you go. Indians are vegetarian in general, while I imagine that Inuits traditionally ate pretty much anything but plants.

[bitL]

We should probably look at dominant human type and dominant diseases in populations skewed to a particular diet to see what the effects are. I would be interested in looking at strength/muscle/fat ratios, how does their tooth decay, % of population affected by frequent vegetable/fruit toxins and % of population affected by gout and similar illnesses caused by excessive meat consumption.

[GFK_of_xmaspast]

What kind of "performance" reasons are we talking about, because I'm having trouble thinking of "force"ful ones.

[bitL]

Athletic and mental performance. Paleo alongside intermittent fasting is super popular amongst endurance athletes reporting significant energy increase comparing to popular liquid vegan diet; a low-carb, high fiber, medium fat/protein diet also has significant positive effects on some mental disorders (like the currently "popular" BPD or ADHD). And you often see vegans with significant health problems later in life as well (cancer), though this might be side effects of past extremes such as eating junk fats like margarine and plenty of sugar because of mistaken belief those were healthier alternatives, making them as ill as frequent red meat consumers. Will see how this would fare for Soylent users in a few decades.

We probably shouldn't be on either side of extreme - vegan vs meat-only but rather figure out what works for our DNA/RNA-based protein factory best (maybe using personalized ML?) and exercise self-restraint.

[GFK_of_xmaspast]

No-one's "forced" to be an endurance athlete tho.

[bitL]

Not if you are a female; males are thrown into a hypercompetitive world to fight for resources/females and anything that gives you an edge helps.

[watchtheworld]

I never said anything about not eating meat at all. If everyone had a paleo diet we would still be eating A LOT less meat.