I try to put original material on this blog but I thought this interview with Keith Thomas over at Conditioning Research was too important to pass up. Why? Well…there was a time when there were not dozens (hundreds? thousands?) of paleo/primal oriented blogs and websites. When I came onto the paleo concept, around 1998-1999, there was Art Devany’s old UC Irvine site, paleodiet.com and a few odds and ends. The Eades Protein Power: Lifeplan was a few years in the future as was Lights Out: Sleep, Sugar and Survival. Much of Loren Cordain’s best work was yet to be written…it’s trite to say, but it was a different time.
Prof. Devany’s original UCI site and his essay were AMAZING. His message of brevity, intensity and variability in training coupled with a nutrient dense paleo diet was (and is) truly remarkable. Art had quite a book that was “just around the corner” and a pretty solid following…but then he was flamed one time too many times and he pretty much told everyone to go pound sand. Folks were hungry for more Evolutionary Fitness but there was none to be had. Enter Keith Thomas. Keith started his site, Evfit.com to “keep the flame alive” until Prof. Devany finished his book, but it quickly went to places the original Evolutionary Fitness never explored. Ecology and many social issues that are central to being human but are often overlooked with the focus on fitness and nutrition. Keith has updated the site and his thinking over the past few years and it is a treasure trove of information and deep thinking.
I’ll pat myself on the back a little and point out that it was our Performance Menu interview with Prof. Devany that brought him back and lit a fire under him to start his very popular website. I hope to hell I manage to beat Art to publication of my book!
Robb – thanks for the link. Keith is a fascinating guy with some great ideas.
Chris-
thank you for the great interview and the outstanding site. You do some great work.
Ugh. You had to rub salt in an open wound and mention Art’s book. Less than a year ago it was supposed to come out Feb 2010. Now the release is in spring/summer 2011.
This time though I think the date is fairly firm. There is a title(New Evolution Diet) and a cover. You can even check it out on Amazon’s UK site.
Buuut……. it seems like Art has already complained that the book is going to mass-market for his liking. Just like Cordain’s experience. Even though that was precisely what Art tried to avoid.
Robb, just wanted to send a testimony your way. Have been eating unweighed/unmeasured staying away from grains and sugar. (Can’t say it was Paleo since I had my share of raw milk and cheese) Fish oil ~ 5g/day. Recently got blood lipid profile done and came out with:
Total: 183
HDL: 61
LDL: 116
Triglycerides: 31
Don’t know what VLDL is since it was a phone message; hopefully will be on the paper copy. I find a lot of people I introduce this way of eating to get caught up in the meat=cholesterol deal, so I did a blog post about it (chrispconstantlyvaried dot blogspot dot com) Look forward to hearing you in Hoboken!
Chris-
LEGIT!! See you soon.
Robberto will wager you a poond of biltong that yours will come oot afore Art De Vanys. He’s self replicating..he’s a scale invariant Professor !
He first offered a kind of booklet..cheques were sent and then returned by him…thats was late 99 as i recall..maybe early 2000 but no later (i left America in the Spring thats how i know)
Then there was the book in 2005 the first chapter ( LC,you and i critiqued it ) that never went anywhere.
You don’t play ‘the big iam’ which Art does perpetually which is sad really and also a tadge amusing.
All good things sunbeam
Fellows! I forgot about editing that piece for Art…funny how the world turns!
the only thing i wish prof devany would do is talk more with other paleo bloggers who are going into all sorts of interesting directions. there are all those people going to the ancestral eating conference next year and prof devany isn’t going. i want people to challenge each other. i wouln’t know a valid scientific study if it hit me in the head, so i just wish he would talk with others more, but he just pretty much sticks to his site. sometimes i post stuff i get from other blogs to get his take on things, and he answers, but it would be better to have drawn out debate. he doesn’t seem interested and a lot of the other bloggers like panu and hyperlipid and animalpharm really aren’t that familiar with him either. it’s my loss.
Simon – how are you doing? Haven’t seen your name about for a while!
ref yr sun doesnt effect me..Lordy i hear that all the time ALL the time up here.
Now as i have 3 lightboxes(2 homemade with Solux bulbs) and get more Vit D(5-10000iu most days from Oct to May) than an Inuit in retirement in Kenya i enjoy the Winters but i ALWAYS notice how glum folks are..same in the UK and Fwance well Paree anyways.
Anyways Roberto please please and finish the book soon. We are clenching our pert and toned bew-tocks in hopefuly anticipation.
BTW started working days after 2 yrs on nights and what a suprise..weight is slowly but surely seeming to drop off me for no other reason than..am not working nights.
All good things to yee and Mrs and come and visit us in Vancouver
X Gayly, Simon
Chris are you in the UK ? Alright,,was in UK for Nov and Dec..drop us an email.Are you in the SE ? If so Pity else we could have met up for a drink
V, the way I see it, Art has carved out his place, he set in motion a lot of discussion, and brought into the discussion people from many walks including medical professionals (who may not even realize it). If Art chooses to join in such discussions, cool… if not, then I think he’s happy to see others discover new perspectives and he can watch/learn as an observer, as well. There’s classy guys like Keith Thomas and Robb Wolf who’ve been around since the beginning, and have seen all of this develop, and give Art his proper due in the blooming of all of this. What others have learned from it, and reinterpret and move on with, I’m sure Art (including Robb and Keith, too) is happy to see it continue. Unlike Atkins, unlike Ornish (not fair to include those two in the same sentence I know!) this community can’t be just about one person, no matter how influential that person is. That’s my take on it, and I’m only guessing that’s why Art doesn’t engage in some of the personality driven discussions. I guess if Art is involved in anything outside of his writings and his online site, it’s just a bonus… in any case, his legacy will endure, and grow after that darn book gets published.
We got another 40-50 years with Art, 80-90 years with Robb, and another 60-70 years with Keith Thomas, I think we’ve got a lot of time to go with all of this, we may just enjoy the ride and the good health. Peace.
hi zach. are u the zach that encouraged me not to binge out when i was just starting ef last august? if so, i still remember the kindness. prof de vany is still expanding his knowledge base reading new studies, so he is always learning. i just wanted him to include people who have his focus in his continuing search for knowledge. the thing is, and i’m not trying to be insulting, i think he is the smartest of all of them. he has the most individual experience (not clinical experience). i just think the ‘field’ would progress further and deeper if they all talked to each other. but he’s going to do whatever makes him happy and i of course am grateful for all that he’s done.
We got another 40-50 years with Art….Lordy i hope not..he’s almost insufferable as he is..he might get worse with age..
80-90 years with Robb and another 60-70 years with Keith Thomas
Assume these number were said in jest ? You might really like the Horizon programme don’t grow old.
he’s so insufferable he’s just helped me to go back to my high school weight (i’m 45) and feel great (still some kinks to work out, though). i think his problem is he’s so into low stress he avoids conflict when he should be in there swinging, like re disagreements over the value of saturated fats and antioxidants.
Justin,
I wouldn’t want to put a shelf live on anyone, my main point is that we’re just scratching the surface in the paleo world, and we have a lot of time to commune going forward… with those that we find insufferable and those that we find tolerable. No need to rush anything. Cheers.
V..aye aye aye…..read more….ADV is but a long line going back to whom knows who and when.
He just passed along what he had found from others.
Umans are all the same assuredly.When something wonderful happens to us wehold up the person whom passed along the info as though they were gods bollocks..we are verily a stupid species..one would hope we’d know better
who said i hold him up as a god? i always question what he believes and show him opposing points of view on his site. so who’s the stupid/insufferable one now? ps he always gives credit. and what have you done for me lately besides include me in a group of stupidity to which you feel you belong?? hmmmmm? beam me up scotty.
Thank you, Robb, for your kind words. “v” we do talk with each other, both on blogs in public and privately by e-mail. And you can relax, Robb: whether you or Art publish first, I – for one – will be buying and reading carefully both books. I do hope you manage to expand in your book on your landmark post of 4 November 2008:
http://www.norcalsc.com/index.php/post/norcal_nutrition_are_we_crazy/
Richard Nikoley grasped its importance immediately:
http://freetheanimal.com/2008/11/evolutionary-nutrition.html
I return to both posts frequently and refer others to them as well.
Keith-
I do go into that a good bit. I actually shifted it’s placement though. I put it at the end as a cap stone instead of at the front as “proof”.