eli5 why we have such complex dietary requirements. Did our ancestors thousands of years ago have extremely well balanced diets?
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I’m not a nutritionist, but I think people vastly overestimate what we need to survive, or even to be reasonably healthy.
In his book Two Years before the Mast, Richard Henry Dana recorded that he and the other sailors on his whaling ship ate nothing but salted beef and hard tack (flour and salt), and they were in better shape than those on land with more varied and traditional diets. He noted that after 6 months or so scurvy would set in, but according to him even a few bites of an onion or potato would be enough to reverse the symptoms. It should be noted that these men led very physically demanding lives.
The food pemmican is supposed to maintain people indefinitely, and some inuit and western (European) explorers are reported to have done so. This was a mix of lean game meat, suet or a saturated fat, and dried berries such as blueberry.
There’s also an example of an overweight Scotsman (I forget the name) who went a few months on only water, salt, and vitamin tables in order to lose weight.
I’ve heard that butter and potatoes will sustain a person indefinitely, but don’t know if it’s been tried.
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