The hunter-gatherer tribes that today live as our prehistoric 【M1】__

human ancestors consume primarily a vegetable diet supplement- 【M2】__

ing with animal foods. An analysis of 58 societies of modern

hunter-gatherers, including the Kung of southern Africa, re-

vealed that one-half emphasize gathering plant foods, one-third

concentrate on fishing, and only one-sixth are primarily hunters.

Overall, two-thirds and more of the hunter-gatherer's calories 【M3】__

come from plants. Detailed studies of the Kung by the food sci-

entists at the University of London showed that gathering isa

more productive source of food than is hunting. An hour of hunt-

ing yields in average about 100 edible calories, 【M4】__

as an hour of gathering produces 240. Plant foods provide 【M5】__

for 60 percent to 80 percent of the Kung diet, and no one goes 【M6】__

hungry when the hunt fails. Interestingly, if they escape fatal in-

fections or accidents, these contemporary aborigines live to old

ages despite of the absence of medical care. They experience no 【M7】__

obesity, no middle-aged spread, little dental decay , no high

blood pressure, no heart disease, and their blood cholesterol lev-

els are very low (about half of the average American adult). 【M8】__

If no one is suggesting that we return to an aboriginal life style, 【M9】__

we certainly could use their eating habits as a model for healthier 【M10】__

diet.

【M1】