5 Dietary Changes I Made After Living with Hadza
1) fresh sourcing
In the United States, most food available at grocery stores has been sitting on a shelf for at least a day, likely longer. That is additional to the time it spent in packaging facilities, being cleaned/sanitized/processed, and all the time it spends on trucks and in planes in between it all. In short, fresh food, even seemingly fresh fruits and vegetables at general grocery stores, is not really fresh. Watching the Hadza consume food as it was immediately sourced made sense to me on a deep level. They do not preserve fruits, meat, tubers, or other meat for lean times. There is no processing of food, and everything is either eaten or cooked & eaten essentially on the spot, and certainly within the day. For example, berries and cucumbers are eaten literally during hunts, as they are found en route. We would frequently go hunting/hiking for a couple hours, and would stop for cucumbers (in essence, flavored water bags) when tracks and sign were scarce. The same rule seemed to go for berries—if they were on the way, we always stopped to grab at least a few ripe ones before moving on.
Meat was eaten within hours of killing animals in spite of rigor mortis and lack of ability to compose meals. Salt was placed in a baobab fruit shell, the meat was roasted, and slices of the meat were taken off and dipped into the salt before consumption.
It strikes me that all the processing and transportation that occurs in the west contributes to an extreme abundance of quantity, while sacrificing quality. We have everything at our fingertips—chances are you can purchase exotic fruits and vegetables all year-round at your local grocer. However, the nutrient density and genuine nourishing properties of these foods is less than impressive when compared to wild or locally-grown foods eaten off the vine, Hadza style. Perhaps even more important is the psychological sense of connection and meaning that man derives from directly engaging with his environment and receiving nourishment from it. There are no studies or books I can cite here, but I ask the reader to consider the following scenarios: First, the more common and familiar to American readers. We generally go to the grocery store, buy a container of our favorite berries, and eat it in whatever way we most desire. Take a photographic memory of this experience. Now, consider walking in a nearby forest or mountain or riverway near you. You come across a wild berry patch and can see a few ripe, and even overly-ripe berries. As you pick them, you’re surprised to feel their warmth on your skin—hot berries? Some are so ripe that they burst on contact, staining your fingertips and whispering sweetly up your nostrils. You eat these berries a bit more mindfully, one-by-one, because that is how quickly you can pick them. You notice each tastes different from the last—some more sweet, some more sour, some more watery-tasting, while others burst with flavor. You can feel the warmth of the sun through each hot berry essentially melting on the edge of your tongue. When you are satisfied, you continue your walk/hike or return home.
“Man does not live by bread alone,” and the extreme poverty of meaning and connection to one’s food in America (and much more of the developed west) is tear-jerking. The paradox, of course, is that we are overflowing with abundance at first-glance. However, the deeper I have looked at the Hadza lifestyle and compared it to my own, I realized that we are opposing cultures in many ways, one culture featuring poverty where the other has abundance and viseversa. The Hadza have almost no material goods; I can have anything delivered within 2 days via Amazon. The Hadza value each individual human connection in their tribe & band; I often have no idea who cooked our food at a restaurant or what challenges our server is struggling with. Hadza know exactly where their food came from; I often say my food came from “the grocery store.” Where one culture has abundance, the other has scarcity. There are many more such examples, but I need not berate the reader. It suffices to say I am not entirely confident that the trade-offs we have made as a culture are likely not wise.
Hadza culture is likely the longest ongoing human culture, probably remaining more or less intact for the last 60,000 years. So while we look at their culture and values as primitive, the truth is that they are the most enduring and conservative culture in human existence. They are not primitive so much as tried-and-true.
We cannot say the same of American and modernized western culture. Extremely modern social-media driven culture is at best 20 years old, while greater American culture is at best about 300 years old, and logical/reductionist thinking maybe 3,000 years old. These pale in comparison to hunter-gatherers, and if you are as I once was and balked at the idea of “primitive” cultures being “superior” in ways to ours, I beg you to reconsider who is living a better life? Do you live your best life when you rush through the grocery store aisles, rapidly filling your cart with your family’s shopping list, thinking (dare I say “stressing over”?) of all the things you weren’t quite able to get to today and hurrying so you can get maybe one more done? Or, is our best life spent sitting next to a stream, watching the currents and eddys endlessly swirl? Or perhaps it is being present with another human to support them through their own suffering and struggles? Or maybe it is laughing and joking with another person, or sharing a meaningful meal with them. However you answer this question (I’d be willing to guess the ideal is closer to Hadza culture than modern culture), I imagine the reader (and myself) could make some IMMEDIATE changes to their lives. With all this abundance, what the f*** is the point of running around with stress? This lifestyle is entirely self-defeating, as the justification for “stepping out of the jungle” is an improved quality of life. Where does stress, worry, hurry, and a connection-void fit into this picture?
Well, that is quite the digression. If you’re still reading, please prioritize caring for another human today, take a deep breath between all those errands&tasks, receive a hug from a loved one, put this screen down, feel the breeze on your skin, and live life for a second. And of course, forage more wild things, do more of your gardening, and start trading with your neighbors. Get more fresh nourishment!
2) more berries
I have increased my own berry consumption stateside after seeing the Hadza relish these foods. Every time they cross a berry bush, they grab a few—even on a quick-paced hunt.
Many places all over the US have wild berries. I spent my post-Tanzanian Summer being sort of nomadic across the western US, and I was priveleged to forage all over as a result. I managed to find wild huckleberries, blueberries, red raspberries, black raspberries, salmonberries aka thimbleberries, twinberries, red gooseberries, saskatoons aka sarpisberries, marionberries, blackberries, and probably a few I can’t recall. While previously I would have been a stickler for intermittent fasting windows or concerned about sugar intake, my time with the Hadza opened my eyes to how excessive rigidity in diet or life was impacting me (just eat some berries, dude!). So, I eat these when I find them hiking, and then I keep going.
There is a sense of satisfaction, of being able to feed oneself from the wilderness, and there is also a sense of being supported by the wilderness when one forages. It is a reciprocal and mutual relationship, and I feel that I am an inseparable part of the world living this way.
Even when I have obligations in town and must shop at a grocery store, I have been buying and eating a lot more berries. The bulk of Hadza diet comes from berries, and I believe this must carry, at least in part, a connection to the robustness and diversity of their microbiome. Berries are fibrous as well as high in antioxidants and polyphenols, all of which are considered prebiotics, or food for probiotics.
3) more tubers
Hadza eat multiple species of tubers, all year long. They are certainly not their favorite food, but they are a staple. Previously I was following a cyclical ketogenic diet, when tubers and/or rice (or other starch sources) are eaten in accordance with physical activity. They are relatively sparse in the diet, especially compared to meat and fat sources.
However, I am now under the impression it is probably a good thing overall to increase the amount of starches, and specifically tubers, that I am eating. Similar to berry consumption, I believe the fiber, starches, and other components in tubers contribute to a diverse and robust microbiome, which in turn as myriad impacts on overall health and wellness.
I have added sweet potatoes (of virtually all available varieties) to my own diet, and increased my activity levels (much more frequent, brisk walks—even just a mile here or there—especially after meals!). I have made a lot of changes, but I do feel more fit.
4) more organs
The Hadza waste absolutely nothing, and consume all parts of an animal. This includes organ meats, and even a few organs that are more adventurous than the standard choices of liver, heart, kidney, etc.
I witnessed every organ of every animal get consumed within a few hours of killing the animal. This included brain, eyes, tongue, genitals, you name it. In all likelihood, the reader has never eaten an eye of any kind, and perhaps has tried brain once or twice in tacos or some other novel food. Think of all the potentially unique compounds we could be missing out on, and benefitting from!
The proportion of organs:muscle meat that Hadza (and other hunter-gatherers) consume is much higher than what we consume as westerners. Of course I aim to ameliorate that problem with our 100% Grass-Fed Bison Liver & Organ Pill Supplements, and this is better than nothing. However, I do think that this is a bare minimum of sorts, and shouldn’t be considered “doing well”—we should all be aiming to eat more fresh organ meats, and the percentage of meats that we consume in general could be a lot higher in organ meats with only benefit to gain.
5) less meat…& food in general
Hadza diets are made up of about 25% meat by kilocalories. That likely comes as a surprise, especially if you have heard of the Hadza in the context of Paleo, Carnivore, and/or Keto dieting.
I was previously eating a lot of meat—probably averaging 1.25lbs of bison per day, in addition to eggs and maybe some other sources of animal proteins. I don’t think Hadza come close to eating this—based on both my own observations as well as those written in Dr. Frank Marlowe’s book on the Hadza.
Well, with all of the additions to my diet above—more berries, more tubers, more organs—I had to remove something. In my case, I have actually reduced my meat consumption. Additionally, I have reduced my overall consumption. It struck me among the Hadza that they are all relatively slight in build—none of them are bulky by any means, and while they are lean and “ripped,” they are not muscley in the body-builder sense.
The Hadza are in posession of abundant vigor, injuries are almost always recoverable, and their endurance for hunting (especially at heat, in altitude) is particularly striking. They are relatively small in stature, and seeing all of these wonderfully-healthy humans thrive with what I would consider a “meagre” caloric intake shifted my perspective—what if the Hadza had all their bodily ability not in spite of being hungry, but because of it?
While I of course do not condone dog-fighting in the slightest, it is a well-known truth that hungry dogs will fight more ferociously. Could the same be the case for humans? I believe this is more than likely—satiety breeds complacency, while I know from my own personal experience (and all my ex-girlfriends will vouch) that hunger breeds agitation. Agitation, while not pleasant, begets action. Action moves life forward.
This line of logic made me wonder if the Hadza were so vigorous, active, enduring, and able because of their hunger and relatively low caloric intake, not in spite of it.
While previously in the mindset of getting “gains” at the gym (this translates to lifting weights, eating heavily, and therefore “gaining” muscle for the long-haul), I have a different perspective now. I think being hungry, staying relatively small and biasing oneself toward “fitness” rather than “muscle” and a body-building look is a significant improvement in overall health.
My own body composition has lowered in fat percentage, and people have commented on how lean and athletic I have looked after returning from Tanzania. I have lost some strength, and my lifts are not as heavy as they once were. However, I can hike, run, ruck, sprint, and move with ease. Everything feels loose, limber, and putting on 10 miles a day everyday is essentially easy for me, on top of typical weightlifting, sled pulling (@kneesovertoesguy anyone?), archery, gardening&farmwork, and more. I also feel that my mental state reflects this heightened state of vigor, which is worth the changes alone.
In short, I have displaced some of the meat in my diet with tubers, berries, organs….and nothing, with fantastic results.
Key Takeaways & Conclusion
Hadza eat everything fresh and immediately, while we eat virtually nothing immediately and fresh. Doing more wild foraging, growing your own food, and trading with neighbors can change this and immediately add nutrient-density, connection, and meaning to your diet and life.
Hadza eat a LOT of berries—ridiculous even by western standards, eating essentially ONLY berries during undushipi season. I have added berries to my diet at all times of day, with positive results (this is a change from intermittent fasting). Fiber, antioxidants, and polyphenols in berries can help contribute to microbiome diversity & robustness.
Hadza eat several varieties of tubers, at all times of year. Most indiginous societies have access to tubers, and take advantage. Another good source of energy (especially if you are moving a lot during the day) and enhances microbiome.
Hadza consume a much higher proportion of organ meats : muscle meats than virtually anywhere in the world. Organ meats are significantly more nutrient-dense, and taking supplements like Paleo-Plex is just the tip of the iceberg!
Hadza eat a balanced diet—but only if looked at in the context of a year. If someone visits Hadza during any specific time, the dietary intake at that time might be misleading. Making dramatic changes to our own diets according to season may not be a bad idea!
Ask yourself WWHD—What Would the Hadza Do? Chances are (in context of diet—please do not ask yourself this when you see a Rhino on safari in Ngorogoro National Park), whatever the Hadza would do is a wise decision for your health and well-being.