Eat Like a Human

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What to expect

Bill Schindler takes us deep into his lifetime of archaeological research to show us why and how our dietary choices and cooking techniques need to follow our ancestors' lead and focus on nutrient density and bioavailability.

Our relationship to food is filled with confusion and insecurity. Vegan or carnivore? Vegetarian or gluten-free? Keto or Mediterranean? Fasting or Paleo? Every day we hear about a new ingredient that is good or bad, a new diet that promises everything. Our conversations are filled with a dizzying array of approaches to and perspectives on our relationship with food. But the truth is that none of those labels matter. The secret to becoming healthier, losing weight, living a pain-free and energetic life and healing the planet has nothing to do with counting calories, reducing portion sizes or feeling deprived - the key is re-learning how to eat like a human.

This means finding food that is as nutrient-dense as possible, and preparing that food using methods that release those nutrients and make them safe and bioavailable to our bodies, which is exactly what allowed our ancestors, millions of years ago, to not only live but thrive. In Eat Like a Human, archaeologist and primitive technologist Dr Bill Schindler draws on cutting-edge science and a lifetime of research to explain how safety, nutrient density and bioavailability are the cornerstones of a healthy diet. He shows readers how to live like modern 'hunter-gatherers' by using the same strategies our ancestors used - as well as techniques still practiced by many cultures around the world - to make food as safe, nutritious, bioavailable and delicious as possible.

With each chapter dedicated to a specific food group, in-depth explanations of different foods and cooking techniques and concrete takeaways, as well as 75+ recipes, Eat Like a Human will permanently change the way you think about food, and help you live a happier, healthier, and more connected life.

(P)2022 Hachette Audio

Critics Review

  • If you are confused about what to eat, tossed about in the storm of conflicting dietary advice, Eat Like a Human provides a refreshing, unique perspective on the origins of the human diet, and how to design and prepare a varied inclusive diet of nutrient dense foods, often wild and weird, that extracts the most nutritional benefit through ancient cooking methods (and often ancient foods ignored today – insects anyone?). If you want to learn to be in right relationship to your body, nature and food, read this book!

    Mark Hyman, MD, New York Times-bestselling author of The Pegan Diet
  • Dr Bill Schindler is at the forefront of a small handful of intrepid researchers who have taken the deep insights of evolutionary science and wedded them to the practical (and critical) process of feeding ourselves, our families, and communities. Eat Like a Human is not “cave man reenactment” – it is a science-based approach to truly nourishing the human body, mind, and spirit.

    Robb Wolf, New York Times-bestselling author of The Paleo Solution and Wired to Eat
  • From Samburu warriors in Africa drinking blood milkshakes, to highlanders in Peru dipping potatoes in a sauce made of clay, Eat Like a Human takes you on a fascinating journey of culinary traditions around the world. Dr Schindler explains why food preparation techniques are critical for obtaining the best possible nourishment for our food while providing delicious recipes acceptable to western palates. Eat Like a Human is a delightful read that serves as a practical road map to healthy eating.

    Sally Fallon Morell, President of the Weston A. Price Foundation
  • Eat Like a Human will awake your latent hunter-gatherer. Dr Schindler shares his intriguing journey from ‘hard core obsessive’ to the realization that food is more than nutrition – it’s also a cultural experience that is invaluable to our health and happiness. A lifetime of discovery and invaluable forgotten skills between two covers.

    Darina Allen, founder of Ballymaloe Cookery School and author of Grow Cook Nourish
  • Dr Bill Schindler dives into ancestral foodways, into the archeology of food, in order to draw a better future for our health as well as the health of our planet. He doesn’t just preach the change in our eating behaviour, he uses the world’s simplest argument – eat like a human – to understand our DNA, our metabolic functions, and the evolution of our species in order to design a better, tastier, healthier and more egalitarian future.

    Alex Atala, chef and author of D.O.M
  • Archaeology too often fails to explore what our ancestors ate, overlooking the most fundamental part of the story of human evolution. This adventure-rich masterpiece explores living guardians of ancient culinary wisdom, filling a much needed void that prods at the status quo of nutrition in a quietly powerful way.

    Cate Shanahan, MD, author of Deep Nutrition

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