136. How to eat like a human, with Bill Schindler PhD

Fire Use

Fire has been a crucial element in human evolution, dating back possibly 2 million years. Bill Schindler explains that controlling fire allowed early humans to migrate out of Africa and survive in colder climates, even during the Ice Age 1. This mastery of fire was essential for cooking food and maintaining warmth, which were vital for survival.

We had to start understanding that fire could provide benefits. We had to start understanding that we could fuel that fire, continue that fire, do all sorts of things with it.

--- Bill Schindler

The ability to use fire also marked a significant shift from scavenging to hunting, providing access to nutrient-dense foods like meat and organs 2.

   

Food Prep

Ancient food preparation techniques were designed to make food safe and nutritious. Bill Schindler highlights the importance of methods like soaking, sprouting, and fermenting to detoxify grains, nuts, and legumes 3. These ancestral methods transform potentially harmful foods into nourishing ones.

The only way to make red kidney beans safe for human consumption is a combination of both soaking and cooking, long, long term cooking.

--- Bill Schindler

He also discusses the role of fermentation in bread making, which helps reduce toxins and improve digestibility 4.

   

Animal Processing

Processing animals for food involved meticulous techniques to utilize every part. Bill Schindler describes the Mongolian practice of butchering yaks, where every organ is carefully harvested and used 5. This approach ensures nothing is wasted and highlights the value placed on organs, blood, and fat.

The way they approached that animal, the way that the chefs in that restaurant approached that animal, and these butchers out on the Mongolian steppe, was exactly the way that I view our approach to animals through time in the past.

--- Bill Schindler

He also notes that many cultures, like the Maasai, harvest blood from live animals as a renewable resource, further emphasizing the importance of utilizing all parts of the animal 6.