5. Walt Whitman Did The Paleo Diet Before It Was Trendy
Walt Whitman was a writer from New Jersey, reaching world acclaim for his poetry. Whitman had a strange belief that meat was the best thing people could eat, and he thought that it cured a lot of ailments – including acne on people’s skin. He started out every single morning by eating oysters and a rare steak, or any other red meat he could get his hands on. It’s not like people back then were unaware that too much red meat can lead to health problems.
Whitman’s friend and fellow writer, John Burroughs, had this to say about his diet: “I am almost certain you eat too heartily and make too much blood and fat…If not the engine makes too much steam, things become clogged and congested.” Burroughs went on to say that Whitman should probably eat more fruits and grains, but he ignored his friend, and went on with his paleo diet. He lived to be 73 years old, which was an incredibly old age back in the 1800’s, so he couldn’t have been all wrong.