Are you really referencing the US Government's guidelines in the process of arguing how wise our ancestors were compared to today's food science?
You might as well ask Coke and McDonald's about their idea of a food pyramid.
Our ancestors knew exceptionally little about food nutrition. They ate what was naturally available to them, as they had absolutely no alternative. Doing something by default because it's the only option, does not make you wise. Our ancestors were in fact ignorant about nearly anything to do with the properties of food / health / nutrition et al. And they also did incredibly stupid things because of that ignorance, history books are filled with this fact.
Yes, they ate what was available to them. For generations upon generations. Those who survived were usually the ones whose bodies could thrive on that diet. The mankind of today are descendants of those people, with their genetics. So while the idea of a "paleo" lifestyle might be a bit too simplistic, it's vastly better than the USG's current guidelines. If you could just remove refined sugars, starches, and fruit juices from the food pyramid, that'd be a fantastic start. Their negatives vastly outweigh their positives. Whole, unadulterated food products seem to be the way to go.
Every entry in the food guidelines is backed up by reams of scientific references. If the guidelines are well referenced yet can still say whatever Coke and McDonalds want, how can we call that science?
> Every entry in the food guidelines is backed up by reams of scientific references.
Just because something references science doesn't mean its well grounded in it.
> If the guidelines are well referenced yet can still say whatever Coke and McDonalds want, how can we call that science?
We can't. That's the point -- evaluating the merits of science by looking to policy that references but does not reflect science is invalid on its face.
You might as well ask Coke and McDonald's about their idea of a food pyramid.
Our ancestors knew exceptionally little about food nutrition. They ate what was naturally available to them, as they had absolutely no alternative. Doing something by default because it's the only option, does not make you wise. Our ancestors were in fact ignorant about nearly anything to do with the properties of food / health / nutrition et al. And they also did incredibly stupid things because of that ignorance, history books are filled with this fact.