100 Million Years Of Food: What Our Ancestors Ate and Why It Matters Today

I honestly wasn’t expecting to enjoy a book about biological anthropology this much, but Stephen Le has a way of making complex evolutionary history feel like a conversation over dinner. The most fascinating part for me was his exploration of how our specific ancestral backgrounds—not just 'human' ancestry—dictate what we should be eating today. Being of mixed heritage myself, his questions about whether he should eat traditional Vietnamese food versus a Mediterranean diet really hit home. It’s a refreshing departure from the usual one-size-fits-all Paleo or Keto manifestos that dominate the shelves. I particularly loved the chapter on insects; while I’m not exactly rushing out to fry up some crickets, he makes a compelling moral and environmental case for them. The writing is modest and adventurous without being pretentious. It’s less of a 'diet book' and more of a global travelogue through time and culture.

Stephen Le has written something truly special here. Most food books are just lists of 'eat this, not that,' but Le wants you to understand *why* our bodies react the way they do based on millions of years of evolution. I found the section on the 'pact' we have with parasites and the hygiene hypothesis to be absolutely mind-blowing. It really changed how I think about cleanliness and allergies. He’s a very likeable narrator—modest and willing to try anything once (including bugs!). I particularly loved his advice to look at 'whole cuisines' rather than just individual nutrients. It makes so much more sense to eat the way our specific ancestors did, rather than following a generic 'Paleo' template. This book is a must-read for anyone who is tired of the 'food wars' on the internet and wants a more sensible, evidence-based approach to living well.

This book is a gem. I loved the personal touch Le brings to the subject. As an ethnic Vietnamese man living in Canada, he provides a perspective that is so often missing from the 'Western-centric' nutrition world. His exploration of how different ethnicities might have different tolerances for things like milk or gluten is so important and rarely discussed because of political correctness. The chapters on how we evolved to need meat, yet struggle with too much protein, were a masterclass in nuance. I also appreciated his 'authorial fearlessness'—starting a book with a chapter on eating insects is a bold move, but it totally works! It’s like having a long, fascinating dinner conversation with a very smart friend. I've already recommended it to three people. It’s not just a book about food; it’s a book about what it means to be human.

This was a really refreshing take on the 'how should we eat' genre. I’ve read Michael Pollan and the usual suspects, but Le brings a biological anthropology lens that feels much more grounded in long-term history. I was especially struck by the section on how our ancestors lost the ability to synthesize Vitamin C—it really puts your daily fruit intake into perspective! He also tackles the meat and dairy debate with a lot of nuance, suggesting that what works for you at twenty might not be what your body needs at sixty. My only real gripe is that he can be a bit dismissive of modern agricultural science, which felt a bit one-sided. Still, his descriptions of his travels and the 'exotic' foods he tries are vivid and engaging. It definitely made me want to go for a long walk and rethink my relationship with processed snacks.

A solid, thought-provoking read that challenges a lot of modern health dogmas. I loved the chapters on the geography of health—visiting Ikaria and Okinawa to see how movement is built into their daily lives was much more convincing than just telling someone to join a gym. Le's writing style is easy to digest, and he doesn't sound like a 'preachy' doctor. I did find the parts about genetic mutations and uricase enzymes a bit dense, but he usually follows them up with a relatable story that helps the medicine go down. I’m giving it four stars because I felt the ending was a little rushed, and he never quite settled the debate on whether his own Vietnamese genes meant he should avoid dairy entirely. Regardless, it’s one of the more unique health books I've picked up in years.

I’d give this a 4.5 if I could. Le’s basic message is simple: move more and eat what your ancestors ate. But the way he gets there is fascinating. He looks at everything from the evolutionary loss of vitamin C synthesis to the modern-day impact of watching too much TV. The travel elements are great, and he describes the food in a way that makes you feel like you're there with him. I do think he’s a bit too biased toward organic farming and anti-GM sentiments, which felt more like a personal political stance than a biological one. However, the rest of the book is so well-researched and engaging that I can overlook that. It’s a very human look at biology, and I finished it feeling like I had a much better grasp on why my body craves the things it does.

There’s a lot to like here, but also a lot that frustrated me. Le is clearly a knowledgeable guy, and his perspective as a 'second generation naturalist' is unique, especially when he discusses the evolutionary implications of ethnicity and diet. However, the book feels a bit like a compendium of interesting facts that don't always hang together. One minute we're talking about uric acid in primates, and the next we're in Okinawa looking at how much people walk. It’s all very interesting, but the narrative flow is clunky. I also felt his bias against GMOs and his push for organic farming was a bit unscientific and ignored the realities of global food security. It’s a decent read if you want some 'did you know?' facts for a cocktail party, but maybe don’t take it as a definitive health guide. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, honestly.

I have complicated feelings about this book. On one hand, the information is absolutely jammed in there—you’ll learn about everything from castor oil to the history of alcohol in China. On the other hand, it often feels like Le is trying to do too much at once. The tone shifts from academic to casual travelogue so quickly it can give you whiplash. I did appreciate his honesty about how fad diets don't work, but some of his 'traditional' advice felt a bit like he was romanticizing the past. For instance, he spends a lot of time on insect-eating, which is fine, but it’s not exactly a practical tip for the average reader living in a food desert. It’s a fun, 'light' read for a science book, but I found myself wishing for a more cohesive argument instead of just a series of interesting chapters.

To be perfectly honest, the title '100 Million Years of Food' is pretty misleading. I was expecting a deep dive into paleobiology, but what I got felt more like a disorganized collection of 'grandma’s stories' and personal travel anecdotes. Le seems to rely heavily on popular culture and 'what people agree on' rather than rigorous, peer-reviewed data for some of his larger claims. At one point, he makes a comment about plants having no nutritional significance on their own, which just left me scratching my head in confusion. Is he being metaphorical? Or just provocative for the sake of it? I found the structure quite jarring, jumping from serious genetic discussions about the GLO gene to his personal hunt for authentic fish sauce. It felt like a book made for impressionable readers who want to feel like they're reading science without actually doing the heavy lifting.

I really wanted to like this, but I ended up putting it down halfway through. It’s just too disorganized. One paragraph he’s talking about the laws of physics and weight loss, and the next he’s telling a story about a trip to a salmon hatchery. There's no clear thesis. Even worse, some of the 'science' felt incredibly flimsy. He makes these huge generalizations based on 'traditional wisdom' that just don't stand up to scrutiny. The line about plants having no nutritional significance was the final straw for me—it’s such an absurd statement that I couldn't trust anything else he wrote. It feels like he’s trying to be the 'edgy' version of an anthropology professor, but it just comes across as confusing and poorly researched. Save your time and read a real biology textbook instead.