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Interesting combination of human history and raw foods...

 

 

Flash in the Pan

Hot for brains, raw for bodies

 

By: Ari LeVaux

Posted: 09/27/2007

 

http://www.missoulanews.com/index.cfm?

do=article.details & id=42FA95CD-1372-FCBB-8392DBF0042C7ABF

 

The brain of an adult human uses 25% of the total energy expended by

the entire organism, much higher than our closest primate relatives,

whose brains use about 8% of their energy. The high energy cost of

building, using, and maintaining our brains has long presented a

riddle to evolutionary theorists. Where did this extra energy come from?

 

One idea is that as our ancestors switched to a meat-heavy diet, our

large guts—which were capable of digesting large amounts of

vegetative material—shrunk. Since meat generally contains a greater

density of protein and calories than vegetables, this digestive shift

allowed our ancestors to target a more efficient form of energy,

while helping them develop the brainpower to hunt it. Evidence from

many corners of the animal kingdom suggests that the meat eaters are

smarter.

 

But many scientists believe that the speed with which the human brain

evolved suggests that a gradual shift to a meat based diet was too

gradual to fully explain this development.

 

“Cooking produces soft, energy-rich foods,” says Richard Wrangham, a

primatologist at Harvard. This, he explains, increases the efficiency

with which the food’s energy is extracted. Fewer calories are spent

in digestive efforts, which leaves a higher margin of caloric recovery.

-------------------------

Even if it’s true that cooked meat may have helped us evolve to where

we are, I think it’s worth considering that the next dietary

breakthrough might come from the opposite culinary corner: raw

vegetables!

 

 

 

 

 

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