22 Food for Thought William R. Leonard “Wiam . Leonard is «professor of anthropology at Northwestern Univer AO ee apecalres in tition and energetics in contemporary and prehe nd siberia. >the search for food,” says Wiliam Leonard, “is con. uemption an ultimately how its used for biological Sroceaas ace al citi] aspects ofan organs ecok Bape inthis election, Leonard acess thre of the Ways tn which humans differ from the “primate Pore —bipedelis, big brains, nd our spread Over the globe and foctses on food and food elated fc tors i explain ther evolution He also looks at modern ean concerns from a food-related perspective Weesuinans ae strange primates We walk 08 to egy, canny ound enor brains and hav colo- MEST comer of the pote. Anthropologists and Ficlogits eve ong sought to understand how our ine eee Reinet ages so profoundly from the primate Soe inahere way, and over the Years al manner of polices eed at expaning ech of thee cites Aree out forth But a growing boy of evidence Tiitcnes Ur thee misclanens quirks of Pumarity iRincr have t common trea: ey aze largely the Surf natura sclecton acting © maxcmize dietary ly and fraping ficiency. Changes is fod eval SUG over ting, W seems, rongly inueeed out forza sncenors. Tas nan evoiuonary sent, We fe very mach wat we “Relcningy, what we en syot another way 18 which we die nom our prate bin. Contemporary Thonn populations the word over have dies richer in hones al quien tan thece of our cous, the Geatapes So when and how dis our ancestor’ eng $ibts Livege from those of ther popmates? Fare ‘om Sa seria, Deemer 2, Copyright 2002 7S (Sale Ameren be Aegis ror in pene SESrepchacl wit pom bon Ene Gare ae tate and has studied haan groups in Ecuador, Bola Per 106 [As you reed, consider the following questions: 1. How does Leonard explain te importance of orl tothe evolution ofeach of the major topics— bipedal, big brains, and migrtion? 12 Whataclentife evidence does he present for exch tage snalyses? 3. How is food related to some of what Leonard falls our “modem quandaries"? to what extent have moder humans departed from the ancesteal dietary pater? Sntfc everest in the evolution of human mutt sional requirements has a long Nstory. Bu relevant in- Sehigatins stared guining momentum after 195, Whes'S. Boyd Eaton and Melvin |. Konner of Emory Tinivesity published a seminal paper in the New En- (Fond loud of Mane etled “Paleolithic Net en Phay argued that the prevalence in modem soci too of many chronic dzeaces—cbest, hypertension, CrScy heset dense and abet, among them—is the conequence of a mismatch between moder dl- Eley parte andthe type of det that our species Syoledd tm eat as ptokistorc hunter-getherers. Since lox however understanding ofthe evolution af hu (REP Tantkonal news has advanced considerably — ‘anus in large part t new comparative analyses of Talionaly lvirg human populations and other pr- ates anda more nuanced pictre has emerged. We rt that humans have evolved not to subsist on Tlgie Pueotihie der butt be Bebe eaters, ann Signe tat has important implestion forthe current eesve oven what people foaay should eatin der to Pa appreciate the rol of diet in human evolution, ave moat remember that ehe esac for food, 3 coe ase t—~=S:sumption and timely, how its used for biological processes are ll ecal tpeets ofan organism's ecol ey. The energy dynamic between organisms an thelr ‘cnvironments-that 5, energy expended in relation 1 energy acquired —has important adaptive conse: (Guences for survival and reproduction. These to SHmponents of Darwinian fies are refleted inthe ‘way we divide up an animal’ energy budget. Mainte- ‘ance energy is what Keeps an animal alive on a day- Today bass Productive nergy, onthe other hand, is ‘soocited with producing and sising offspring forthe ‘hex! generation, or mammals ke ourselves, his must Cover the increased costs that mothers incur during pregnancy ard lactation. “The type of environment a creature inhabits will influence the distibation of energy between these components, with harsher conditions creating higher ‘intenance demarcls, Nevertheless, the goal of allor- (gant i the same: to devote sufficient funds to re- [Production fo enaure the long-term success ofthe spe Elm Thus, by looking at the way animals go about ‘Sbialning and then allocating food anergy, we can bet ter cloceen how natural sletion produces evolution- ary change BECOMING BIPEDS Without ception living nonhuman primes habiti- fly move around on all fours or uacrupedally, wes. they aze on the ‘Sclentists generally sssume therefore thet the last common aneestr of humans and ‘hsipanzees (out closest living relative) was also a (Guadruped. Exactly when the last common ancestor ted b unknown, But clear Indications of bipedal- lam the trait that distinguished ancient aman from ther apes ate evidentin the oldest known species of ‘hustalpthess, which lived in Afica roughly four ‘milion year go dens about why bipedalism evolved hound in the paleoanthropological terture.C. Owen ‘Lovejoy of Kent State University proposed in 1981 that foworlegged locomotion fred the arms to camry chil ‘Gren and foraged goods: More zeny, Kevin D. Hunt ‘Of indiana University has posited that bipedalism merged as feeding posture that enabled acces to {bods that bad previously been out of reach. Peter ‘Wheeler of Liverpool John Moores University submits that moving upeght allowed early humans to beter regulate their body temperature by exposing less sur face aren tothe blazing African sun. 7 ‘The Hat goes on. in reality, a number of factors probably colected fr ths type of locomation. My own, Ftseach, conducted in collaboration with my wife, ‘Marea, Roberson, suggests that bipedalism evolved {our ancestors at bast in part Because it's less ener- Teen —— ee —— FOODFORTHOUGHT 107 _getically expensive than quadropedasm. Our analy- Si othe energy costs of moverant in living animals hall sizes have shown that, genera, the strongest predictors of cost are the weight of te animal and the Speed at which it tavela Whatisstiking about human, ‘ipedal moverentethattisnotably more economical than quadrupedal locomotion a walking ates, "apes in contrat, ara not economical when mov- ing onthe ground. For instance, chimpanzees, which ‘employ «peculiar form of quadrupedalism known 35 ‘cle walking, spend some 35 percent more caloras during locomotion than dows 2 rypical mammalian ‘guadruped of the same size—a large dog, for example ‘Biferences inthe ating in hich Purans and apes ‘evolved may help explain the variation in costs of ‘ovement. Chimps, gorila, and orangutars evolved Iand continue to occupy dance forests were oly @ mile or so of trekking over the couse ofthe day is all that is needed to find enough to eat. Much of easly homifid evolution, on the other hand, took place in ‘more open woodland and grassland, where sustenance [s harder fo come by, indeed, moder human hunter futherers living in thes enironment, who provide us rth the best available model of exrly human subsis fence pattems, often travel sxto eight miles daily in search of fod, “These dlference in day range have important ~ comotor implications. Beene apes travel ony short tdbtances each day the potental erergtic Penais of ‘moving store effcsently are very small. Fr far-ranging Prager, however, cost-effective walking saves many Calories in maintenance energy needs—calories that fan instead go toward reproduction. Selection for en rgeticalyeficient locomotion is therefore ily tobe ‘mor intense among far-anging animals because they ‘have the most to gain Tor hominids living between million and 1.8 mul- ion years ag0, during the Plocene epoch, climate Change spurred this morphological revolution. As the ‘Birican continent grew det, forests gave way 10 frassand, leaving food resources patchly distb- Sie in this conte, ipedalsm an be viewed as one Df the first strategies in human nustsitiona evolution, Date of movement that would have substantially aced the muanber of ealoris spent in collecting in- ‘ceasingly dispersed food resourses BIG BRAINS AND HUNGRY HOMINIDS, No sooner had iumane perfect thaistride than the ‘ec pivotal event in human evotion—the dramatic Chlecgement of the brain—began. According to the fea record, the au ‘never bees ‘puch brainer than living apes, showing only a modest108 HOMINID EVOLUTION ‘increase in brain size, from arourel 400 cubic centine- ters four malion years age 500 cubic cntieters two million years Iter. Home bran sizes, in contrast, bal> Toone from 600 cubic centimeters in HE. ablls Some toro allion years ago up to 500 cubic centimeters in tary H, rectus ust 300,00 years later The FE erent brnin did not atin modern hman proportions (1350 cubic centimeters on average), butt exceeded that of {ving nonhuman primates. From a nutztonal pespective, what is extrord- nary about our large brain S how much energy itcon- ‘Suites roughly Ie times as meh as muscle dssue er lunit weight Yet although humans have much bigger ‘rains relative to body weight than do other primates (thoes times Larger than expected), the total resting ex- ergy requirements ofthe human body are no greater ‘han those of any other mammal of che same size. We therefore use a mich grester share of our daly nergy budget to fed our voracious brains, In fact, at rest brain metabolism accounts for « whopping 20 to 25, ‘percent ofan adult human energy needs far more than the 8 to 10 percent observed in nonuman pri= tates, nd mors all than the 3105 percent allotted t> the brain by other mameals By using estimates of hominid body size complled by Henry M. Mctlenry ofthe Univesity of California af Davis, Roberton and Ihave reconstructed the pro- Dorion of esting energy needs that would have been {equired to suppor the brains of our ancient ancestors (Our caleulons suggest hata typical 80-0 85-pound ‘nusiralopithecine witha brain se of 450 cubic cen timeters would have devoted about 11 percent of i resting energy 0 the brain. For its par, H. ectus, (which welghed ina 125 t 150 pounds and had a brain Size of some 900 cube centimtors, would have eur marked about 17 percent of esting enersy—thats, bout 260 outof 1500 Klealoriesa day —for te organ. How did ch an energetically costy brain evolve? (One theory, developed by Dean Fall of Florida State ‘University, holds tht bipedal erablee hominids to cool their cranial bloed, thereby freeing the heat= senaltive brain of the temperature constraints that had keptit sie check. [suspect that as with bipedal, {number of selective factors were probably at work Bat brain expansion almost certainly could ot have cecured unl hominids adopted 2 diet sufficiently ‘eh in calories and nuttin f0 meet the associated ‘Comparative studies ofliving animals support that assertion, Across all primates, species with bigger brains dine on richer foods, and fare the ex ‘seme sample ofthis coralation, the largest ‘lative bran size and the chokest cit (see "Dit and Primate Evolution.” by Kadarine Mitton; Scnavrnc Asemscans, August 190] According to recantanaly- ‘by Loren Cordain of Colorado State University, © temporacy hunter-gatherer derive, 08 average, 40 ‘0 60 percent of their dietary energy fom animal foods (ment milk another product). Modem chimps, in fompacton, tain only 507 percant of ther calories ftom these comestbies. Animal feeds are far denser in Clories and sutsents than mest pnt foods. For ex ‘spl, 2S aunces of ment provides upward of 200 Klo- ‘aleries, Bot the sume amount of ait provides only 50 {9 100 kloclories, Anda comparable serving of olage Yields just 10 to 20 iloealores. I stands to reson, then, that for early Homo, acquiring more gray mat meant seeking out more ofthe energy-dense fare. Fora, to, indicate that improvements to dietary quality accompanied evolutionary brain growth. All {istralopithecines had skeletal and dental features built for procesing tough, low-quality plant foods. ‘The Inter robust sustalopithecnes a dead-end branch of the human family tree that lived alongside members of our own genus—had expecially pro- ‘pounced adaptations for grinding wp sbrous plant foods, including massive, ishshaped faces; heavily ‘pilt mandibles ges, o sagittal crests, top the skall for the atachment of powerral sawing muscles; and huge thickly enameled molar teth, (This snot to => that sustralopithecnes never ate meat. They alz certainly dic om occasion, jst as chumps do foday) In Contrast early members ofthe genus lomo, which de- ‘Scended from the gracile australopthecines, had mich tamales faces, more delicate javs, smaller molars and ‘ho sata crats—despite being ar larger i terms of ‘verall body size than their predecessors. Together these festares suggest hat early Homo was consuming less plant material and more animal foods. ‘As to what prompted How inital shit toward the higher-quality diet necesary for brain growth, tevironmental change appesr #9 have once more set the stage for evolutionary change. The continued des- Jceaton ofthe African landscape limited the amount and variety of edible plant foods avalible to hominis ‘Thowe on the line leading tothe robust sustalopithe- nes coped with this problem morphologically, avo! {ng anatomical specializations that enabled them © Subsist on more widely avaiable, diffcultto-chew foods, Home took a diferent path. As it tums out the _presd of grasslands als led to an increase inthe rela- {ve abundance of grazing mammals such as antelope and guzele, creating opportunities for hominids ci able of exploiting them, erectus di ust hat, devel ping the fmt hunting-and-gitering economy in ‘hich game animals became #signieane part of Giet and resources were shared among member. 1 the forging groups. Sigs ofthis behavioral evolutionFOOD FOR THOUGHT 109 INTO THE FIRE Extng moc animal foods i one way of bonting the ‘lon nd ret dent of the el that ap pens to ave been ca mth evluon of than, [Eage,Bet ght surance frbears have improved slisary quality smote: way? Rihars Weangham of Fa ‘ara University and ue colenguee only examine’ {he importa of cocking in human evolution. They ‘Sowel tht soaking ot ely aukes plant ods eter Ae ase fo chew fsbstnly reac he ral ‘Sic cnergy cont, pray or arch tubers uch ‘Spat! and manne in that aw form arches are Toren broken dows by te eyes the human ouy. Wham bed were tae compli cabot its ee te gee aby Pking me "The secur propose ht Homo ets was pbs shiy the dst bom t apy Bre od statng pe peony ga Tey argue thal early cooking plan fond epeily be) enabled hs spaces 0 are visible in the achaeologial record, which shows fn increase in animal bones a hominid sites during iis period, slong mth evcence thatthe beasts were ‘butchered using stone tls. “These changes in diet and foraging behavior did not tum our ancestor inf src carnivores; however, ‘headaltion of mecest amounts of ama foods to the menu, combined with the sharing of resources that is fypiedl of hunter-gatherer groups, would have signifi- ‘uray Increased the quality and stabity of hominid Gets Improved dietary quality alone cannot explain ‘ay homed oesins grew, butt appears tohave played {tatcal role in enabling that change. Alter the nisl Spurtin bran growth, diet and brain expansion probs- Diy interacted synergistically bigger brains produced ‘more complex socal behave, which le £9 further Stuf in foraging tactics and improved det, which {um fostered adlittonal bran evlstion [A MOVABLE FEAST ‘The evolution of H. erectus in Aftiea 1.8 milion years ‘ago also marked third tuming point in human evolu ion the inital movement of Romirids out of Africa. ‘Unt secenty the locations and ages of known fossil ites suggested that early Homo stayed put fora few hundred thousand year before venturing out of the ‘motherland and slow fanning out into the rest ofthe (Oke World, Excir work hited that improvements in ‘lve sales seth nd bigger ins than those of thie Fredocnvors,Aditonaly he era ors allowed Evrae ose oning an energetically con acti Iny-omor rues ‘oom en energetics perspec, hs i ogc sco ie of eooning Wet ake he hypothesis {Scat swallow the archeciopcl evidence ‘Wranghans ons ase fo make case. The ars cite the Eat Alsen tes of Koa Fora and Chesowsna, (ahih ate fo around 1. lion and lion eas po respecte, to nat corr of Seb Hots. ‘Theat dined cht erence of es, out wees hominid vere eaponsibl for cating o har Tensing the dane isa ater of some debte. Thea | fat unequivocal marfetations of re weston | earth ar burned anal bones rm tus in Burope— Sem some 20000 yar ol bin wes lly a nowason tat coniderably improved equity of he aman ct But eras ‘cen whan nour past his practic are. =WRL. too! technology around 1 milion years ago—namely, the advent ofthe Acheulean hand sx-—allowed hori= Fits to leave Ais, But sey lscoverien Sct that Hoercus he the ground raring 0 to speak. Rutgers University geochvonologst Cari Swisher IT and his Collenguey have shown thatthe east H erectus sites ‘outside of Afscn, sehich are in Indonesia and the Re- public of Georgia, date to between 13 milion and 17 Inilion years ago. It seems that te fist appearance of [HE erchsandit inal pres from Alsica were almost ‘somuliancous "The impetus behind this newfound wandertust again appeats ta be food. Wht an aimal ens dictates {be large extent how much teiory needs 0 survive (Carnivorous anietale generally require far bigger home ‘anges than da herbivores of comparable size because they have fewer total calories ealuble to them per ‘ange-bodied and increasingly dependent on ani= imal foous, H erectus meet likely pesded much mare ‘hrf than the smaller, more vegetarian austalopithe ‘ones did. Using data on contemporary primates and human huntergatherer’ as 2. guide, Roberson, Susan C. Anton of Rtgers University and Ihave es- ‘mated thatthe larger body sizeof. eracus, combined twitha moderate inereae In meat consumption, would Ihave necessitated an eightfold to i0fld increase in home range size compared with that of the late ai teulopltherines —enough in fe, to account for the Abrupt expancion ofthe specas out of Aiea Exact ¥ 1110 HOMINID EVOLUTION NEANDERTAL HUNTERS ‘To sacnstnct what carly humans st, researches are ‘taco sadd fesfre ei oad tet Sh sal srcneslogial emus of ood-twated atc St and the cw of tng humare ard apes ners ingly noweres investigator fave been tipping erator Sour of data the shoe composton of fos bones, ‘Th approch tae ede soe openly iting filings wit ogre he Neardeals Moe! Buhacde gov ache Univesity of Bratord in England and is cneagues recently eamined so {Spero catbon (OC) and atuogan ND in 20,00 year 1d Neanderal bones fm Vinee Cave sn Croat The {Rlaveproprtonsof hee otopesin the pron part ‘Sthuman bone, own a clagen Src eee a Proportions i ib poste of he niin it. THs, By comparing the otpic “sigma” ofthe Neandertal ‘Bnet those of ther sil ving he sare = how far beyond the continent that shift would have taken Herat remains unclear, but migrating anignal herds may have helped lend it these distant lands [As humans moved into more norther latitudes, they encountered new dietary challenges. The Nean- dents who lived during the last ice ages of Europe, ‘were among the firs humans to inhabit arctic environ~ Tents and they almost certainly would have nosed Sep calories to endure under those circumstances Fine at what ther energy teirements might have been come from data on tracitional aman populations ‘hat live in northern Settings today. The Siberian rein- eer herding populations known asthe Ever, which Thave studied with Peter Ketmarayk of Queen’ Unit in Ontario and Vielora A. Galloway ofthe Unie “Yersty of Torato, and the Inu (Eskimo) bf the Canadian Arcichave resting motaboicatesthat fre about 15 percent higher than those of people of sim- ila size living in temperate environments The ener sgellcaly expensive activities associated with living in {Trorthesn cimae satchet their calose cost of living Uup further sill indeed, whereas a 160-pound Amer fan male with a typical urban way of life requires [bout 2600 klocaoriesaday a diminutive, 2-pound ‘Evenkiman needs more than 3000 localories day ‘sustain imei. Using these modem northern populae tons as benchmark, Mark Sorenden of Northwest University and Ihave estimated that Neandertals mest kay wot have required as many aj 4.000Klocalo- ses 3 day to survive. That they were able to meet these ‘Gemands for aslong a8 they did speaks to thei sks as foragers (owe the accompanying bot ronment the suhis were she deemine wwe {he Neanderals wee ceng th ule Provan fron plan orn emis = "Pa aniyer show Gath Vina andere hac N nv comparnle tee seen meen ca ‘Sve shone wale tig tat hey” Shared lost al th day fot om ral {Sod Eee wor hinted et nto eng ight ‘ive bem rin he uet dio of the Neare SECa Bu Rar and hcl ope hatin cdr conwume mac wl ype ‘iy du the Neandertals ave be lea enters: These inings are par of rowan by ft con tht uggers Heelan bare Sree more camel dun peo aug oe "Who Were the Nemceral™ y Kate Wong senmerrc ‘asian, Apr 200) wR, MODERN QUANDARIES Just as pressures to improve dietary “quality indu- ‘enced early human evolution, So, eo, have these fac- tors played a crucial rolein the more reentneresse poptlstion sie. Innovations suchas cooking, agecul- ‘Ef and even aspects of moder food technology can All be considered tactics for boosting the qualty ofthe Truman diet. Cooking, for one, augmented the nergy avaiable in wild plant foods (ee the box on p. 109) ‘With the advent of agriculture, humans began to ma- ripulate marginal plant species to increase their pro- uctinity, digestibity and utisonal content—es- fsentally making plans more lke animal foods. This ‘Kd of nkering continues today, with genetic modi- ation of crop specie to make "ber” fits, vogta- bles and grains Simllaly, he development of quid ‘nutsitonal supplements and meal replacement basis 2 continuation ofthe trend that our ancient ancestors SNarted: gaining as much nutritional return From our food inasitle volume and wih site physical fort ts posible Overly, that strategy has evidently worked: hur mane are here today and in record numbers to boot. But perhaps the strongest tetament tothe importance ‘of energy" and nutent-ch foods in human evoltion lies in the observation that 99 many health concems facing societies azound the globe stern fom deviations ffom the energy dynamic that cur ancestors estab lhe. For children in cura oF he oping worl, low-quality diets lead to poor rowih and high rates of morality during exty life. In t_ ——rt—‘_OSOttststi‘( iwFOODFORTHOUGHT = 111 sous es can sty aman mina reqrmars Some popusione miss sa ei pr footnechr Ta mary aia ead, AtSti Aarne sms ma chan do = ‘Monin ate ronal ing people decribed here thy have on average higher cholstt vl “nd higher ers of bey (ard by boy mass ind) Beri hey onsne more anergy han ‘Bop capend ad nc mene hei ihe in ood Pane — cholestrol ey ‘eae fom Popation (locas) Amal Sa Foo oo UNTER-GATHERERS kang eons). zo Ina Nowe mars) ao 38 “Sorta (ay) yen 0 oes (Rees tao “Que (rihland Pars) 2002 5 InousTRIAL socteriEs z Fam Getigre) ihe “Gey aqme em ~ ow Gorges igus ee be dwar and ose Hod lame andy mae (iy ure proses (eaoyb = 0243; menighe = 253-2; be = 20a ipa. these cases, the foods fed to youngsters during and a= {er weaning are often not sufcienly dense in energy fd mtrent fo mec the Nigh nutritional neds asso- ‘ned wih this period of rapid growth and develop- iment Although these children are typically similar in fength and weight fo their US. counterparts at birth, ‘they are muuch shorer and lighter by the age of thre, ‘tten resembling te smallest 2 to 3 percent of Ameri an clldcen ofthe same age and sex In the industrial woe, we are facing the opposite problem: rites of erldhood and adult obesity ae ris [ng because the energy-vich foods we crave—noably these packed with fat and sugar-—havebecome widely Available and relatively inexpensive, According to re- ent extinates, more than haf of adult Americans are Cverweight or obese, Obesity has also appeared in pa of the developing world here it was virtually “Enknown les than «generation ago. This seeming par ‘tdox has emerged as people who grew up malnour- ished move fom raral areas to wiban stings where fod is more ready available. tn some sense, obesity and other common diseases of the modem world are Continuation ofa tenor that started milions of years lage. We are victims of our own evolutionery success, having developed a cAloriepacked diet while mini- ‘ising the amount of maintenance energy expended fon physica acy ‘The magnitude of this imbalance becomes clear shen we look at traditionally ving human popula ‘ons Studies of the Event reindeer herders that Ihave Conducted in collaboration with Michael Crawford of the University of Kansas and Ludmila Osipovs of the Rassian Academy of Seences in Novosibirsk indicate thatthe Bvenkd derive almost half their daily calories from meat more than 25 tines the amount consumed ‘bythe average Amecican.Yetwhes we compare Evenki ren with their US. pees, they are 20 percent leaner {and have cholesterol levels that ae 30 percent lower. “These efferences partly elec the compesitons of the diets. Although the Evens diet ishigh in mea, itis relatively low i fat (about 20 percent oftheir dietary fnergy comes from ft, compaced with 26 percent in the average US. died), becruse fee-ranging animals such as reindeae have les body ft than ele and ther fedot animals do, The composition of theft is tlso diferent in feee-ranging animal, tending to be Tower in saturated fats and higher in the polynsatu- rated fatty acids that protect agninst heart disease ‘More important, however, the Evora way of life ne- ‘estates 1 much higher love of energy expenditure "Thus, its not ust changes in die tharhave creuted many of our pervasive health problems but the interac ton of fing iets and changing ifstyes. Too often ‘noier health problems are porrajed 2 the result of112 HOMINID EVOLUTION A DIVERSITY OF DIETS ‘The varity of suc ctary tate eaploye oy telly ning posits proven an togeant aspect ont ongoing ste bout hw gh roe low-order sch the Ais See ee lcs Toye nd ft eatin To fat tsb hese ‘hemes pre weigh asa pot surprng because ‘oth help people sed pounds though the sue baie Sedan ening ajc sours ofr When yo fewer clones an yo expend—your body bene ‘uring sf tore ant ou tee weit "Tenge ution bout ely igh oe sight masonic: dies wheter ey See ing ats tat ar sararable ove tne: Ons pine Ropes ta cit at aera lnge tegrin of foods (eubohyatesfor vamp) re much ore hao un an ae moder ere es ating “bad” foods that ace departure from the natural hhaman diet—an oversimplisention embodied by the ccurent debate over the relative meri of a high- protein, igh ft Athins type dit or low ft one that emphasizes complex srbohyrates This is fends ‘mentally awed approach #9 asesting human nts tonal nade) Our spare wos not designed to sublet ‘on asingle, optima det, Wat is remarkable about hue ‘man beings i the extraordinary varity of what we eat Webave boon abi to thrive in slmost every ecceystem ‘on the earth, consuming diet ranging érom almost fll animal foods among population of the Arctic to primarily tubers and cereal gains among populations In the high Andes. Indeed, the hallmarks of human ‘evolution have been the diversity of strategies that we have developed to create die that meet our dis UUnctive metabolic requirements and the ever increas ing etciency with which we extract energy and mtr: ents fom the environment The challenge our modern societies now fceis balancing the calories we consume ‘with the calories we bur, In the cane of the Atkins ype egiman,hee are ao concer about the pour lange consequences of ating foods derived gly fom fedlt animals, ‘hie end to contain more tin general an cones: bly moresaturad fo than do har een Srunegert Tn September the Nasional Academy of Sconces Inettte of Maine ator ae dit nd erie (pilin ha cosh wel wih the den presented x {BS antic No oni id he neve rose age [anges forthe amount of coy, as and protein that belong ins Rely dati essence, acknowledging {Bat hee ae vaous wae oct or tional etd the organisation alo doubled the eeommended oun of moder iterse physial aca toa Tho day By following there gucelnes ana balancing what weet with ware, wean Eve mors ke the yen of Ste and ter trol societies and ‘mows ke our hows anesor: MORE TO EXPLORE latonary Peapectver on Human Nuon: The nt ln Moor at Mar Rebar cr can fur of an Bes, V6 No ages 7= 85 Funey 054 Retking the Energie of Bipedaity. Wiis Lesa dca, fobrenin re nop VoL No.3 pes 300-307 Apel ‘Hest Bulag Aa Evolsonary and Blocatwal. Ap ‘roach, Edie vy San Soon. Say Bog Rabe Hit tenor snd Deis Bourke: Wy iy 200 cology, Health snd Lite Cnge among the Een ecdes ot ives Willan stor, Victor ca lovey geen Lands Ope sod Maso xeakoves in Hen Sobgy of Perel Pps Eddy Willan Uecar! sneha Cro Carlee Unity Brey 202 ‘4 Ecomorplogea! Model fh inal Homin Di ral fom As Sean Ai Wiliam Lenard, Ed arse Rabruon nero Para Eo tana