10,000 Years Ago We Changed Our Diet and It Was a Huge Mistake

Hello 42, If you've been scrolling through social media recently, watched any Netflix documentaries, or read a lot of podcasts, you're probably confused about what you should be eating. According to some influential experts, you should be a meat-eating vegetarian Pescatarian insect. vegan who avoids seed oils, sugar, acid, dairy and fun, confusing right?, but I want to forget about all the fats and silence the commotion to answer a really simple question at the end of it all, of the I don't think it's talked about enough. Are humans really meant to eat for any agenda? Let's explore our ancestral roots and follow them to the present day and delve into what the body responds well to and what it doesn't, and at the end of this amazing journey, I promise.

We will have an answer, but I warn you that you may not like it, so I think the best place to start is from the beginning, from the beginning, the first hominids first appeared about 7 million

years

ago. We don't know much about our ancestors. This time, but fossils of sahal sahal tropus sahis, but fossils of sahelanthropus chadis, early hominids have been found that exhibit small teeth with thick enamel, suggesting that they occasionally ate small amounts of hard foods such as nuts and seeds, but their

diet

It consisted mainly of softer foods, fruits, leaves, insects. and occasionally meat, although if they did eat meat, it would have been small creatures like mice, rats, birds, fish and small reptiles, the home-cooked

diet

remained the same for the next few million

years

until Lucy came along and ruined everything by saying something stupid, stupid as I want.

Eating chubbas chubbas would have been a difficult food for previous species as we had not yet discovered cooking to soften them. In 1974 in Ethiopia several hundred pieces of fossilized bone dating back to about 3.2 million years were discovered. One of the best preserved examples we have found of ostralegus, a genus of harmonists that existed between 4 and 3 million years ago. Lucy filled in a lot of blanks for us, in particular she showed great improvement in her jaw and teeth structure. OST epiphagus would have been able to eat many more nuts and seeds than sahal mopus and hard, raw vegetables such as tubis.

They would also have been able to process tougher and slightly larger pieces of meat if they could pick them, speaking of which, we didn't start hunting. for meat until 2 million years ago, when Homer erectus first emerged on the planet, this species was a major turning point. Homo erectus was taller, had a larger brain, and was more dexterous than its predecessors. These traits allowed them to develop more sophisticated tools that allowed them to hunt and process meat more efficiently. Fossil evidence shows clear signs of butchery in small animal bones dating back to this time, suggesting that we ate meat more frequently at this time. regularity, but the biggest change in our ancestors' diet came after we learned to control fire for a time.

We long thought this happened about 400,000 years ago, but Ash, founding caves in South Africa, suggests it was actually about 1.5 million years ago. Cooking food kills parasites and prolongs our lifespan. Cooked foods need to be chewed less, so there was a steady decline in our jaw. After this era, the intestine also became smaller because it did not need to use as much energy to digest food and the fibrous roots of vbl roots were now on the menu more often, as were tough, flavorful lean meats, such as hunting, the effect of increased meat. Consumption was profound, the high-quality nutrients found in meats are believed to have played a crucial role in the evolution of our larger, more complex brains.

Meat is more energy dense than plants and is high in vitamin B12, zinc and iron, which are crucial for overall brain development. Cooking allows for greater absorption of nutrients from all types of food, leading to much faster development of the species. Things then continued largely the same for the next million years until about 10,000 years ago, when the arrival of agriculture marked the biggest change in Homo's diet. sapiens left behind our nomadic lifestyle of hunting and gathering for one of agriculture and settled in a place before the development of agriculture, the human diet had to adapt to the environment in which we found ourselves, the populations that lived near bodies of water would have had a diet richer in fish and seaweed, while those living in forested areas would have eaten more fruits, nuts and game, but in a post-agricultural world we could now, for the first time in history, adapt the environment to us in a few centuries the amount of forest foods Our diets fell sharply, we began to eat much less nuts, seeds, wild fruits and game meat, instead there were grains.

More grains than could be shaken with a sheath of wheat. A grain-based diet can support a much larger population per square mile than game. and foraging, that's when Homo sapiens started spreading around the world and our numbers grew exponentially, but farming wasn't necessarily a good thing, we were less healthy than ever before. Early agriculture lacks quite a few important nutrients, specifically vitamins A and C, which are common in vegetables and fruits and the b12 and omega-3 fatty acids found in meat and fish, all of these elements were severely lacking in this new grain-based diet, which was also a high carbohydrate diet which, as we will discover, provides you with a lot of energy but lacks nutritional value we had conquered the environment we had made it our slave and as a result we became unhealthy waste skeletal remains of it period showing an increase in dental problems such as cavities and gum disease that were rare among the hunter-gatherer populations there There was a reduction in average height and an increase in signs of malnutrition and diseases related to nutritional deficiencies, but some More rather interestingly happened during this time, our genes

changed

seriously, specifically in most human cultures, but not all quite quickly in the evolutionary timeline, at least they developed lactase.

Persistence is a fascinating genetic adaptation that allowed some groups of the human population to digest lactose into adulthood, something we couldn't easily do before. This trait is a direct and fairly rapid consequence of the domestication of dairy animals. It is a stellar example of how the development of agriculture even in the short space of 10,000 years has etched a permanent mark on our DNA, this tells us that human genetics has flexibility and who knows what new food trends we will adapt to in the coming years. thousands of years. Now agriculture may have made us less healthy than ever. before, but it can be thought that this trend was reversed at some point after all, with the arrival of the Middle Ages in the 18th century, more people were consuming a varied agricultural diet than ever before.

Gone are the days of bread and GRL for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was in the various free-range meats, farm-grown fruits and vegetables and complex carbohydrates, nuts, seeds and legumes, and an increase in preserved foods also meant better nutrition during the winter and yes, all of this helped us start to recover and even exceed those nutrition standards. and the health we left behind in our hunting and giving days and in developed nations, life expectancy broke unprecedented barriers. The problem was that this only happened in areas of the world that had a middle class and therefore had access to such a varied nutritious diet and then of course.

There was the Great Plague on the horizon, not the Black Death, but something much worse: a plague that once had seeped into society began to rust us at our very core, the plague of processed foods, now I won't talk . Rant here about the evils of processed foods because we've all been lectured about it more than we probably care at this point, but one thing is for sure, as processed foods have proliferated all over the world. world, obesity has skyrocketed in multiple metal HEIs in the past. decades have found a strong link between so-called ultra-processed foods and an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and premature death, so we have established what we have been eating for the last 7 million years and how the human diet has

changed

during that time, but we still haven't answered the most important question, what should humans eat today?

To answer this, I'm going to attack it on two fronts: human physiology and nutritional needs, so let's start with physiology, consider our digestive tract, the length and complexity of an animal's gastrointestinal tract is intrinsically linked to its diet. Herbivorous animals, such as cows, have long, complex digestive systems that include multiple stomach chambers or a long colon. Plant materials such as grasses and leaves are difficult to break down and the cellulose found in plants requires prolonged fermentation to efficiently extract nutrients, some animals even have to regurgitate their food and consume it or eat their own feces because one passage through their tract gastrointestinal is insufficient.

Herbivores also have to eat constantly throughout the day to consume enough daily nutrients, conversely, humans. You can eat twice or once a day or even once every other day and still extract enough nutrients. The shorter colon of Homo sapiens compared to herbivores suggests that it has evolved to consume meat, although it is not as short as that of carnivores, which makes sense since we. We are somewhere in between, we are omnivores, humans also have a very high level of stomach acidity compared to other omnivores and even more than some carnivores. This is an evolutionary byproduct of eating meat, as strong stomach acids are necessary to kill bacteria that can proliferate.

In meat, the human pancreas also produces special enzymes that are competent to break down proteins and fats. All this together and Homo sapiens is of all omnivores one of the best adapted to eating meat. The human diet is also printed in a really obvious way. In our teeth we have molars for grinding and canines for tearing. As omnivores, this gives us a level of flexibility rarely seen in the animal kingdom, allowing us to process plants and tough meats. That's our physiology in a nutshell, but what does our body actually do? If your body is an engine, it needs exactly what combination of fuels it needs to run at maximum power and efficiency.

Well, the body's fuel mix can be divided into two categories: macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients are like gasoline for our engine. The body continually needs them. reserve to keep functioning micronutrients, on the other hand, are like motor oil, they lubricate the engine ensuring that everything runs smoothly, as for macronutrients, there are three carbohydrates, proteins and fats, carbohydrates are the main source of energy for the Body, proteins and fats can also be used for energy, but they are more complex and difficult to break down. Carbohydrates are quick, easy energy that is broken down into glucose in the body, which is the main source of energy for the brain and muscles.

Carbohydrates also have a protein-sparing effect, so the body will choose to use carbohydrates as fuel. instead of breaking down proteins that could otherwise be used for vital bodily functions and tissue repair, but as we all know by now, carbs have an ugly side. Carbohydrates are essential for our energy needs, but eat too many and suffer the side effects of any inadequate carbohydrate. They are not used for energy, whether through intensive exercise or simply walking, they are stored as glycogen in the liver and muscles. The liver stores about 100 grams of glycogen and the muscles 400 G. This is all good because it can be used for energy later, but when the glycogen stores are already full and carbohydrates are consumed, they are converted to fat and stored throughout the body as dose tissue, which is a fancy word for wobbly parts, also excessive intake of carbohydrates, especially simple carbohydrates like sugar and basically everything tasty causes your blood sugar levels to rise.

Insulin is released to remove this excess glucose from the bloodstream, but if this behavior is repeated over a long period of time, it candevelop insulin resistance and type two diabetes, so the tldr of carbohydrates is this: we should eat them from their The body needs them for energy, but eating too many carbohydrates, especially bad ones, leads to diabetes, obesity , heart disease and that old favorite death, then there is protein, macronutrient VIN, favorite childhood proteins, they are the building blocks of life, your muscles, bones, skin, hair and so on. everything else needs protein to regenerate your muscles are made up of small strands of protein called myofibrils.

These break down when you exercise and you need proteins in your body to fuse them back together and when you cut your collagen, the most abundant protein in your body, it is used to create a scaffold on which new tissue can grow to close the wound. Proteins also regulate your immune system. They create enzymes. They prevent blood clots. They transport and store nutrients. They maintain fluid balance and acid levels. In a pinch, they can be used for energy when your carbohydrate and fat stores are depleted, so asking if the body needs protein would be like asking if a bun needs cream.

By the way, the answer is yes, unless you are completely psyched. Government guidelines in the UK and US recommend around 55g of protein per day. day or 45 grams for women, but recent research suggests that weightlifters and older people suffering from muscle loss should consume much more protein. Anyone who participates in regular exercise or does resistance training should consume 1.2 to 2 g of protein per kilogram of body weight for most men is at least 110 g per day, but the strange thing is that not all Proteins are created the same way and protein quality is more important than protein quantity.

For efficient protein symphysis, the process of tissue repair and muscle development, the body needs complete proteins. proteins that contain all nine essential amino acids in approximately equal amounts. There is actually a number to objectively measure protein quality. The higher the dasas, the more protein your body absorbs and uses. The higher it is, the better the foods with the highest doses will be. They are all animal-based, such as pork, chicken, beef, eggs, and proteins that come from milk, so don't be fooled by the protein content of foods. of plant origin, such as peas, oats and soy. You can consume 50g of PE protein, but your body will win.

We will not be able to use all 50 grams because the proteins contain unbalanced amino acids, while the body will completely use 50 grams of chicken protein. Finally, there are often misunderstood and unfairly maligned fats that are essential for the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K, and are also crucial for brain health. Fats come in free flavors. Saturated, unsaturated and trans fats. Saturated fats are found in animal products and some vegetable oils were once considered the bad guys, thought to clog arteries and increase the risk of heart disease and, truth be told, Jwel hasn't decided that yet, however, more research Recent studies suggest the story is a little more complex: Your body actually needs saturated fats, but the trick is to balance them with unsaturated fats, the so-called good fats.

Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats found in foods such as olive oil, avocados, nuts and fish are champions of good heart health, helping to reduce bad cholesterol levels, reduce inflammation and have been linked to a lower risk of heart disease fatty acids. omega-3 a typical polyunsaturated fat found in abundance in fatty fish particularly beneficial for brain function and reduces the risks of depression, dementia and arthritis and then there are trans fats, the real villains, these are mostly artificial fats created in an industrial process that adds hydrogen to liquid vegetable oils to make them more solid. Trans fats found in many fried foods, baked goods, and processed snacks are associated with an increased risk of heart disease and, like luten, should generally be avoided if possible.

Dietary guidelines recommend that between 20 and 35% of daily calorie intake come from predominantly unsaturated fats, so The human body needs carbohydrates, fats and, above all, proteins to function, but remember that there are other fuels in mix. Micronutrients Micronutrients are divided into vitamins and minerals such as iron, zinc, calcium and potassium. Vitamins are organic compounds essential for bodily functions such as Vitamins A and K for the immune response are all fat-soluble and are stored in the body or consumed at least somewhat irregularly, while the various B vitamins and vitamin C are not They can be stored in large quantities and therefore must be consumed regularly for efficient brain functioning.

All body-building vitamins play a crucial role and each one of them does something for us, whether it's vitamin D for bone health or vitamin A for vision and immune support, but what does this mean for our diets? Trying to figure out what we humans need to eat? Surely we should eat the foods that give us a healthy balance of all the vitamins and a quick side note. I said foods, not supplements. Healthy people can get all the vitamins and minerals they need by eating plain foods. Additionally, it is generally recommended to get all the vitamins and minerals they need. minimal vitamins and minerals from foods rather than supplements, unless your doctor has recommended otherwise, anyway let's get back to those vitamins, so vitamin A is mainly found in fish oils and dairy products, as well as in eggs, spinach and kale.

Vitamin D is a similar story. in fatty fish, egg yolks, mushrooms and red meat, vitamin E, surprise, surprise is also found in fish, but it is also present in almonds, sunflower seeds and pine nuts. Vitamin K is the queen of green leafy vegetables, you will find it in almost all dark green plants, broccoli. kale chard asparagus brussels sprouts, etc. Vitamin C comes from citrus fruits, black currants, strawberries and some green vegetables and finally there are the various B vitamins, there are eight and they can be found mainly in animal products, meat, cheese, milk, eggs, etc., however , there is a. vitamin in particular that contains a unique clue in our journey to discover what humans should eat.

B12 is a really interesting vitamin because it is the only one that can only be found in significant quantities in animal products. B12 can be found in large quantities in all types. of meat, fish, eggs and dairy, this is because it is synthesized exclusively by bacteria that only live in the intestines of animals, there are no plant foods that are important natural sources of B12, which presents a little problem for people who want to consume meat. Diet free of vitamin B12 because it simply cannot be omitted, it is absolutely essential for our development and survival as human beings.

B12 is necessary for the formation of red blood cells and a deficiency often leads to anemia. B12 is also crucial for brain development and continued brain health. Like heart health, a lack of B12 has also been linked to an increased risk of depression and anxiety, although today many non-animal food products are artificially fortified with B12 to alleviate these problems in people on low- or no-meat diets. However, B12 is one of the clearest signs we have is that, from a purely evolutionary point of view, without any moral or other consideration, humans should eat meat and other animal products to know what our bodies need. and know what we have been eating for millions of years.

Can we finally answer that question? What should humans eat well? If I had to give an answer, it would probably be this. Whatever works for you. I think it is very important that we educate ourselves on our biological requirements and make sure we cover all our bases. With our diets avoiding excessive consumption of any food group, but the truth is that we are all different not only in beliefs, morals and tastes, but also physiologically. The Personalized Nutrition Project was a large-scale study conducted in Israel in 2015 in which the blood sugar levels of 800 participants were tracked after eating.

What they discovered is that there is no diet that fits Every person's body responds differently to the same foods. Ice cream may cause one person's blood sugar level to rise, but the same ice cream could not have a significant effect on another individual. This is important. It's important to note that because high blood sugar levels have long been linked to weight gain, heart disease, and diabetes, interestingly they also discovered that the way blood sugar levels reacted in people's blood largely depended on the health of their gut microbiome, those with healthy levels of good gut bacteria were better able to tolerate high levels. sugary foods but that's a topic for another day the personalized nutrition project is just one study within a new and emerging field of science called Neutrogena why people react differently to different foods and diets explores how the presence of mutations Specific genetics in some people affects what they should optimally consume neutrogenic genetic variants, such as the mtfr mutation, which affects f metabolism and has implications for cardiovascular health and pregnancy.

They've also found a gene that determines how well or how poorly caffeine works for you. It's called cyp1 A2 if caffeine doesn't give you a benefit like most people, you probably have the fast metabolism version of this gene by analyzing these various genetic markers and many more that we have yet to discover. Neutrogenics aims to personalize nutritional advice by going beyond a one-size-fits-all diet. recommendation to create personalized diets that adapt to individual genetic profiles. Imagine sending your blood to some Silicon Valley company only to get the results on an app that tells you exactly how certain foods affect you personally and offers you a DNA-specific diet after all that is said.

I don't feel comfortable leaving the answer to what humans should beat at whatever the hell you want, although it's true, for the most part, it seems unscientific, especially after everything we've learned in this video, so if I had to give an answer based only on After my research, I guess I would have to ask the question: when are we humans at our healthiest? If we look at the timeline of our existence, when could we identify the time of optimal nutrition for humanity? To answer this, we must first completely ignore life expectancy as a factor. The average life expectancy in developed countries has almost doubled in the last 100 years, but that has been driven primarily by medical advances and better understanding of general health, not diet;

Fortunately for me, a lot of research has already been done to answer the question. The question of when was optimal human nutrition, and while there is still an ongoing debate and probably always will be, the overwhelming consensus among researchers, scientists and dieticians is that we were at our healthiest when we were hunter-gatherers, aka such as the Paleolithic Era, which spanned approximately 2.5 million. Years ago up to 10,000 years ago, just before the advent of agriculture, when we basically fed everything, some researchers suggest that as hunter-gatherers, our diets were most in line with our evolutionary adaptations, as they always have been, i.e. in every sense, our evolutionary adaptations.

The body had evolved to want to process and accept foods and nutrients during the Paleolithic Era. We were meeting those goals and also weren't eating anything at the time that was particularly hard for our bodies to process because grains and processed foods didn't exist yet. our diet consists mainly of lean meats fish eggs nuts seeds fruits and vegetables that is why there are so many modern proponents of the paleo diet who advocate eating exactly those things and avoiding modern conveniences like wheat and any foods with refined sugar such assweet sodas etc sounds simple and that's because it is, although I don't particularly like the term paleo diet because it's not a diet at all, it's just a way of eating that we've evolved to do for millions. years and seems to be working, there are early signs that the paleo diet has shown reductions in chronic disease among those who follow it, but I would argue that there is a slightly healthier diet and lifestyle that better suits our tastes like modern humans. which still provides all the benefits of the paleo diet and a little more Ultimately, if I were to answer the question of what should humans eat on this diet, my answer would be my final answer and please note that this is just my personal opinion.

I have derived based on the research I have done. Ask anyone else and they might answer differently. Some of you may have already guessed what I am going to say. Yes, it is the Mediterranean diet. Yes Yes. I know you've heard all about it. over and over again, but it turns out there are hundreds of good reasons for it. You see, the paleo diet may be pretty good on everyone, but humans are ultimately creatures of habit and we are extremely susceptible to temptation and that's a bit of a problem because the paleo diet is actually very limiting, i.e. eliminates two of modern humanity's greatest inventions, wheat and cheese.

The paleo diet prohibits the consumption of dairy and anything made from grains, such as breads and cakes, last time I checked, they were all delicious things because they are post. agricultural inventions and were not consumed by hunter-gatherers, but the Mediterranean diet has managed to magically fuse the best elements of the Paleo diet with the wonders of agriculture in a beautiful combination of good food and world-leading health, the Mediterranean diet, which is mainly diet. from Italy, Greece and Spain, like the paleo diet, advocate the consumption of whole foods in their natural, unadulterated and unprocessed state; However, the Mediterranean diet expands the paleo culinary palette with the addition of whole grains, legumes, and dairy products, especially fermented ones such as cheese and yogurt. are great for your good health, these additions not only provide a wider variety of flavors and textures, but they also provide essential nutrients that may be less abundant on a strict paleo diet, for example, whole grains and leg steams They are excellent sources of dietary fiber, B vitamins and minerals such as iron and magnesium, sourdough bread and dairy products, both extremely common in medicine but completely excluded from the Paleo diet, are fantastic health-boosting probiotics. of the intestinal microbiome, something that is increasingly proving to be one of the pillars of general well-being.

Good health Probably the hallmark of the Mediterranean diet is its emphasis on healthy fats; olive oil and fish are consumed virtually daily; we get monounsaturated fats from olive oil and polyunsaturated and omega-3 fats from fatty fish; These fats are not only heart healthy but also help with the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, improving the nutritional value of all foods consumed. Furthermore, Mediterranean people love red wine and drink it almost daily. Red wine is full of a phenol called resveratrol that increases good cholesterol levels and has a neuroprotective effect that protects the brain from degeneration, but for me the biggest benefit of following the Mediterranean diet is that it tastes amazing and is simply It is a pleasure to eat and, above all, apart from avoiding processed foods, it has no restrictions.

I firmly believe that any restrictive diet we impose on ourselves ultimately degrades our enjoyment of food and makes it more difficult to follow said diet and the results speak for themselves as of 2020. Italy and Spain are ranked among the Top 10 worldwide in terms of life expectancy and the Italian island of Sardinia is one of them. of just five blue zones in regions of the world where people regularly live to be over 100 years old, in conclusion, there is no one-size-fits-all answer to what humans should eat a diet that includes a variety of whole foods is rich in fruits, vegetables, healthy fats and proteins and is adaptable to individual needs and preferences seems to be the closest we can get to the so-called optimal human diet, but remember that what is optimal for one person may not work for you and, Ultimately, all you can do is educate yourself on how you do it.

Eating affects your body and then eat what you think will make you happy and healthy so to sum up if I really had to answer the question what should humans eat I would say this, the same thing we have been eating for thousands if not millions of years, I hope this video has given you a brief overview of what it could be. After all, it's worked pretty well for us up to this point, so if it ain't broke, don't fix it, thanks. Just a few words to say that I couldn't make these videos without the support of my Patreon members.

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