Category: Evolutionary biology

According to research published in the National Academy of Sciences, cooked meat offers a higher net energy gain than raw meat, challenging the notion that raw is always better. This critical distinction is at the heart of the question: why do humans prefer cooked meat?

While commonly classified as omnivores, a 2021 study led by Tel Aviv University researchers suggested that early humans were "hyper-carnivores" for two million years, fueling debate about our species' true dietary identity. This provocative idea challenges conventional wisdom and prompts a deeper look into our biology and history.

Over 61 million years ago, a genetic mutation rendered early primates, the ancestors of modern humans, unable to synthesize their own vitamin C. This is why the human body cannot produce vitamin C and must obtain it from dietary sources, a stark contrast to the majority of animal species that produce it internally.

Studies on modern-day hunter-gatherer populations in East Africa, like the Hadzabe and Maasai, reveal mean serum vitamin D levels of around 115 nmol/L (46 ng/ml). This provides a crucial benchmark for how much vitamin D did our ancestors get and highlights a dramatic shift from current average levels in many industrialized societies.

Over 600 million cases of foodborne illness occur worldwide each year, with a significant number linked to consuming contaminated, undercooked, or raw foods. Despite the risks, the question of whether humans can adapt to eat raw meat persists, ignoring centuries of evolutionary and biological changes that make it ill-advised.

Evolutionary biologists suggest our deep-seated attraction to sugar was once a key survival advantage. The question of whether humans evolved to like sugar is central to understanding our modern dietary challenges and why sweet treats are so hard to resist.

Vitamin B12 is crucial for human health, but is not produced by plants or animals, only by microorganisms. Ancestors of modern humans sourced this essential nutrient through a combination of eating animal products, consuming bacteria from soil, and drinking untreated water.

In prehistoric times, a preference for sweet-tasting foods—a signal for calorie-rich energy—was a survival advantage, not a health risk. This hardwired trait is the primary reason why have we evolved to like sugar so much. However, this once-beneficial instinct is now a liability in a world of abundant, processed sweets.

Evidence from Stone Age 'Venus' figurines, which often depict obese female forms, indicates that some form of obesity existed as far back as 30,000 years ago. However, this archaeological curiosity represents the exceptional rather than the norm, and modern scientific consensus debunks the myth of widespread fat cavemen.

Based on microfossil evidence from Neanderthal teeth, it is clear that early humans consumed a wide array of foods, not just meat, and that hunter-gatherers eat eggs whenever they are opportunistically available. These nutritional powerhouses offered a quick and calorie-dense food source that was valuable for survival and contributed significantly to their diet when found.