"The 6 Million-Year History of the Human Body: Science Reveals Evolution, Health, and Disease" was a really interesting book!!

"The 6 Million-Year History of the Human Body: Science Reveals Evolution, Health, and Disease" was a really interesting book!!
It's been over a month since I finished reading this book, but I would like to recommend it to you.
The author is a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University.
Barefoot running is becoming increasingly popular.
He was the one who started the boom.
I once heard the phrase "Born to run."
I have introduced a book before, and this teacher was the basis for that book.
http://matsuosekkei.blog85.fc2.com/blog-entry-1781.html
The above book was quite an eye-opener, but this book is equally or even more so.
It was great content.
To sum up, it looks like this.
- Humans and chimpanzees separated about 6 million years ago.
・It is believed that the first humans filled their stomachs with fruit as much as possible.
Some individuals can eat hard, fibrous foods such as woody stems that require persistent chewing.
It became more advantageous
Bipedal walking consumes up to 1/4 the energy of quadrupedal walking
- He gave up speed, strength, and agility in order to become a long-distance runner and a tool maker.
- The shift to bipedal walking has led to sprained ankles, back pain, knee pain, etc.
・It is thought that humans began eating meat 2.6 million years ago.
Today, meat makes up about one-third of the diet of hunter-gatherers in the tropics (and even more in temperate regions).
Meat not only provides five times the energy of an equal amount of carrots, but also provides essential protein and fat.
It was also a treasure trove of other nutrients such as zinc and iron.
- Their tall noses help them stay cool during long walks
Modern humans originated in Africa (around the Congo) between 300,000 and 200,000 years ago.
- They left Africa between 100,000 and 80,000 years ago and dispersed to various places.
The first human population was less than 3,000 people
All modern humans contain between 2 and 5% Neanderthal genes.
・As a result of being able to stand, the shape of the throat became more suitable for speaking.
Early humans are thought to have moved about 15km a day.
Jared Diamond says agriculture was "mankind's greatest mistake"
Intensive pastoralists have access to more food than hunter-gatherers.
The quality of food is poor and the weather can increase the risk of starvation.
High population density also makes infectious diseases more likely to spread.
- Mismatch diseases that are plaguing us today (various diseases caused by lack of exercise, excess sugar, lack of dietary fiber, etc.)
Most of this stems from the transition from hunting and gathering to agriculture.
-Hunter-gatherers' diet includes consuming dozens of different types of plants according to the season.
In contrast, farmers prioritize quantity at the expense of quality and diversity of plants, resulting in vitamin and mineral deficiencies.
has decreased dramatically.
Hunter-gatherers were likely to have been several orders of magnitude less likely to starve than farmers.
・Hunter-gatherers consumed very little starch, so they had almost no cavities. (2%) However,
Since agriculture began, tooth decay has increased dramatically (by 13% or more).
- It is believed that diabetes caused by excess sugar from carbohydrates was occurring among early farmers.
- Farmers' physical activity levels were slightly higher than those of hunter-gatherers because they lacked agricultural tools.
・Permanent settlement through agriculture led to the fixed location of garbage and feces, which eliminated filthiness. As a result, infectious diseases became more likely to spread.
Hunter-gatherers consumed 70-80% less carbohydrate than the average American.
10% sugar, 5 to 10 times dietary fiber, 5 to 17 times vitamin C, 20 times vitamin D
They were consuming 30% as much sodium (salt) and 5 times as much potassium (from vegetables and fruits).
(It is likely that the human body evolved based on such nutrient distribution.)
- It was common for sleeping environments to be noisy to a certain extent, such as firewood, outside noise, and the sounds of people sleeping nearby.
(This makes sense considering how easy it is to sleep in the passenger seat of a car or on a train!)
- The reason why sleeping times differ depending on age is to protect oneself from enemies while surviving in a tribe.
It may have been a defensive measure
・Even if they are both sweets, fruits and sweets differ in the presence or absence of dietary fiber.
Fruits do not raise blood sugar levels easily (although they do raise blood sugar levels).
And many more...
There are still many more interesting things to say, but if I were to write about them all, it wouldn't be worth reading.
This book gives an insight into what a true human being should be, something that cannot be understood from the current perspective of nutrition.
It can also be said to be the ultimate history book of how our ancestors survived.
I think this is one of the best books I've read this year.