Meat eating gene

[Guest guest]

Recently read the book, " Upright: The Evolutionary Key to Becoming

Human by Craig Stanford. " (1) This is an easy to read scientific

book about human evolutionary development and would recommend

everyone interested in anthropology to read it.

So what are we supposed to eat anyway? Obviously what we

were " designed " by evolutionary forces to eat. O.K. what would that

be then?

For the answer to this, consider our closest relatives, the

chimpanzee and gorilla. Apparently we had a common ancestor with

these apes perhaps 6-10 million years ago and are to this day still

very similar in genetic makeup. The lowland gorilla subsides mostly

on fruit, the chimpanzee also mostly on fruit but is also an

opportunistic hunter/scavenger who will eat meat on every occasion

that avails itself.

Supposedly one of the driving forces in becoming bipedal was in the

increased efficiency to travel long distances to hunt/scavenge for

meat. This required a modification the author calls a " meat gene "

allowing us humans to digest meat. The chimpanzee also apparently

has a similar gene that allows it to eat meat. Apparently the

gorilla doesn't though. When zoo gorillas were fed a diet including

meat, they quickly developed arteriosclerosis, diabetes, and heart

attacks, etc. so zoo keepers discontinued feeding meat to gorillas.

My guess is that as many of us get older, out " meat gene " which

began to develop only over the last few million years, may become

somewhat defective and not process meat/fat as well as it once did,

and like the meat fed zoo gorillas, we also develop many

associated diseases.

So this would imply that we should eat more fruit, far less meat, and

also vegetables (highland gorillas eat these) and not too many

grains, since the agricultural revolution only started approximately

0.01 million years ago.

Aequalsz

(1) Book Description

What, in evolutionary terms, propelled us to become human? The

answer lies not in our forebears " big brains or their facility with

language but in their ability to walk on two feet. That remarkable

fact — standing and walking seem so mundane -- only starts the

drama

that Craig Stanford, codirector of the Jane Goodall Research Center,

tells of our origins.

Today scientists are finding far more evidence than ever before

about our beginnings. The discoveries are prompting dramatic

reappraisals of common beliefs about our past. Throw out the simple

idea that millions of years ago some apes moved to the African

savanna, where they evolved into runty hominids who eventually

metamorphosed into us. Dump that textbook image of an ape

transforming into a human in five stages. Newly found remnants of

two-legged " proto-humans " show that our ancestry is much richer and

more convoluted. In no way can we still think of ourselves as

standing on the top rung of an evolutionary ladder of excellence.

But what about our tremendous thinking powers? Our brains could have

started to grow because, as our ancestors adapted to standing and

walking upright, they became more successful at hunting ever larger

animals. The meatier diet could have fueled the increase in brain

size. And the switch to standing and walking tall may have allowed

our forebears to develop language, let alone take over the entire

world as their home.

Describing his - and others' - latest research and interpretations,

Stanford offers a fresh, galvanizing take on what made us human.

[Guest guest]

Hi Aequalsz,

I'm going to pass on reading another "paleo" book. My conclusion was that people adapt and certainly must have changed a little in a million years. I remember a Japanese crab that some time ago resembled a samurai face so it wasn't eaten. The result was the others were eaten and in a relatively short time, many of the crabs have faces and enhanced faces at that (on the carapace).

So I think it likely the body could have adapted to eating anything. Some are diff; some have allergies, some thrive better on meats than veggies and vice versa; so no one plan is best for all. Some people today live at high latitudes or high altitudes and have survived on nothing but animal products. I have a feeling those that couldn't survive moved away, or died, and we have no idea how many millions that was.

Mother nature could not have learned what we might do to live longer. We weren't designed for extended lifespan. If we have a stroke that sorta nullifies our reproduction ability. But, knowing the design we might modify MN's plan to extend lifespan a little.

My next book is a biochem text "Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry, by , 3rd Edition". That to explore why we can't lose the "fat that won't come out".

Try to find out why so many people know so little about fat mobilization.

Regards.

----- Original Message -----

From: aequalsz

Sent: Friday, July 30, 2004 8:04 AM

Subject: [ ] "Meat eating gene"

Recently read the book, "Upright: The Evolutionary Key to Becoming Human by Craig Stanford." (1) This is an easy to read scientific book about human evolutionary development and would recommend everyone interested in anthropology to read it.So what are we supposed to eat anyway? Obviously what we were "designed" by evolutionary forces to eat. O.K. what would that be then? For the answer to this, consider our closest relatives, the chimpanzee and gorilla. Apparently we had a common ancestor with these apes perhaps 6-10 million years ago and are to this day still very similar in genetic makeup. The lowland gorilla subsides mostly on fruit, the chimpanzee also mostly on fruit but is also an opportunistic hunter/scavenger who will eat meat on every occasion that avails itself. Supposedly one of the driving forces in becoming bipedal was in the increased efficiency to travel long distances to hunt/scavenge for meat. This required a modification the author calls a "meat gene" allowing us humans to digest meat. The chimpanzee also apparently has a similar gene that allows it to eat meat. Apparently the gorilla doesn't though. When zoo gorillas were fed a diet including meat, they quickly developed arteriosclerosis, diabetes, and heart attacks, etc. so zoo keepers discontinued feeding meat to gorillas. My guess is that as many of us get older, out "meat gene" which began to develop only over the last few million years, may become somewhat defective and not process meat/fat as well as it once did, and like the meat fed zoo gorillas, we also develop many associated diseases. So this would imply that we should eat more fruit, far less meat, andalso vegetables (highland gorillas eat these) and not too many grains, since the agricultural revolution only started approximately 0.01 million years ago. Aequalsz