A new study, co-written by researchers from the University of Sydney, challenges the belief that meat deserves all the credit [for the evolution of the human brain].
Rather, the researchers say, starchy carbohydrates “were essential for the evolution” of the human brain nearly 1 million years ago. The human brain uses as much as 25 percent of the body’s energy and up to 60 percent of blood glucose, the researchers say. Such a glucose and energy-hungry brain was unlikely to develop on a low-carbohydrate diet.
“The research is a blow to advocates of the Paleo diet, which shuns starch-rich vegetables and grains,” the University of Sydney says.
Instead of the low-carb, no-grain Paleo diet for optimal health, the authors highlight the importance of including old-school starchy foods such as potatoes, taro, yams and sweet potatoes. They also advocate eating more recently introduced starchy grains such as wheat, rye, barley, corn, oats, quinoa and millet.
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“While many Paleo diet advocates avoid carb-containing foods, this research and from other palaeontologists show that, in fact, most Paleo diets were moderate in carbohydrate not low,” McMillan says. “In fact, Loren Cordain’s [the founder of the Paleo movement] own paper showed that a true Paleo diet was closer to a Mediterranean diet than to a low-carb one.”
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion and analysis. Read full, original post: Meat-brained humans? Paleo cops a punch as researchers highlight importance of carbs for human evolution
