Knowledge Tree
George Armelagos
Facts (13)
Sources
Evolutionary Eating — What We Can Learn From Our Primitive Past todaysdietitian.com Apr 1, 2009 13 facts
claimGeorge Armelagos asserts that the hunter-gatherer genotype, when exposed to abundant carbohydrates in modern diets, leads to health issues such as diabetes.
perspectiveGeorge Armelagos believes that examining Paleolithic nutrition is useful for understanding the origins of current health problems rather than simply reverting to ancient eating habits.
accountGeorge Armelagos compares the time expenditure of !Kung hunter-gatherer women collecting food to the time expenditure of modern individuals acquiring food, noting that while modern food acquisition takes less time (40 minutes total for shopping and cooking), it lacks the physical activity inherent in the hunter-gatherer method.
claimAccording to George Armelagos, approximately 2 million years ago, early hominid ancestors experienced a decrease in the length of the large intestine and an increase in the length of the small intestine, which forced a reliance on high-density foods.
claimGeorge Armelagos asserts that human evolutionary change was driven by a demand for high-density foods, which served as a major selective force for millions of years.
perspectiveGeorge Armelagos suggests that the solution to modern nutritional issues may lie in better understanding human evolutionary history rather than just educating the public about nutrition.
claimGeorge Armelagos argues that the 10,000 years since the development of agriculture has not been sufficient time to significantly alter the genetic structure of the human population.
referenceThe Paleolithic Prescription is a source that George Armelagos references to support the argument that modern humans require more exercise.
claimGeorge Armelagos states that the introduction of agriculture increased the prevalence of nutritional and infectious diseases in humans.
claimGeorge Armelagos claims that the industrialization of the food system, which began approximately 200 years ago, has exacerbated the nutritional dilemma faced by humans.
claimGeorge Armelagos, a professor of anthropology at Emory University, states that the genotype of hunter-gatherer populations was adapted for cycles of feast or famine, which is reflected in how fat is stored on the human body.
perspectiveGeorge Armelagos believes that the most significant lesson to be learned from hunter-gatherer ancestors is the importance of physical exercise.
claimGeorge Armelagos suggests that the basic way humans consume proteins and carbohydrates has not changed significantly since the development of agriculture.