Science: Carbs Are Why We’re Smart
Eat some chips. Evolve a little.
Put down the cauliflower popcorn and take note: scientific study of human evolution has found that even if meat led to larger brains, starchy foods boosted our IQs. Science Daily reports:
“In a new study published in The Quarterly Review of Biology, Dr. Karen Hardy and her team bring together archaeological, anthropological, genetic, physiological and anatomical data to argue that carbohydrate consumption, particularly in the form of starch, was critical for the accelerated expansion of the human brain over the last million years…”
Dr. Hardy’s team believes the role of starchy food in enhancing human evolution has been overlooked. Their report indicates if early humans had a diet too low in carbohydrates, there wouldn’t have been any way for the brain to access all the blood glucose it needs to work with optimal efficiency.
This may not be the disturbance in the Force that flows through your local CrossFit boxes or other tribes of Tabata-sprinting Paleo devotees that it seems–the study’s scope was confined to making an argument about early man. Obesity is still an epidemic and there’s plenty of evidence the culprit is diet, not activity level. It might be wise to wait before relying on the intelligence-enhancing powers of cake.
Photos by Paolo Bis/Getty Images
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