What Early Man Ate

Newswise – While theories about what our human ancestors ate abound,and are touted in modern low carb diet books, which promotethe idea that ancient man ate meat and not carbohydrates,until now there have been few methods for proving any ofthese theories. But now University of Arkansas professorPeter S. Ungar has found that by comparing modern-day teethwith the fossil teeth from ancient skulls, he can answerthese questions. He has discovered a major change in thediet of our early ancestors, as they switched from foragingand eating a plant-based diet, to becoming more efficienthunters and eating tougher, more chewy foods?like meat.

Teeth tell dietary tales in different ways: including theirshapes, which offer insights into what they were designed tochew. The incisor (“eye teeth”) of humans and some othermammals, which are designed to tear flesh, have convincedanthropologists that while a vegetarian diet may be healthy,humans were not designed to be vegetarians. And since weonly have a single stomach (unlike cows, which have two), weknow we weren’t designed to eat vegetables without cookingthem, which breaks down the indigestible cellulose.Therefore, man may not have started eating many vegetablesuntil he discovered fire.

We have the teeth foreatingmeat, but is meat safe to eat? Don?t miss this week’sDreamlandinterview with Colm Kelleher. If yousubscribe tounknowncountry.com, you can download it to an MP3 disc andlisten away from your computer, such as in your car on theway to work. You also get a FREE audio download of Whitley’sbook “The Secret School.”

Art credit: http://www.freeimages.co.uk

NOTE: This news story, previously published on our old site, will have any links removed.