|
We have been
produced after millions of years of evolution, in the rainforest first
and in the dry savanna bush later, and we still are more or less perfect
for that environment. That kind of life (still practised by Bushmen) is
associated with scarcity of food (particularly high-energy food such as
fats and sugar) and salt, irregularity of feeding, seasonal and geographical
variation of food, nomadic life, in which walking is the main form of
exercise (10–12 hours every day), great variability of available
food and sudden outbursts of energy either to catch prey or to avoid being
prey. Our life was organised in a small-group, structured social style.
Contact among groups under pristine conditions was (and is) very limited.
Evolution forged us in 25 million years and now we control our world in
a period of de-evolution, changing the rules of the game. We now shape
the world instead of the world shaping us.
Now, we have plenty of food (particularly fats, sugar and proteins), and
regular "social" feeding even when we do not need food, the
food in supermarkets is always the same anywhere (without seasonal variations);
there is static life (watching television is the more frequent form of
exercise), and there is no sudden use of high levels of energy; and there
are too many people everywhere, too many contacts, causing stress and
confusion in our life.
The pristine
playgrounds, just small patches, still survive in some places in Africa
to explain the real evolutionary playground for us and our real nature.
We cannot go back, but knowing who we are will help us to survive better
and to create a better world according to our real evolutionary plan.
Contents:
- Evolution
and Cardiovascular Diseases in a Nutshell: Lucky in the Sky
- Evolution
- The Hunting
Season
- Rift Valley
- Knowing
Our Destiny
- Evolution
and Medicine: Evolutionary Medicine
- Cardiovascular
Disease and Evolution
- You Can
Save Your Life
- Lessons
to Remember: Places in the Book: The Last "Cradles"
- and other
papers
Readership: Undergraduates in biology and medicine, as well as
general readers.
Acquista
Homepage
|
