New Eras New Diets

Modern diets dictate to stick with foods that our ancestors ate, though research that our genes are evolving helping our body cope with modern food

18:10 25 June 2015

While modern diets dictate to stick with foods that our ancestors ate, research confirmed that our genes are evolving helping our body cope with the new additions to our plates. 

 

Avid followers of modern diets such as Paleo diet, are convinced that the best way to lose weight, ward off sickness, and optimise bodily functions is to eat what our ancestors ate – and nothing more. Sticking to our distant predecessors diet, they say means saying no to grain and gluten, among others, as they cause various degrees of intolerance or allergic reactions. 

 

However, recent research have confirmed that our genes are evolving much faster that what we have anticipated, helping our body to cope with new additions in our plate. The research added that human beings are not robotic automatons fixed in time but flexible plastic beings adapting to our environments and diets much faster than anyone had realised. 

 

The researchers have analysed the DNA from 101 Bronze Age skeletons across Europe from The Netherlands to Russia to understand DNA changes and mutations. Researchers have focused on one key gene called lactase persistence. Around three quarters of modern Europeans have this gene allowing them to digest milk without suffering from allergic reactions. 

 

It was previously thought that this gene mutation came into existence with farming about 10,000 years ago. However, it was found that only one in 20 Bronze-age people had it 3,000 years ago; an evidence that it started later and has spread much faster than expected.