Human Evolution And Nutrition

At a glance..

Humans evolved from ancestral apes, and our genes still reflect a vegetation and small animal eating past. The number of plant families we used as food was very much greater than the restricted range we eat today. Wild foods were carefully selected to avoid the plants or parts of plants with bitter and unpleasant taste, which likely contained toxic compounds. Today's plants are more palatable, and yet paradoxically, we eat very few plants as part of our daily diet.