It is thought that our early ancestors are the source of our long-standing inability to avoid meals high in carbohydrates, or “carbs.”
In order to survive the demands of hunting and avoiding predators, it was long believed that early humans ate a diet high in protein. However, a recent study in the journal Science disproved this long-held notion, indicating that humans’ current affinity for carbohydrates may have existed before the Neanderthals.
Researchers from the University of Buffalo in New York and The Jackson Laboratory in Farmington, Connecticut, conducted the study. They found that a particular gene, AMY1, made it easier for people to digest carbohydrates by converting them into simple sugars that may be used as fuel.
