Study title and authors:
The Expensive Tissue Hypothesis
Leslie C Aiello, Peter Wheeler
This paper can be accessed at: http://people.biology.ufl.edu/sphelps/documents/evobrain/aeillo_wheeler_95.pdf
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| Books: |
The Expensive Tissue Hypothesis was proposed in 1995 by Leslie Aiello and Peter Wheeler. They found
that most of the human basal metabolic rate--more than 70%--goes to fuel the brain, heart, kidney, liver, and gastro-intestinal tract. To find out if any of these organs were reduced to fuel the human brain, they compared the mass of each organ in adult humans with that expected for a primate of similar body size. Only the gastro-intestinal tract was smaller than expected--and it was about 60% of the size expected for a similar-sized primate.
that most of the human basal metabolic rate--more than 70%--goes to fuel the brain, heart, kidney, liver, and gastro-intestinal tract. To find out if any of these organs were reduced to fuel the human brain, they compared the mass of each organ in adult humans with that expected for a primate of similar body size. Only the gastro-intestinal tract was smaller than expected--and it was about 60% of the size expected for a similar-sized primate. The increase in human brain size appears to be balanced by an almost identical reduction in the size of the gastrointestinal tract.
Aiello speculates that we could have reduced our gut size to free up energy for a larger brain with a dietary change happening as brain size expanded. Our ancestors were shifting from a heavily vegetarian diet, which requires a massive gut to digest plants and nuts, to a more easily digestible, nutritious diet that included meat
and requires less gut tissue.More information on this subject: Books
: Scientific Studies : Other Websites : Videos : Food Mall Recipe of the day
Beefy Spring Stir-Fry
Ingredients:
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| Food Mall: Sirloin Steak |
450g/1lb sirloin, or rump steak, cut into strips
15ml/1tbsp olive oil
Salt and freshly milled black pepper
1 small red onion, peeled and finely sliced
175g/6oz broccoli florets
100g/4oz mangetout
100g/4oz button mushrooms, halved
1 bok choi or pak choi, halved
75ml/5tbsp good, hot beef stock
30ml/2tbsp horseradish sauce
15-30ml/1-2tbsp fermented soy sauce
15-30ml/1-2tbsp sherry vinegar
Method:
1.Heat the oil in a large non-stick wok until really hot. Season the beef then add to the wok and cook for 1 minute until browned, but only just cooked. Remove from the wok with a slotted spoon and place on a plate.
2.Add the onion to the wok and cook for 1 minute, stirring frequently. Add the broccoli, mangetout, mushrooms and bok or pak choi. Stir-fry for 3-4 minutes then add the stock and horseradish. Stir to combine.
3.Return the beef to the wok with any meat juices from the plate and add the fermented soy sauce and sherry vinegar.
