South Korea - Meat-eating contributed to human evolution: study

KOREA - A high-quality diet made possible by devouring meat caused prehistoric humankind to wean faster, allowing them to be more productive, according to a research by a group of scientists from Lund University in Sweden.

"Eating meat enabled the breast-feeding period and thereby the time between births to be shortened," said lead researcher Elia Psouni.

The link between a high-protein diet and breast-feeding lies in brain development, according to researchers.

Scientists studied 70 mammalian species and discovered that the young of all species stop feeding off mother's milk when their brain develops to a certain stage. They have learned that this stage is reached faster by mammals that acquire at least 20 per cent of their energy from meat.

Moreover, humans' development of unusually large brain is contributed by process of obtaining meat as well as ingestion of meat.

Hunting requires communication, planning and use of tools, all of which necessitates a more complicated thinking process and ergo, a larger brain.

However, the study does not suggest how we should eat now. Psouni stressed that the research is strictly about how meat-eating may have helped humans spread on Earth, and it implies nothing about ideal diet for modern humans.

The Korea Herald/Asia News Network