Our love of carbs goes so far back that it predates the first humans, a new study suggests. What's more, our ability to digest carbohydrates—as opposed to the protein in meat—may have played a more important role than thought in the development of bigger brains, reports CNN. The insights come from a study published in Science by researchers at the University of Buffalo. They examined ancient human DNA and zeroed in on the salivary gene AMY1, which produces an enzyme called amylese that begins breaking down starchy foods in the mouth.
As it turns out, human ancestors had multiple copies of the gene at least 800,000 years ago, which is hundreds of thousands of years earlier than thought, reports NBC News. "That is predating not only agriculture, but also people's migrations out of Africa," says co-author Omer Gokcumen. Going back 800,000 years means the genes first duplicated before humans split off from Neanderthals, who also had them, notes HealthDay. Another surge in copies of the gene appears to have occurred about 12,000 years ago, at the dawn of agriculture.
Coverage at Smithsonian notes that the discovery "raises new questions around our hunter-gatherer ancestors' diet and lifestyle," as well as the belief that a diet heavy on meat and protein fueled the increase in ancient brains. "Perhaps carbs, not meat, gave humans the energy needed for developing bigger brains," writes Sarah Kuta. (More carbohydrates stories.)
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