In high school, my two very best friends had made it for a few months being vegetarian and I genuinely wanted to give it a go. I lasted a grand total of a week. As it turns out, I may have been in the right for folding on my plan so quickly. Over the span of 6 million years of human evolution, brain size increased by 300%. Scientists theorize that eating meat was a crucial factor in aiding that growth, essentially proving how important a carnivorous — or at least omnivorous — diet can be for humans.
Meat made a massive difference for the human species.
National Geographic explains the theory suggests that by our ancient ancestors replacing plant fiber with a “meat and marrow,” calorically dense diet, they shrunk their guts. In turn, having a smaller gut required less fuel, and that energy was redirected to slowly growing our brains significantly. It allowed complex thoughts to form, the ability to conjure images, and develop a complicated language.
By that logic, it is no wonder that researchers are examining the effect of eating meat on our brains today, and boy are they finding some interesting stuff.
A recent study suggests that eating a meat-dense diet could help ward off one of the most brain-debilitating diseases out there.
Dementia is a cruel disease where cognitive decline impacts everything from memory to behavior and stems from brain cells being damaged by diseases like Alzheimer’s. Currently, 1 in every 10 older Americans is living with dementia, per Columbia University. But eating more meat could potentially mitigate this damage.
Before you fire up the grill though, a meat-centric diet will only work for a select group of people who have a genetic risk factor (APOE 3/4 or 4/4 gene variants) that are tied to Alzheimer’s disease, reports the New York Post. However, scientists believe the study, conducted by Jakob Norgren, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, could help with creating custom nutritional plans that may slow cognitive decline.
“There is a lack of dietary research into brain health, and our findings suggest that conventional dietary advice may be unfavorable to a genetically defined subgroup of the population,” Norgren said in a press release. “For those who are aware that they belong to this genetic risk group, the findings offer hope; the risk may be modifiable through lifestyle changes.”
The study followed more than 2,100 adults in Sweden for up to 15 years.
At the beginning of the study, participants were 60 or older and dementia-free. Researchers meticulously monitored their reported diets and issued regular cognitive tests. They found those with a high-risk gene profile who ate less meat were more than twice as likely to develop dementia in comparison to participants without the variants.
Researchers aren’t sure why the APOE 3/4 or 4/4 gene variants being present matters when it comes to getting results, but they have a theory.
“APOE4 is the evolutionarily oldest variant of the APOE gene and may have arisen during a period when our evolutionary ancestors ate a more animal-based diet,” Norgren said.
Of course, the type of meat consumed matters — processed meat will not garner the same results. Right now, researchers consider this observational and can’t exactly prove cause and effect.
“Clinical trials are now needed to develop dietary recommendations tailored to APOE genotype,” Norgren said.
In any case, you might want to think about indulging in some quality meat-based protein, just in case.
