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ScienceDaily (Feb. 12, 2009) - Diet - and how it has shaped our genome - occupies much of an evolutionary scientist's time. Anne Stone, associate professor of anthropology in Arizona State University's School of Human Evolution and Social Change, will discuss how diet holds keys to understanding who we are, how we live and form societies, and how we evolved from hunter-gatherers to agriculturists, all the way to modern urban dwellers, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting.

ScienceDaily (Feb. 12, 2009) - That irresistible craving for a cheeseburger has its roots in the dramatic growth of the human brain and body that resulted from environmental changes some 2 million years ago.

Prehistoric Diet and Nutrition

Hunter-gatherer diets-a different perspective.\nMilton K.\nAm J Clin Nutr. 2000 Mar;71(3):665-7. Review. \nPMID: 10702155

"In general, evolution depends on a special combination of circumstances: part genetics, part time, and part environment. In the case of human brain evolution, the main environmental influence was adaptation to a 'shore-based' diet, which provided the world's richest source of nutrition, as well as a sedentary lifestyle that promoted fat deposition. Such a diet included shellfish, fish, marsh plants, frogs, bird's eggs, etc. Humans and, and more importantly, hominid babies started to get fat, a crucial distinction that led to the development of larger brains and to the evolution of modern humans. A larger brain is expensive to maintain and this increasing demand for energy results in, succinctly, survival of the fattest."

Effects of a short-term intervention with a paleolithic diet in healthy volunteers. Osterdahl M, Kocturk T, Koochek A, Wändell PE. Eur J Clin Nutr. 2008 May;62(5):682-5. Epub 2007 May 16. PMID: 17522610 Conclusion: This short-term intervention showed some favourable effects by the diet, but further studies, including control group, are needed.