Diet and Our Genetic Legacy in the Recent Anthropocene: A Darwinian Perspective to Nutritional Health

Nutrient–gene research tends to focus on human disease, although such interactions are often a by-product of our evolutionary heritage. This review explores health in this context, reframing genetic variation/epigenetic phenomena linked to diet in the framework of our recent evolutionary past. This...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of evidence-based complementary & alternative medicine 2014-01, Vol.19 (1), p.68-83
Main Authors: Lucock, Mark D., Martin, Charlotte E., Yates, Zoe R., Veysey, Martin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anthropology, Medical
Biological Evolution
Clinical training
Diet
Disease - genetics
Genes
Genetic Variation
Health
Healthy food
Heritage
Humans
Nutritional Physiological Phenomena
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Summary:Nutrient–gene research tends to focus on human disease, although such interactions are often a by-product of our evolutionary heritage. This review explores health in this context, reframing genetic variation/epigenetic phenomena linked to diet in the framework of our recent evolutionary past. This “Darwinian/evolutionary medicine” approach examines how diet helped us evolve among primates and to adapt (or fail to adapt) our metabolome to specific environmental conditions leading to major diseases of civilization. This review presents updated evidence from a diet–gene perspective, portraying discord that exists with respect to health and our overall nutritional, cultural, and activity patterns. While Darwinian theory goes beyond nutritional considerations, a significant component within this concept does relate to nutrition and the mismatch between genes, modern diet, obesogenic lifestyle, and health outcomes. The review argues that nutritional sciences should expand knowledge on the evolutionary connection between food and disease, assimilating it into clinical training with greater prominence.
ISSN:2156-5872
2156-5899
DOI:10.1177/2156587213503345