Today, we barely have anything in common with the ‘Homo Sapiens’ who appeared around 300, 000 years ago, except for the fundamental functioning of our organism. For the past 100,000 years, anthropologists estimate that our species’ genetics and anatomy have remained relatively unchanged.
In fact, genetic adaptations – which can take over 10,000 years — have not been able to keep up with the rapid developments we have made as humans, such as the move to cities, the rise of technology and other profound shifts in our lifestyles. This leaves us with evolutionary mismatch – occurring when ancestral alleles (variations of a gene) persist in new settings where the environment has changed. Today, we are not living as ‘Homo Sapiens’ is genetically designed to live; we do not live in accordance with our genetics.
This mismatch underpins many contemporary illnesses and diseases, for instance, the rise of obesity– a previously rare health issue which has now overtaken malnutrition as the leading dietary public health issue in many countries. Our ancestors often experienced drought and famine, with rare access to sugary and fatty foods. Therefore, they developed taste preferences for foods high in sugar and fat which remains to this day. Times have now changed, with highly processed foods being easily accessible and affordable.
Another source of mismatch is our modern sedentary lifestyle, with the average person walking around 1-2 miles per day and spending 30 hours per week sat at a desk. This contradicts the ancestral lifestyle where exercise was non-negotiable. Now, we must pay expensive gym memberships and find a lucrative spare hour in our day to incorporate exercise.
These sources of evolutionary mismatch, among others, may well be the cause of the generalised chaos in our mental health. Psychologists have explored the psychological benefits of exercise and have found mental health benefits, such as increases in self-worth and well-being, along with reductions in depression and anxiety. Evidently, our minds and bodies are made for an active lifestyle. Likewise, recent studies have revealed there are strong links between our digestive systems and our brains. Thus, a diet based on whole, un-processed, sugar-free and plant-based foods, similar to the one centuries of evolution have designed us for, would help us find psychological and physical balance.
Mental well-being has also been revealed to depend on close-knit communities, like wolves in their packs and birds in their flocks. Yet, it is increasingly common for family members to live apart, meaning that we have fewer genetically similar kin surrounding us. This isolation can wreak havoc on our emotional state – the bright lights of big cities like London and New York are truly negative to our health. Perhaps, prioritising community over urban individualisation would be a good starting point to start living life as it was intended by nature.
Implementing slight changes such as eating non-processed foods, exercising and increasing our daily human interactions, could truly make positive impacts on our health as we align with our ancestral alleles– without the sabre-tooth tigers and woolly mammoths.
Photo by Eugene Zhyvchik on Unsplash