Evolution of the human brain

Once upon a time, some thousands of generations ago, man reached a threshold and crossed it. Somewhere in the evolution of the brain, something unprecedented happened – effecting life on Earth. The human brain changed and was suddenly able to compute, manage and store information like never before. Man had become clever.

Let's take a look at why and how this happened...

The first brains

Animal life first originated in the sea, where there was an abundance of Omega 3 fatty acids. As time went on, flowering seed plants appeared and with them a brand new fatty acid family was introduced. The seed oils of these plants contained Omega 6 fatty acids. Now for the first time, the Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids families existed on earth together. This apparently opened the door for an entire new set of species to arrive that would develop a bigger brain. You!

How did the new species develop bigger brains?

Well unlike the fish and reptiles of the time, the new species, called mammals did not lay eggs. Mammals kept their offspring inside their bodies, surrounded by a sac called a placenta. The placenta is a powerhouse of nutrients and energy and 70% of the calories are devoted to brain growth. No wonder they grew bigger brains.

The big brain change

We Humans are thought to have lived on earth for millions of years, however the big brain change happened only in the last 200,000 years or so. What could have caused the change in human brains? And why did some human brains change and others stay the same? Could it have been what they ate?

The puzzle of the big brain change involved the discovery of early human populations that demonstrated greater intelligence. Another break through was in the discovery that DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) was a huge contributor to brain growth. Now DHA was found in seafood and it was shown that people who lived near water sources and ate seafood experienced the big brain change. In contrast, the populations inland (e.g. Australopithecines) did not have access to omega 3 and got stuck at a brain capacity that was not much bigger than a chimp for three million years. It's not funny!

Fat Head

You have a fat head – no offense! Around two-thirds of your brain is composed of fats. It's not just any kind though. Your brain cells require specialised fats – the same ones that built the brains of your prehistoric ancestors and enabled them to learn and evolve at such a fast rate. In fact these same fats are being incorporated into the very structure of your brain as you read this!

Junk food lowers IQ

The human brain now faces a challenge never before encountered in its thousands of generations of development. During the past century, something has become fundamentally different with many of the fats we now consume. Modern food processing techniques have actually altered a basic building block of the brain. And not for the better.

Trans fatty acids found in foods like french fries, margarine, potato chips and anything else with partially hydrogenated oil disrupt communication in your brain. Trans fatty acids are rarely found in nature and are mostly man made.

By modifying natural fats, we have altered the basic building blocks of the human brain – weakening the brain's architecture. And, like unstable buildings that come apart in an earthquake or storm, poorly structured human brains are failing to cope with the mounting stress of modern life.