‘Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.’

Harvard Gazette reports on evolutionary biologist Daniel Lieberman's take on modern diet extremes. Humans evolved as omnivores, not pure carnivores or vegans. Extreme meat-only diets strip out fiber, which feeds beneficial gut bacteria that produce vitamins and molecules your brain needs. They also eliminate phytochemicals from plants—antioxidants and anti-inflammatory compounds the body relies on. Worse, heavy red meat consumption triggers chronic inflammation through a compound called Neu5Gc, which our immune system recognizes as a threat. Lieberman cites research showing eating one serving of red meat daily increases mortality risk by thirteen percent; two servings pushes that to thirty-five to fifty percent. The evolutionary evidence is clear: balanced eating—plants, grains, legumes, and moderate meat—is what kept our ancestors healthy, and what the science still endorses today.

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