Sugar, Not Just Meat, May Have Fueled Early Human Brain Growth, Study Finds

A study released in Science on August 6 indicates that sugars found in fruits and honey may have played a vital role in the development of the human brain, alongside meat. Conducted by Jennie Brand-Miller, a human nutrition expert at the University of Sydney, this research contests the conventional emphasis on animal-based diets as the main factor for brain growth. The human brain, while comprising only 2% of body weight, utilizes around 20% of the body's energy at rest and up to 66% during early childhood. Early hominins likely depended on sweet foods for glucose before cooking was introduced. The research estimates that over 65% of early hominins' energy came from sugars. Brand-Miller emphasizes that sugars and animal products are complementary, not mutually exclusive. Paleoanthropologist Marina Lozano from the Catalan Institute of Human Paleoecology and Social Evolution concurs but questions when cooking became widespread. The study also links our modern cravings for sugar to evolutionary history. Reports on the findings appeared in Scientific American, Science News, and El País.