Evolution fuels carb addiction?

Get a load of this…

Some experts are blaming our carbohydrate addiction on a million years’ worth of evolution.

See, humans are among the few species with two types of the amylase gene—an enzyme that helps us break down starch from carbs like potatoes, beans, corn, and grains in order to convert it to energy.

And apparently, one of those two copies has fueled our carb addiction.

(I can’t make this stuff up!)

A large leap

Amylase breaks down complex carbs—found in vegetables, leafy greens, and some fruits—into maltose, a sweet sugar made of two linked glucose molecules.

The two types of amylases our bodies produce include:

• Salivary, which breaks down carbs in our mouths
• Pancreatic, which is secreted into our small intestines during digestion

Here’s the kicker: Evolution has given us multiple copies of both types.

And a new study published in the journal Science focused on the gene for salivary amylase, or AMY1.

It turns out, our hunter-gatherer ancestors had between four to eight copies of AMY1.

Around 4,000 years ago, following the agricultural revolution, humans developed even more AMY1 copies.

Therefore, researchers leaped to the conclusion that having more AMY1 could increase our carb cravings… since the enzyme creates maltose in our mouths.

But let me ask: Have you ever eaten a complex carb that tasted sweet? (Neither have I.)

Seems like a rather large leap.

Calling their bluff

Let’s back up just a bit.

It makes sense that we have more enzyme variations than our ancestors—adaptation to our environment explains that.

Instead, I would posit that modern humans have so many variations of AMY1 because not only are we growing more crops, but we’re combining foods. Our ancestors didn’t do this, so they didn’t need as many enzymes to break down their food.

And I guarantee their carbs weren’t the calorie-dense, nutritionally useless ultra-processed garbage we eat today.

The idea that more AMY1 copies produce higher amounts of “sugar molecules” in our mouths, fueling carb addiction, might sound great to consumers—but I’m just not buying it.

Here’s a thought: Why not blame Big Food?

They’re the ones literally concocting food that meets the same criteria as tobacco for addiction. Coincidence? I think not.

Source:

“Humans and Carbs: A Complicated 800,000-Year Relationship.” Medscape, 10/28/2024. (medscape.com/viewarticle/humans-and-carbs-complicated-800-000-year-relationship-2024a1000jmo)