Why Some Bodies Handle Sugar Differently
The carnivore connection: dietary carbohydrate in the evolution of NIDDM
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
A long time ago, people ate mostly meat and not much sugar. Their bodies changed to save sugar for the brain and babies. This made them insulin resistant, which was helpful then. Now, when these people eat lots of sugar, their bodies can't handle it well and they get diabetes more easily.
Surprising Findings
Insulin resistance may have been a survival advantage, not a flaw.
Most people think insulin resistance is a disease state, but this study frames it as a beneficial adaptation to meat-heavy diets that helped early humans survive and reproduce.
Practical Takeaways
If you have ancestry from recently agriculturalized populations, consider reducing refined carbs and monitoring blood sugar.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a healthcare professional. Terms
A long time ago, people ate mostly meat and not much sugar. Their bodies changed to save sugar for the brain and babies. This made them insulin resistant, which was helpful then. Now, when these people eat lots of sugar, their bodies can't handle it well and they get diabetes more easily.
Surprising Findings
Insulin resistance may have been a survival advantage, not a flaw.
Most people think insulin resistance is a disease state, but this study frames it as a beneficial adaptation to meat-heavy diets that helped early humans survive and reproduce.
Practical Takeaways
If you have ancestry from recently agriculturalized populations, consider reducing refined carbs and monitoring blood sugar.
Publication
Journal
Diabetologia
Year
1994
Authors
Dr. J. C. Brand Miller, S. Colagiuri
Related Content
Claims (6)
People are actually meant to eat meat, not both meat and plants, because of how our bodies and evolution show we're built for a meat-only diet.
Eating very few carbs and lots of protein might make your body less sensitive to insulin — not because it's broken, but because it's adapting to save glucose when carbs are scarce, like in ancient times.
Back when humans were hunters during the Ice Age, their bodies might have adapted to use less insulin so their brains and babies could keep getting enough sugar — and that same trait might still be common in people whose ancestors lived that way.
Some groups, like Europeans, might be less likely to get type 2 diabetes because their ancestors started eating farm-based, high-carb diets thousands of years ago—giving their bodies more time to adapt—while other groups, like the Pima or Nauruans, started later and may not have had as much time to adjust.
Some groups, like the Pima Indians and Nauruans, might have genes that store energy more efficiently because of past famines and being cut off from others — which helped them survive back then, but now makes them more likely to get type 2 diabetes when eating modern diets full of carbs.