Humans Love Carbs Way Before You Think

You might think humans fell in love with carbs when we started farming, but scientists say that's not true. They found a gene called AMY1 that helps us digest starches, and it's been around for a really long time – even before we had agriculture. This gene started duplicating around 800, 000 years ago in our ancestors. It's not just us modern humans who have this gene; our ancient cousins, the Neanderthals and Denisovans, had it too. So, it seems like we all loved carbs even when we were hunting and gathering.

Why is this important? Well, it might explain why our brains got bigger. Some scientists think that carbs gave our brains the energy they needed to grow. The study found that the AMY1 gene started duplicating more recently too, around 4, 000 years ago, when we shifted to eating more carbs. Maybe carbs are the reason we're smarter? Who knows, but it's a cool thought!

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