Big brains, meat, tuberculosis and the nicotinamide switches: Co-evolutionary relationships with modern repercussions on longevity and disease?

Journal article

Meat eating has been an important trigger for human evolution however the responsible component in meat has not been clearly identified. Here we propose that the limiting factors for expanding brains and increasing longevity were the micronutrient nicotinamide (vitamin B3) and the metabolically related essential amino-acid, tryptophan. Meat offers significant sourcing challenges and lack causes a deficiency of nicotinamide and tryptophan and consequently the e...

Expand abstract

Authors: Williams, A; Dunbar, R

• Publication status: Published
• Peer review status: Peer reviewed
• Publisher: Elsevier Publisher's website
• Journal: Medical Hypotheses Journal website
• Volume: 83
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 79-87
• Publication date: 2014-04-12
• Acceptance date: 2014-04-01
• DOI: 10.1016/j.mehy.2014.04.003
• EISSN: 1532-2777
• ISSN: 0306-9877
• Pmid: 24767939
• Language: English
• Keywords: SBTMR; Longevity; Tuberculosis; Meat; Niacinamide; Humans; Diet