Many more scientists attest that humans are omnivores, and this is not hardly subjective evidence, nor does it offer any “proof” that would suggest humans are not. While the information quoted is correct, it is very incomplete, and has been selected in a manner to paint a very once sided picture.
Pure carnivores have very simple digestive systems, essentially a long piece of pipe with a bulge near the beginning. It’s important to note that all carnivores digestive systems are remarkably similar and they all function exactly the same way. They are as stated, very short. A carnivore’s stomach acts as a reservoir, allowing one small meal to suffice for many hours. Intake that cannot be digested – raw vegetable matter, cellulose, bone – pass through unchanged (this is very important to note). Digestion of food in a carnivore is performed by enzymes produced by glands in the animals own body and all the absorption of nutrients from that food is through the wall of the small intestine.
By comparison, pure herbivores have very complicated digestive systems. The first difference between a herbivore and a carnivore is the sheer amount of food the herbivore is forced to eat. While a carnivore can manage on a small meal a day, a herbivore eats so much it is almost continually eating. The process by which a herbivore digests its food is vasty complicated, involves bacteria and micro-organisms (which they are not born with), enzymes, and often a complicated series of stomachs and intestines. The digestive systems of herbivores are very wasteful and inefficient.
A humans digestive system is remarkable similar to a carnivore in form, digestive enzymes and length. The biggest difference is that our saliva does contain amylase to help digest starch, however we do not have a digestive enzyme that will break down plant cells walls and release that starch. We also do not possess bacteria and micro enzymes to do the job. If we eat a largely plant-based diet, the environment in our colons will change from alkaline to acid. While this will break down plant material, no apsorbtion of the nutrients these contain takes place. This is why many of us have gas from large amounts of vegetable matter, and why many vegetarians lose weight.
The totality of the evidence demonstrates that the human digestive track is extremely inefficient with coping with foods of a vegetable origin, with no bacteria and enzymes capable of breaking down the cell walls to release the small amounts of energy inside, generally we can only eat these foods once they have been processed (mainly by cooking) and given nature intended us to eat our food raw, they simply cannot form a significant part of our diet. During evolution we lived well, our diets were largely animal protein and fat, and this was supplemented with wild fruits during lean times. As more than 99.9% of our genetic makeup was evolved before we as a species started to heat and cook foods, it stands to reason that it must be the correct diet for us today.
Furthermore, if you put a child in the natural environment, they will in fact eat bugs, leaves, grass, and fruit, pretty much whatever they can “fit” into their mouths. The need to learn and explore is a direct result of our developing brain function which simply could not have occurred without animal protein. Many humans eat raw meat, it is a common practice and is by far the healthiest option. Cooking meat is a very modern practice in the evolution of humans.
Cancer rates are directly attributed to age. Humans simply live longer, and are exposed to many chemicals over longer periods of time. Medication that lets us live longer is likely the biggest cause of cancer in the human race.
Based on the above reasoning, I will eat meat, and dairy, as to date, these is little scientific evidence to suggest that the tens of billions of humans before me where wrong. The evidence gathered from ancient tribes untouched by western ways, still existing today, would suggest that a diet consisting of almost entirely animal protein would indicate that the problem does not lie in the food products, but the lifestyle we lead.
