Switch to हिंदी

Health, Fitness, Beauty & Diet | Pregnancy & Parenting | Diseases & Home Remedies | TheHealthSite.com

Health, Fitness, Beauty & Diet | Pregnancy & Parenting | Diseases & Home Remedies | TheHealthSite.com

हिंदी
  • Health A-Z
  • Diabetes
  • Diseases
    • Type 1 Diabetes
    • Type 2 Diabetes
    • Cancer
    • Heart Attack
    • Pneumonia
    • Diseases A-Z
  • Diet & Fitness
    • Weight Management
    • Exercise & Body Building
    • Diet & Recipes
    • Yoga
  • Coronavirus
  • News
  • Pregnancy
    • Conceiving
    • Infertility
    • Labour & Delivery
    • Pregnancy week-by-week
    • Breastfeeding
    • Baby Names
  • Beauty
    • Skin
    • Hair
    • Grooming
  • Photos
  • Videos
Home / Health News / Did seaweed help us become humans?

Did seaweed help us become humans?

Eating seaweed might have provided the key nutrients that helped Homo sapiens evolve millions of years ago.

By: Agencies   | | Published: March 2, 2017 4:11 pm
Tags: Seaweed  Vitamin B12  
health benefits of seaweed-THS

Eating seaweed might have provided the key nutrients that helped Homo sapiens evolve millions of years ago, suggests new research. Modern brains cannot function without nutrients like magnesium and zinc and, according to some studies, it is likely that the access to certain essential nutrients influenced the evolution of the human brain so that it could become the brain we have today. “Nutrients needed for this transition from a primitive ancestor to modern Homo sapiens were (and still are) available in seaweeds,” said study co-author Ole G. Mouritsen, Professor at University of Southern Denmark. “Seaweeds could be found and harvested in abundance on shores, and for a foraging lifestyle, a rich coastal environment would be a significant source of a consistent supply of these nutrients,” Mouritsen said. Seaweed — large marine algae, or macroalgae — is also rich in vitamin B12, iodine and poly-unsaturated fatty-acids which are essential for brain development. In their review, published in the Journal of Applied Phycology, the authors noted that the human lineage is estimated to have diverged from our closest living relatives, the chimpanzees, around five-seven million years ago. Also Read - How does vitamin deficiency affect your skin?

Also Read - Vitamin B12 deficiency: Know the symptoms and how to address them



“However, the changing patterns of resource distribution associated with the extensive drying and expansion of the African savannahs between 2.5 and two million years ago have been the impetus for a shift in foraging behaviour among early members of the genus Homo. “Foraging over longer distances for food would have contributed to bipedalism and a different body stature as increasingly larger ranges had to be traversed, and in the case of our primitive ancestors, this would undoubtedly lead to significant changes in diet,” the authors said. Coastal areas may very well have attracted early hominoids in search of food. “Our ancestors would find foods like fish, crustaceans, snails, seaweeds, bird eggs and perhaps occasional dead marine vertebrates. But they probably did not have the necessary rudimental understanding of seasonal tidal cycles and their influence on shellfish availability,” the researchers said. “Seaweeds of different types, on the other hand, can be found all across the intertidal zone from the high water mark to the subtidal regions and they could be readily and repeatedly harvested for food by all family members, including women and children,” they added. The researchers observed that nutrients in seaweed benefitted not just our ancestors. “Seaweed is just as healthy and nutritious for humans today as it was millions of years ago,” Mouritsen said. (Read: Lose weight, improve gut health, digestion and more with seaweed) Also Read - Vitamin B12 deficiency: Complications that may follow with this condition

Source: IANS

Image source: Shuttrestock

Published : March 2, 2017 4:11 pm
Read Disclaimer

What are prebiotic foods?

What are prebiotic foods?

UN agency urges people to 'make noise' against AIDS discrimination

UN agency urges people to 'make noise' against AIDS discrimination

Please Wait. Article Loading ....

Coronavirus Updates

Coronavirus Updates

Stay Informed, Be Safe

  • South African coronavirus variant may 'escape antibodies, cause reinfection'
  • ‘Enhanced immunity, no serious adverse events’: Lancet releases Covaxin’s Phase 1 trial data
  • Covid-19 variant detected in UK may be ‘more deadly than the older virus strain’
  • Beware! Coronavirus can damage your brain in many ways. Here’s what to know
  • You are at higher risk to catch Coronavirus in closed spaces. Here’s how

Health Calculators

BMI Calculator
bmi Calculator
Ideal Body Weight
ideal body weight
Daily Calorie Intake
Daily calorie intake
Calories Burned
calories burned

Related Stories

Vitamin B12 can prevent irreversible nerve damage in diabetics: Get this nutrient from these 6 foods

Vitamin B12 can prevent irreversible nerve damage in diabetics: Get this nutrient from these 6 foods

Are you at risk of vitamin B12 deficiency? Here's what you should know about this nutrient

Are you at risk of vitamin B12 deficiency? Here's what you should know about this nutrient

How does vitamin deficiency affect your skin?

How does vitamin deficiency affect your skin?

Vitamin B12 deficiency: Know the symptoms and how to address them

Vitamin B12 deficiency: Know the symptoms and how to address them

Vitamin B12 deficiency: Complications that may follow with this condition

Vitamin B12 deficiency: Complications that may follow with this condition

Health News in Hindi

Breast Pain: कैस्टर ऑयल दूर करे ब्रेस्ट पेन, 4 अन्य घरेलू उपायों से पाएं स्तनों में होने वाले दर्द से राहत

Fat Reduce Tips: जानिए शरीर की खराब चर्बी को खत्‍म करने के 7 जादुई तरीके क्‍या हैं?

Maggi Recipe: एक ही तरह की बनी मैगी खाकर हो चुके हैं बोर, तो इन 3 हेल्दी-टेस्टी मैगी रेसिपी का लें मजा

थायरॉयड से छुटकारा पाने के लिए रोजाना करें ये 2 योगासन, शरीर की हड्डियां और मांसपेशियां होंगी मजबूत

डायबिटीज बुजुर्गों के शरीर को पहुंचाता है ज्‍यादा नुकसान, जानिए बुढ़ापे में ब्‍लड शुगर कंट्रोल करने के उपाय

Read All

Recent Posts

  • Pregnancy: Placental function can help diagnose diabetes and heart diseases
  • 5 ways to increase stamina to workout every day and stay healthy
  • 5 things your body hair is trying to tell you about your health
  • Insecure in your relationship? It may lead to postnatal depression in men
  • Beware! Simple fall may lead to life-threatening consequences

About The health Site

TheHealthSite.com is India's largest health site with more than 40 lakh unique visitors per month. We focus on fitness, beauty, health, pregnancy and more.

Most popular health and wellness website in India in 2012 at the Website of the year awards.

health@corp.india.com
+91 – 22 – 6697 1234
Landline Phone number 91 – 22 – 2490 0302.

ZEE ENTERTAINMENT ENTERPRISES LTD, 18th floor, A-Wing, Marathon Futurex, N. M. Joshi Marg, Lower Parel, Mumbai, Maharashtra 400013.

Useful Links

  • Weight Loss
  • Keto Diet Tips
  • Skin Care Tips
  • Intermittent Fasting
  • Apple Cider Vinegar
  • Ashwagandha
  • Cancer
  • Pneumonia
  • Diarrhoea
  • Dengue
  • Typhoid
  • Tuberculosis
  • Chickenpox
  • Chikungunya
  • Depression
  • Hepatitis
  • Diabetes
  • Type 2 diabetes
  • Arthritis
  • Swine Flu
  • Baby Names
  • Cough and cold
  • Heart Attack
  • Breast Cancer
  • Ebola Virus
  • Dengue
  • Malaria
  • International Yoga Day
  • Hypotension
  • Heart Failure
  • Asthma
  • Brain Tumour
  • Celebrity Fitness
  • Goitre
  • HIV/AIDS

We respect your privacy

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Author Profiles

Copyright © 2021 Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved.