The Story of the Human Body - Evolution, Health and Disease

Daniel E. Lieberman, head of the human evolutionary biology department at Harvard University and a leading figure in the field, describes in this groundbreaking book the development that the human body has undergone over millions of years in an accessible and engaging manner. He explains how the growing mismatch between the mixture of Stone Age adaptations of our bodies and the progress of the modern world leads to a paradox – the simultaneous increase in longevity and chronic illness.

The Story of the Human Body brilliantly illuminates the transformations that contributed to key bodily adaptations: the adoption of bipedal walking; the transition to a non-fruit diet; food procurement through hunting and gathering, which gives us such extraordinary potential for endurance disciplines; the development of a very large brain; the rise of cultural skills. Lieberman further clarifies how cultural evolution differs from biological evolution and what further transformation our bodies underwent during the agricultural and industrial revolutions.

Lieberman believes that many chronic diseases persist and in some cases even intensify as a result of "dysevolution", a harmful dynamic where only the symptoms of these diseases are treated, not their causes. He suggests that we should let evolutionary knowledge nudge, push and perhaps even force us to create a healthier environment.

IN THIS BOOK YOU WILL ALSO LEARN

• how evolutionary pressure created the modern human body – and that its evolution is far from over
• what evolutionary mismatch diseases are and how to prevent them
• what "dysevolution" is
• what are the good and bad consequences of living with a Paleolithic body in a modern world full of comfort
• which elements within the concept of popular paleo and raw food diets make sense and which don't
• why barefoot walking and running are so fundamentally different from walking and running in shoes and how barefoot walking can help us
• how myopia develops
• how today's sleep differs from our ancestors' sleep
• why many everyday life innovations including lifts and electric tin openers are so harmful to us
• how evolutionary logic can help us prevent chronic diseases of both body and mind and care for our health