Paul Saladino: Why Are Our Brains Shrinking? + Problems with Our Current Way of Living

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What impact did the dietary changes in humanity have on our bodies? Going back as far as our pre-historical ancestors hypothesize very interesting correlations. What does the wide research say about eating animal products and how that influences our brain size and capacity? Research shows we have shrunk our brains in the last 10-12 thousand years, very possibly due to relevant shifts in our diet and habits. These big shifts were forced by major planetary changes such as the Younger Dryas, which took place 12,900 years ago.

Dr. Paul Saladino, who is back on the Align Podcast, not only discusses why our brain is shrinking but also shares with us very interesting suggestions on nutrition and lifestyle through an anthropological lens. He discusses findings and hypotheses by significant figures throughout history that observed indigenous peoples and compared their aligned diet to the general western diet.

We also dig into our surroundings as a factor for stimulation, focus, and relaxation, and we pose the question of if we need to get away from common human behavior.

The outdoors provides us a natural way of life and we might be taking a step in the wrong direction, placing a burden upon us that is opposite to the way we have been designed to live. Being in nature barefoot and experience a shift in the microbiome, interacting with other humans, eating foods that are in line with our genetics: all is perpetually being relegated in place of living mostly in squared-line architecture.

Dr. Paul Saladino is the leading authority on the science and application of the carnivore diet, author of the “The Carnivore Code: Unlocking the Secrets to Optimal Health by Returning to our Ancestral Diet”.

What we discuss:

[0:02:48] Paul Saladino's upbringing

[0:05:35] Why we should always challenge our beliefs

[0:09:04] Earth's temperature correlation with periods of intellectual and cultural flourish and stagnation

[0:11:21] What happened on Earth 12,900 years ago that might have changed how we eat

[0:15:36] Three pre-historical species that relate to us and their diet

[0:17:26] Human's change from primates to Australopithecus: eating animals vs. eating plants

[0:20:31] Expensive Tissue Hypothesis: gut vs. brain

[0:22:58] Correlation between B12 levels and brain size

[0:28:15] Effects of chewing properly

[0:30:56] Could Vitamin A deficiency by under-diagnosed in most people?

[0:46:00] How architectural shapes and forms influences our state