The case against evolutionary mismatch: critics and evidence

What this topic covers

• ·How a Finding Becomes a Fact
• ·There Was Never a Single Ancestral Environment
• ·The Villages Where the Birth Certificates Are Missing
• ·A Theory That Outran the Nerve
• ·Nine Claims, Graded
• ·What the Staircase Gave Us
• ·What Survives the Critique
• ·Rules for Judging an Ancestral Claim

The practical version is in the book: Chapter 2, What Your Body Expects, and How to Trust This Book.

Terms this topic defines

• Blue Zones
• Paleolithic
• Polyvagal theory

Sources cited above

1. 1.Bang, H.O., Dyerberg, J., and Nielsen, A.B. (1971). "Plasma lipid and lipoprotein pattern in Greenlandic West-coast Eskimos." The Lancet, 297(7710), 1143-1145. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(71)91658-8 (a cross-sectional lipid survey; the historical term is the one used in the paper's title)
2. 2.Fodor, J.G., Helis, E., Yazdekhasti, N., and Vohnout, B. (2014). "'Fishing' for the origins of the 'Eskimos and heart disease' story: facts or wishful thinking?" Canadian Journal of Cardiology, 30(8), 864-868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cjca.2014.04.007 (literature review; the review does not establish that Inuit populations lack a cardiovascular advantage, only that the studies cited for one did not test it)
3. 10.Johnson, G.H., and Fritsche, K. (2012). "Effect of dietary linoleic acid on markers of inflammation in healthy persons: a systematic review of randomized controlled trials." Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 112(7), 1029-1041. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2012.03.029 (15 randomized controlled trials, 8 parallel and 7 crossover, in healthy adults) (inflammatory markers tested included C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, cytokines and tumor necrosis factor alpha)
4. 11.Costard, S., Espejo, L., Groenendaal, H., and Zagmutt, F.J. (2017). "Outbreak-related disease burden associated with consumption of unpasteurized cow's milk and cheese, United States, 2009-2014." Emerging Infectious Diseases, 23(6), 957-964. https://doi.org/10.3201/eid2306.151603 (an average of 760 illnesses a year from dairy outbreaks overall) (raw milk is consumed by 3.2% and unpasteurized cheese by 1.6% of the US population; unpasteurized dairy accounted for roughly 840 times more illnesses and 45 times more hospitalizations than pasteurized dairy)
5. 12.Chevalier, G., Sinatra, S.T., Oschman, J.L., Sokal, K., and Sokal, P. (2012). "Earthing: health implications of reconnecting the human body to the earth's surface electrons." Journal of Environmental and Public Health, 2012, 291541. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/291541; Oschman, J.L., Chevalier, G., and Brown, R. (2015). "The effects of grounding (earthing) on inflammation, the immune response, wound healing, and prevention and treatment of chronic inflammatory and autoimmune diseases." Journal of Inflammation Research, 8, 83-96. https://doi.org/10.2147/JIR.S69656 (narrative reviews by authors who advocate the practice)
6. 13.Lennerz, B.S., Mey, J.T., Henn, O.H., and Ludwig, D.S. (2021). "Behavioral characteristics and self-reported health status among 2029 adults consuming a 'carnivore diet'." Current Developments in Nutrition, 5(12), nzab133. https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzab133 (social-media survey, median 14 months on the diet; gastrointestinal symptoms 3.1-5.5%, muscular 0.3-4.0%, dermatologic 0.1-1.9%; median HDL 68 and triglycerides 68 mg/dL reported as optimal) (median body mass index fell from 27.2 to 24.3; adverse symptoms under 10%)
7. 14.Ioerger, P., Afshari, A., Hentati, F., Strober, W., et al. (2024). "Mandibular advancement vs combined airway and positional therapy for snoring." JAMA Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, 150(7), 572-579. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamaoto.2024.1035 (pilot randomized trial in 42 couples; mouth taping was one of four bundled components and has not been tested in isolation) (the bundled arm combined mouth taping with a nasal dilator, nasal lavage and side sleeping; partner-rated snoring improvement 91% with the mandibular advancement device versus 58% with the bundle)
8. 15.Ridge, S.T., Olsen, M.T., Bruening, D.A., and Jurgensmeier, K. (2019). "Walking in minimalist shoes is effective for strengthening foot muscles." Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 51(1), 104-113. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0000000000001751 (8 weeks, 57 runners); Curtis, R., Willems, C., Paoletti, P., and D'Août, K. (2021). "Daily activity in minimal footwear increases foot strength." Scientific Reports, 11. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-98070-0 (6 months of minimal footwear; foot strength increased 57.4%)
9. 16.Søberg, S., et al. (2021). Cell Reports Medicine, 2, 100408 (Scandinavian winter swimmers combining cold water and sauna, n=8 versus 8 controls; altered thermoregulation and enhanced cold-induced thermogenesis, with no finding of increased brown fat)
10. 9.Green, A.C., Williams, G.M., Logan, V., and Strutton, G.M. (2011). "Reduced melanoma after regular sunscreen use: randomized trial follow-up." Journal of Clinical Oncology, 29(3), 257-263. https://doi.org/10.1200/JCO.2010.28.7078 (Nambour trial, 1,621 adults randomized 1992-1996 to daily or discretionary sunscreen and followed to 2006; 11 versus 22 new melanomas, total-melanoma difference borderline at p = .051; 3 versus 11 invasive melanomas, hazard ratio 0.27, 95% CI 0.08-0.97)

This topic carries 18 notes in the research manuscript; the 10 above are those behind the material on this page. Full source register.