Food, Science, and the Human Body

Course Overview

Join an award-winning anthropologist for an exploration of the evolution of the human diet and its relationship to our bodies. What foods did the human body evolve to eat, and why? How does the food we consume affect our genes and our minds? This course addresses questions about optimal nutrition and the potential of science to end world hunger.

In these 36 lectures, you’ll gain eye-opening answers to these and other perplexing questions, bringing together insights from history, anthropology, nutrition, economics, biology, and sociology. This course, a partnership between The Great Courses and National Geographic, reveals what science can teach us about food through a global lens.

Course Lessons

1. Paleo Diets and the Ancestral Appetite

Do we have an ancestral appetite? Uncover how the Paleo diet compares to what our ancestors ate and learn about the evolution of nutrition.

Duration: 31 min

2. Our Hunter-Gatherer Past

Explore insights into how hunter-gatherer societies shaped human nutrition using research from Africa’s last foraging populations.

Duration: 31 min

3. Stones, Bones, and Teeth

Examine fossils to learn about ancestral diets, revealing clues from stone artifacts, human bones, and early dentition.

Duration: 29 min

4. Did Eating Meat Make Us Human?

Trace the history of meat consumption in human evolution and explore its nutritional benefits and dangers.

Duration: 28 min

5. Insects: The Other White Meat

Discover the role of edible insects in diets around the world and the nutritional advantages they provide.

Duration: 29 min

6. Was the Stone Age Menu Mostly Vegetarian?

Investigate the importance of plant foods in our diet, focusing on plant microfossils and storage organs.

Duration: 29 min

7. Cooking and the Control of Fire

Learn about the origins of cooking with fire and its impact on human evolution and diet.

Duration: 29 min

8. The Neolithic Revolution

Understand the shift to domestication and how it permanently changed human diet, population growth, and disease vectors.

Duration: 30 min

9. The Changing Disease-Scape

Explore the rise of zoonotic diseases resulting from the Neolithic revolution and their implications on health.

Duration: 29 min

10. How Foods Spread around the World

Analyze the process of delocalization in food production and consumption by examining various case studies.

Duration: 30 min

11. The History of the Spice Trade

Investigate how spices influenced history and shaped economies, as well as their roles in creating and destroying empires.

Duration: 29 min

12. How Sugar and Salt Shaped World History

Learn about the roles of sugar and salt in food production, global health, and their historical impacts.

Duration: 29 min

13. A Brief History of Bread

Examine the significance of bread in human diets, its cultural roles, and the artisanal bread movement.

Duration: 28 min

14. The Science and Secrets of Chocolate

Follow the history of chocolate and its global market impact while exploring its chemical properties.

Duration: 30 min

15. Water: The Liquid of Life

Discover the importance of water, its consumption rates, and its controversies, including bottled water.

Duration: 30 min

16. Beer, Mead, and the Fun of Fermentation

Explore the history of fermentation and its cultural significance, along with ancient and modern practices.

Duration: 30 min

17. Humanity’s Love of Wine

Dive into the production and culture surrounding wine, including the science and technology of viticulture.

Duration: 30 min

18. Coffee: Love or Addiction?

Reconsider coffee’s role in history and its effects on the body while exploring its production and cultural impact.

Duration: 29 min

19. The Roots of Tea

Investigate the origins of tea, its varieties, and its journey from Asia to Europe, including health benefits.

Duration: 28 min

20. The Fizz on Soda

Analyze the history and health consequences of soda consumption, tracing its evolution from medicine to dietary risk.

Duration: 30 min

21. Food as Ritual

Explore the symbolic nature of food through cultural rituals globally, including significant traditions and celebrations.

Duration: 28 min

22. When People Eat Things That Aren’t Food

Delve into unusual dietary practices and the psychology behind consuming non-traditional food items.

Duration: 29 min

23. Food as Recreational Drugs

Examine the psychological effects of certain foods and their cultural usage as recreational substances.

Duration: 32 min

24. Food as Medicine

Consider the link between diet and disease prevention, learning about medicinal properties of common foods.

Duration: 31 min

25. The Coevolution of Genes and Diet

Understand how human evolution has influenced dietary practices and metabolic adaptations over time.

Duration: 30 min

26. The Scoop on Poop

Learn about the science of excrement, its historical significance, and the role of gut bacteria in digestion.

Duration: 31 min

27. The Gut Microbiome

Discover the vital role of gut bacteria in nutrition, metabolism, and disease resistance.

Duration: 30 min

28. Brain Food

Investigate the links between diet, brain function, and the impact of various foods on cognitive health.

Duration: 29 min

29. You Are What Your Mother Ate

Examine how prenatal nutrition influences adult health and consider historical cases of famine-related studies.

Duration: 29 min

30. Civilization: Diets and Diseases

Explore transitions in human health, including the rise of chronic diseases and the threat of drug-resistant infections.

Duration: 31 min

31. What the World Is Eating

Take a tour of diverse global cuisines that are recognized as part of our cultural heritage.

Duration: 25 min

32. The Overnutrition Epidemic

Understand the causes of global obesity and its correlation with dietary changes and physical activity.

Duration: 29 min

33. World Poverty and Undernutrition

Gain insights into the issue of global hunger and explore strategies for combating undernutrition.

Duration: 31 min

34. Should the World Eat Meat?

Debate the sustainability of meat production and its health implications.

Duration: 33 min

35. Should We Be Powered by Plants?

Examine the benefits of plant-based diets and discuss the controversies surrounding organic foods and GMOs.

Duration: 32 min

36. The Future of Food

Conclude the course with a look at innovative food systems that can sustain a growing population and resource challenges.

Duration: 36 min