Anthro of Food exam 1 Flashcards
Anthropology
A science that seeks to understand human identity, human behavior, and human nature in terms of biology and culture.
Characteristic of Anthropology 1
Holistic: trying to understand humans in a broader context.
Characteristic of Anthropology 2
Anthropology focuses on human populations, not individuals.
Characteristic of Anthropology 3
Anthropology is comparative and cross-cultural. We consider societies across the world, past and present, and we are not bound to looking only at one society.
Characteristic of Anthropology 4
Anthropologists conduct personal fieldwork to get the best data. Cultural anthropologist interact with living cultures while archaeologists gather information about a past society.
Characteristic of Anthropology 5
Anthropology seeks to understand the cultural and biological evolution of humans. There is no society that is frozen in time. All are always evolving and changing.
Biological Anthropology
Focuses on the biological aspect of human nature/identity.
Ethnology
Study of living societies, including our own. Ethnologists try to understand a society’s technology, social structure, or religion.
Linguistics
The study of language behavior, wether spoken or written. Also includes the study of gestures and other forms of non-verbal communication.
Archaeology
The study of past cultures. We try to understand past societies’ technology, social organization, and religion from what they have left behind.
Applied Anthropology
Applying everything from the other four subfields to solve problems in the modern day.
Food Systems (production, distribution, and consumption)
Not only what do people want to eat but how do they organize their subsistence.
Cultural Rules Vary per Society
When to eat, meal size, etc.
Which foods to be eaten with which meal.
What foods are taboo.
What foods are eaten by different ethnic groups or social classes within a society.
Why is scent so important in how we taste food?
To determine if a food item is safe or not to eat.
What are the five definite flavors that we can sense with our taste buds?
Salty (sodium compounds)
Sweet (sugars)
Bitter (alkaloids)
Sour (acids)
Umami (glutamate)
What other flavors might we be able to detect?
Maybe we can also sense the taste of fat, metal, carbon.
Why might our ancestors have evolved a sense of taste, particularly in regards sweetness and bitterness?
Perhaps because sweet flavors like mother’s milk usually means good nutrition and enjoyment, and bitterness leads to something fowl.
How might we become dependent on spicy food?
We get addicted and dependent on the ‘high’ of spicy food to feel good.
Dopemine
A neurotransmitter that rewards us for certain behavior by giving pleasure
Endorphin
Chemicals that inhibit the sensation of pain to the point of euphoria
In addition, the person’s body reacts by releasing adrenaline, a hormone which increases heart rate and breathing. Consumers may have a ‘high.’
Caramelization
When sugar is introduced to heat. Compounds are released that alter the flavor and the color of the sugar. The most immediately noticeable effect is the darkening of the sugar’s color.
Thiourea
An organosulfur compound with the formula SC(NH₂)₂. It is structurally similar to urea, except that the oxygen atom is replaced by a sulfur atom, but the properties of urea and thiourea differ significantly.
Capsaicin
A chemical that tricks our brains into thinking are mouths are burning
Lactose
A sugar found in milk (most commonly in mother’s milk) that babies are able to break down and digest with an enzyme. Some adult humans, however, lose the enzyme they need to break it down because they have other food sources and are not reliant on mother’s milk. Thus, the term, lactose intolerant, comes into play.
Carbohydrates (starches, sugars)
Quickly digested. Because grains are rich in carbs, they often are used in processed food, so carbs get a bad rap.
Proteins
Takes longer to digest than carbohydrates but more likely to allow person to feel ‘full.’ Proteins are composed of 22 amino acids that are needed by our cells/tissues. Eight of these (essential amino acids) are not made by the body, and must come from diet.
Saturated fats (meat, dairy products, palm oil)
Tends to cause health problems. But coconut oil ok (but probably not).
Monounsaturated (olive oil)
Apparently healthy (but again, very likely not).
Polyunsaturated fats
These are needed for your body. Linoleic and linolenic acids (plants and seafood).
Cholesterol ratio
Compares amount of unsaturated fats consumed vs. saturated and carbohydrates.
Vitamin A
Important in seeing in dim light, thus animals in arctic circle store large amounts of it in their livers, which may be poisonous to humans. Concentrated in many vegetables, livers and other organ meats, milk.
Vitamin C
Primates are among the few animals that cannot make Vitamin C internally. Requires fruit, potatoes, organ meat.
Vitamin D
From diet or synthesized from sunlight.
The minerals
Calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride and sulfur.
Which of the three fatty acids appear cause the most health problems for humans?
Saturated and Monosaturated fats. Some say they’re ok. But in most cases, they’re harmful.
What is an average ‘reference human,’ and about how many calories do they require per day?
We usually use fit men and woman as a reference point. Men typically require 2,400 calories while women typically require 2,000 calories.
Why do some actual people require far more calories per day?
It depends on what activities they do. For example, an olympic swimmer is burning off so many calories from all of the swimming that they do everyday. Thus, they need to eat a lot more to keep up with the calories burned. Someone who does very basic workouts doesn’t need to eat like the swimmer.
How does our metabolism work to store unused energy, and how can it be too efficient?
Energy is stored as fat, regardless of whether the energy is from proteins, carbs, or fat. The energy in fat cells can be used in the future when needed. Where this becomes a problem is when you eat food that has too much nutrition. Your body has no more fats to put all that energy in so it just builds up in your body.
Why has our evolution favored a broad (omnivorous) diet?
To be as flexible as possible when one kind of food source runs out or is not available.
Do all living apes have the same specialized diet?
While living apes eat the same kinds of foods, the quantity of each type varies greatly among them. For example, Orangutans focus more on fruit and seed eating. While Howler Monkeys focus on leaves. However, both of these species will eat both fruit and leaves if the need arises.
What is different about how chimps obtain and consume meat then other apes and monkeys?
Chimps will hunt in groups together when hunting other animals. Not many of the other apes do this.
Triglycerides
Small bundles of fats transported through the bloodstream. High amounts of triglycerides are linked with heart disease and strokes, as arteries can become clogged.
Lipids
A class of organic compounds that are fatty acids or their derivatives and are insoluble in water but soluble in organic solvents. They include many natural oils, waxes, and steroids.
Adipocytes
Energy storage cells containing fatty acids (adipose). The cells can increase in size and number as more energy is stored.
Subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT)
Layers of fat under the skin. SAT tends to be less active and less associated with obesity-related diseases. More pronounced in women than men.
Visceral Adipose Tissue (VAT)
Deposits of fat within the abdominal cavity. VAT tends to be more active and more associated with obesity-related diseases. More pronounced in men than women.
Downside of having a large brain
While having a large brain helps you learn and remember information better, it also takes much more energy to keep it going. Thus, larger brains means having to eat more to sustain it.
What is the argument about the development of bipedalism and diet?
We evolved to be bipedal because it frees up our hands so we could, for example, carry food or our offspring, reach for things that we normally couldn’t, and being able to eat and be on the move at the same time.
What are the arguments about the importance of meat, carbs, and/or fire use in our evolution?
Since we started using fire, we have been able to cook the meat that we find. This means that it is better for us, it is easier to digest, and we get energy faster from it because digestion takes less time.
What is the ‘Paleolithic diet’ fad?
The belief that we should go back to eating food before we had agriculture (Hunting/gathering diet). This obviously includes consuming no foods that humans have tampered with.
What criticisms have been made of the Paleolithic Diet?
The criticisms made towards the the diet includes:
- Meat consumption and cholesterol levels are too high
- It puts a lot of stress on our kidneys, which can lead to kidney stones
- We need to get vitamin C from plants, since it is the only we can
