7 - Metabolism Is So Adaptable

Summary

Our metabolism has by necessity to be very adaptable. It adapts during each day as we eat and exercise. It adapts if we change our habits – change our diet or change our lifestyle. It adapts as we age, from a very fat-based economy (milk) in our very early days, to whatever we might choose to eat as adults. The ability to conduct these adaptations has been shaped by our evolution. Famine has been an intermittent but powerful shaping force. The need to be able to exercise has always been important, from hunter-gatherer days through the development of agriculture, involving much manual labour: only in very recent years has it been possible for many people to lead lives that may involve little physical exertion each day amidst plentiful food.