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tr slay idem REEL SRA aA \ Among the mammals, In the "wild" state, it two species stand out as being particularly well equipped to digest a very wide range of both plant and animal foods. These two species are rats and people. Rats and people both have a highly developed sense of taste. According to biologist Tim Roper, writing in the magazine New Scientists, this sense of taste is why rats are so difficult to poison and people have a tendency to over- indulgence. As Roper writes, "The evolutionary advan- - tages of non-specialist diet are clear. An omni- vore can readily exploit any new food source that arises in the envir- onment; it can cope with seasonal shortages by switching to a diff- erent kind of food; and ultimately it can sur- vive in a wider range of habitats." Not sur- prisingly, both rats and people are very success- ful biologically, and are found in all parts of the globe. The non-specialist diet is not without its prob- lems. The ability to exploit new food sources means that the omni- vore is more likely to eat substances that are harmful, and such an animal must therefore develop mechanism for choosing wisely from among the various food- stuffs available. Children under 12 Years Children under 5 Years (Long hair a little more) Permanents - reg. 47.00 (Cut, Style & Shampoo) appears that both rats and people (human chil- dren) ae able to choose a balanced nutritional diet from a selection of foods put in front of them. It must be noted that the experiment only works if the foods are relatively un- processed; i.e., no candy bars or potato chips! Why then, do so many people eat so badly, given the wide variety of nutritional foods that are easily and cheaply available to humans in Western so- ciety? The answer, according to Roper, has to do with the sense of taste. Surveys indicate that the taste of food is the single most impor- tant factor in choosing foods. This sense of taste is very valuable in avoid- ing harmful foods. Many poisonous plants taste bitter, and so we tend to avoid bitter foods, at least as chil- dren. Culturally, we may overcome this 'negative' taste sensa- tion; foods like coffee and spicy foods are an acquired taste. If a rat is presented with a new food, it will only eat a little of it. If during the next day or so it feels it, it will never touch that food again. If it does not experience harmful side effects, it will try a little more of the food. It is this cautious approach JANE'S ISLAND HAIR DESIGN - 11 Years Experience - CONC. 10E, SCUGOG ISLAND Adult Hair Cut . ... $5.00 (Style Included) | $1.00 extra that makes rats so difficult to poison. Pro- bably most of us have had the same exper- ience, that if we eat something and then are, by coincidence, ill shortly afterwards, we will instinctively dislike that food even though we know that the food was not the cause of our illness. This can be an especially serious prob- lem for very ill people, "who gradually come to associate more and more foods with their illness, and who may eventually lose all inter- est in food. How do we know which potential foodstuffs are safe to eat? Both rats and people base eating behavior on social con- ditioning. We eat what other people, especially our families eat. There is even evidence that we do some of our learning before we are weaned; baby rats show a prefer- ence for those foods that their mothers ate while the babies were being nursed. Possibly the flavor of the mother's food is passed to the babies through the milk. Basically, argues Roper, the problems that we have with our diet result from the fact that our Western culture is far removed from our natural habitat. In the natural environment, death from over-eating, directly or indirectly, is almost unknown. On the other hand, death from starvation is common- place. Most natural creatures spend a large proportion of their time just looking for food. Consequently, it is greatly to the natural animal's advantage to eat as much as possible whenever possible; there may be nothing available tomorrow. Any temporary excess can be stored in the body as fat, thus saving up for a rainy day. In this context, our various appetites are quite reas- onable. Sweet things would be represented in the wild by fruits which supply energy, vitamins and fibre. Meat would be an excellent choice UTICA FARM EQUIPMENT | Smoscn: PORT PERRY STAR -- Tues. December 11, 1984 -- 37 Why we all overeat for proteins and other vitamins. Fats would be excellent insurance for that rainy day. So we come to our last question. If the natural tendency is to eat as much as possible, why are all of us not over- weight? There is some sort of feedback mech- anism that tells us when we are satisfied. One theory is that in some people, the process of learning about how much is needed for satiety is faulty, and the taste of a food is incorrectly associated with its food value. Alternatively, some people may simply allow the taste of cer- tain foods to overcome their instinctive know- ledge about how much is "enough." In the West, we have a super-abun- dance of food, made more attractively by marketing techniques. With all that nice tasting junk food available, no wonder we tend tc overeat! 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