What happens when biology meets modern food
Imagine a person who grows up eating mostly whole, organic foods: meat, vegetables, fruits, healthy fats, and traditionally prepared staples. Very little ultra-processed food. Minimal additives. Few preservatives. Then, somewhere in their mid-20s or early 30s, they fully enter modern society’s food system—restaurant meals, packaged foods, industrial grains, chemical residues, preservatives, and convenience eating.
Would their body experience some kind of shock?
Not in the dramatic sense—but the question opens the door to something deeper and more interesting: are our bodies keeping pace with the speed at which our food has changed?
That is what goes through my mind when I think of some members of my family... and perhaps why they tend to be ill more often.
To explore this, we need to zoom out—way out—and then slowly work our way back in.
1. The evolutionary time mismatch
Modern humans have existed for roughly 300,000 years. For the overwhelming majority of that time, we ate what nature provided directly:
- Wild game and fish
- Animal fats
- Tubers, roots, and seasonal plants
- Occasional fruit and honey
This wasn’t a “perfect” diet, but it was one shaped by co-evolution. Our digestive systems, immune responses, enzymes, and gut microbes adapted together with these foods. In other words, it was evolution.
Then, about 12,000 years ago, something changed.
We learned to domesticate plants and animals. Agriculture was born. Grains like wheat, barley, and rye—foods humans had rarely consumed before—became staples.
Twelve thousand years sounds like a long time. Evolutionarily speaking, it’s not.
Some adaptations did occur:
- Lactase persistence in certain populations
- Increased amylase production for starch digestion
But adaptation was partial, uneven, and population-specific. We did not suddenly become a grain-optimized species.
And then came the real acceleration.
2. From agriculture to industry: food at the speed of machines
If agriculture was a slow turn of the wheel, industrialization slammed the accelerator.
In roughly the last:
- 150 years: roller mills, refined flour, shelf-stable foods
- 70 years: synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides
- 50 years: preservatives, emulsifiers, dyes, flavor enhancers
This is not evolutionarily slow change, it's biological whiplash.
Our genes cannot meaningfully adapt on this timeline. Instead, our bodies rely on phenotypic plasticity—short-term physiological adjustments—to cope.
That's something we can talk about in a whole different post.
Plasticity works… until it doesn’t.
3. Grains are not neutral foods
One uncomfortable truth often gets lost in food debates: grains did not evolve to nourish humans.
They evolved to reproduce.
To do that, grains contain natural defense mechanisms:
- Phytic acid, often called an anti-nutrient because it binds to minerals like calcium, iron, and zinc in the digestive tract, preventing their absorption.
- Lectins, are carbohydrate-binding proteins that can adhere to the lining of the digestive tract. In high amounts (especially from raw or undercooked sources), they may cause digestive distress or contribute to leaky gut by increasing intestinal permeability.
- Gluten, a glue-like storage protein resistant to digestion gluten is a complex storage protein found in wheat, barley, and rye. Its structure makes it difficult for human enzymes to fully break down, which can trigger immune responses in sensitive individuals.
These compounds protect the seed as it passes through animal digestive systems, allowing it to be deposited elsewhere and grow.
From the plant’s perspective, this is brilliant.
From the human digestive system’s perspective, it’s a challenge.
4. Traditional processing wasn’t optional—it was essential
Historically, grains were rarely eaten raw or quickly processed.
They were:
- Soaked
- Sprouted
- Fermented
After harvest, grains were often stored in ways that allowed moisture and microbial activity. This led to natural fermentation and sprouting, which fundamentally changed the grain:
- Phytic acid levels dropped
- Proteins partially broke down
- Starches became more digestible
- Nutrients became accessible
Sourdough bread wasn’t a lifestyle choice—it was standard practice.
Modern industrial flour skips these steps entirely.
What we call “bread” today is often a fast-rising, enzyme-stripped, chemically stabilized product that barely resembles its historical counterpart.
Biologically, these are different foods we cannot properly digest and can strip our nutrients.
5. Why some people tolerate wheat in Europe but not in the US
Many people report something curious: wheat causes digestive issues in the US, but not abroad.
This isn’t imaginary, and it likely isn’t caused by a single factor.
Possible contributors include:
- Different wheat strains (often higher gluten content in the US)
- Use of glyphosate as a pre-harvest desiccant
- More food additives and processing aids
In other words, it’s not just “wheat.”
It’s modern wheat, grown and processed at industrial speed.
6. The microbiome: where early diet really matters
The most important system in this story isn’t digestion alone—it’s the gut microbiome.
Early and consistent exposure to:
- Whole foods
- Fermented foods
- Diverse plant fibers
…builds a microbial ecosystem that is:
- More diverse
- More resilient
- Better at regulating inflammation
A body raised this way isn’t fragile—but it may be more sensitive.
It may recognize low-quality food more quickly and respond with clearer signals: bloating, fatigue, skin issues, brain fog.
In contrast, people raised on ultra-processed foods often experience chronic low-grade inflammation that feels “normal” because it’s always been there.
Sensitivity isn’t weakness. Sometimes it’s feedback.
7. Does a clean early diet change the outcome?
So does growing up on whole, organic food permanently protect someone—or doom them—when exposed to modern food later?
Neither.
Human biology is robust. Twenty or thirty years of cleaner eating does not override hundreds of thousands of years of adaptability.
But it can:
- Improve metabolic baseline
- Strengthen gut resilience
- Lower inflammatory set-points
- Increase awareness of what the body tolerates
Modern chemicals don’t necessarily cause more damage to such a person—but the body may notice the damage sooner.
8. The real problem isn’t grains—it’s dominance
The issue isn’t that humans “should never eat grains.”
Historically, grains were:
- Seasonal or supplemental
- Traditionally processed
- Paired with fats and proteins
- Not eaten three times a day
The modern problem is dietary dominance.
Refined grains form the base of:
- Bread
- Pasta
- Pizza
- Snacks
- Breakfast foods
Add seed oils, sugars, preservatives, and speed—and the system breaks down.
9. Are we eating faster than we can evolve?
In a word: yes.
But humans are not doomed.
We are adaptable animals living in a system that forgot to ask whether speed, convenience, and profit align with biology.
The solution isn’t nostalgia or purity.
It’s remembering that food is a relationship, not a product—and relationships require time.
Fermentation takes time.
Digestion takes time.
Evolution takes a very long time.
Ignoring that truth doesn’t make it go away—it just makes the signals louder.
This isn’t about fear. It’s about coherence.
When food respects biology, the body usually responds with quiet competence.
When it doesn’t, the body still responds—it just does so through symptoms instead of silence.
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