Alyssa Crittenden

Food, Science & the Human Body

Alyssa Crittenden
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  • In-depth Instruction; over 1073 mins
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  • Available for purchase: $334.95
Professor Alyssa Crittenden begins by discussing similarities between the Paleo diet and what our ancestors ate. After that, explore the evolution of nutrition to determine whether or not humans have adapted to one specific diet.
Prof. Crittenden reveals insights into hunter-gatherer societies based on fascinating research on one of Africa's last foraging populations, including how they function and how such practices may have even shaped the diversity of human nutrition.
Find out what scientists have discovered about the ancestral dinner plate through stone artifacts, human cranium bones and the dentition of early humans.
Trace the history of meat-eating through human evolution. Decipher exactly when humans started eating meat and consider the nutritive benefits and dangers linked with meat consumption.
There are more than 1,900 edible insect species on Earth, and 2 billion people regularly consume insects as part of their diet. Here, Prof. Crittenden takes you inside the fascinating world of entomophagy, the practice of eating insects.
Prof. Crittenden discusses the critical role that plant foods play in our diet. Then she revisits the research on plant-processing techniques among Tanzanian foragers.
When did our ancestors start cooking with fire, and how? Get the answers as Prof. Crittenden takes you on a journey back to nearly 1 million years ago, looking at the human evolution of eating cooked food.
Discover what prompted humans to domesticate plants and animals, and how this Neolithic revolution permanently altered our diet, pacing the way for massive population growth, the development of nation states and new vectors for disease.
Investigate the growth of zoonotic diseases, or diseases caused by viruses, bacteria and parasites that spread between animals and humans, including Lyme disease, West Nile virus, malaria, salmonella and E. coli.
Prof. Crittenden takes you through the process of delocalization, in which food is consumed in one area but produced far away (e.g. bananas, apples, tomatoes and corn).
Follow along as Prof. Crittenden discusses the spices that were critically important to the initial spice trade routes: pepper, cloves, ginger and garlic.
Learn how sugar and salt shaped world history as Prof. Crittenden shares insights on the rise of alternative sweeteners and sugar substitutes, early non-dietary uses of salt and the dangers of a high-sodium diet.
Bread, in all its forms, is one of the most widely consumed foods in the world. Here, consider the art of leavening, the religious and social roles of light and dark bread, and the artisanal bread movement.
Prof. Crittenden takes you back in time to trace the route of chocolate around the world, explaining not only its history and chemical properties, but its role in the current global market in the form of powerful chocolate empires.
Only a fraction of the water on Earth is drinkable. In this lesson, find out how much water humans use throughout the world, why bottled water is so popular, and why water fluoridation is so controversial. How can we work to conserve water, both as a nation and in our everyday lives?
In this lesson, investigate the intricate links between wheat and honey fermentation and human civilization. You may be surprised to learn just how accidental their discovery was.
Continue looking at fermented beverages as you learn the story of wine. Prof. Crittenden shares insights on the science behind viticulture and the production of different types of wine. She also explains why winemakers are turning away from cork, and discusses retsina, one of the oldest white wines.
It's no surprise that many Americans love coffee. Here, learn about this popular drink and its relationship with world history. Along the way, discover the different ways coffee is harvested, how caffeine works in your body and mind, plus the origins of the free-trade movement.
Where does tea come from? And how did it spread from Japan to Europe? Learn the answers to these questions and more as Prof. Crittenden explains the differences between green, black and white tea, how the tea bag was accidentally invented, and why drinking tea is good for your health.
Soda was once an embodiment of the American dream. Now it's one of the worst contributors to obesity-related diseases. Make sense of this fizzy drink by exploring its origins as patented medicine, the soda wars between Coke and Pepsi, and the health risks associated with its high sugar content.
Look at some of the different food rituals around the world, including fasting for Ramadan, making sugar skulls for Day of the Dead, bobbing for apples during Halloween, and America's favorite fall feast: Thanksgiving.
Prof. Crittenden introduces a few more outlandish dietary practices around the world, such as placentophagy (in which a mother eats the placenta after giving birth) and anthropophagy (also known as cannibalism).
Throughout history we've consumed food, not just for nourishment, but also for psychological effects. In this lesson, step inside the world of recreational drugs, including psilocybin mushrooms, marijuana edibles and addictions to foods like chocolate or French fries.
Is there a substantial link between diet and disease prevention? Here, Prof. Crittenden discusses the medicinal histories behind several foods such as ginger (known to help with digestive issues) and cinnamon (used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat various ailments), as well as goji berries, chocolate and pomegranate.
Prof. Crittenden discusses the ways in which our genes and diet have co-evolved. Witness this fascinating process through examples of how our body evolved to metabolize (or not) enzymes such as lactase, amylase and omega–3 fatty acids.
There's a lot we can learn about the endpoint of nutrition. Here, trace the science and history of excrement. Learn about the oldest fossilized forms (known as coprolites), latrine systems in ancient Rome, and the important role that gut bacteria plays in excrement production.
Your body can play host to anywhere from 30 to 50 trillion bacterial cells, the most species of which are in your gut. Learn how gut microbiota help us metabolize food and drugs and defend us against pathogens. Put simply, these microbes are fellow travelers in human evolution.
Explore the links between diet and the brain, the role of hormones such as insulin and leptin, plus food cravings and addiction. After that, consider how the MIND diet can help delay neurodegeneration.
Your diet as a fetus has a powerful influence on your life as an adult. Learn what micronutrients are most important to the first nine months of life, the consequences of substandard nutrition during pregnancy, plus get insight on heritable changes in gene expression.
Prof. Crittenden discusses the second and third epidemiological transitions in human evolution, and the changing face of the world's disease-scape. First is the decline over the last two centuries of infectious disease and the rise of chronic degenerative diseases (such as diabetes). Then there's the re-emergence of drug-resistant infectious diseases (such as Zika).
Take a fascinating tour of different meals from around the world to better appreciate the global tradition of eating. Experience cultural cuisines that the United Nations listed as one of the world's "intangible cultural heritage" including Japanese, Mexican and French diets.
In this insightful lesson, explore the two-pronged pathway to global obesity: decreased physical activity and radical diet changes, including the massive consumption of sugar.
Get an eye-opening look at undernourishment in the developing and post-industrialized worlds. Consider the two types of malnourishment, the concept of "plump poverty," urban slums and overpopulation, and how to eradicate world hunger.
In the first of two lessons on the politics of food, explore whether or not sustainable meat production is a myth or reality. What are the environmental costs of meat production? How can we rethink the way we house, feed, and raise livestock? Is too much meat bad for our health?
Now turn to the politics of eating a plant-based diet. What are the health benefits of vegetarianism and veganism? Why do people decide to follow this diet? What role does beauty play in food waste? What exactly is the controversy surrounding the organic foods movement and genetically modified organisms (GMOs)?
Artificial meat. Bio-fortified crops. Vertical farms in the middle of cities. Bread grown from spent grains used in breweries. Crops grown with agroforestry methods. Wrap things up with a broad look at developing a food system that's better equipped to deal with population growth and diminishing resources.
 
 
36 Lessons
17  hrs 53  mins

It may be a well-worn saying, but scientific data backs it up: You are what you eat. And not only that: You are what your earliest ancestors ate. In short, the story of humanity is inextricably linked to the foods we eat. Award-winning professor Alyssa Crittenden, Ph.D., provides a research-based approach to the history and science of the human diet, taking you far beyond the supermarket and laboratory. Understand our current — and future — relationship with food by looking back in time to the roots of food and food culture, and its intersection with science.

Alyssa Crittenden

Alyssa Crittenden is an anthropologist whose focus is on behavioral ecology and nutritional anthropology. She does field research among the Hadza hunter-gatherers of Tanzania, East Africa. Prof. Crittenden has received multiple awards for her research contributions, including the prestigious Nevada Regents' Rising Researcher Award for 2017. Her research has been published in top-tier academic journals such as National Geographic magazine, Smithsonian magazine and Psychology Today. Prof. Crittenden has also appeared on BBC, PBS and NPR, as well as in several documentaries.

Alyssa Crittenden

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