How did primitive man eat and where did he get the substances necessary for life?

If it was a newborn, then, of course, he received all the vital substances from mother's milk. Hunting provided meat, edible plants, and spring water completed a healthy diet. If we consider this diet more closely, we can say that a newborn up to three years old, like almost all mammals, received sterile water, fats, proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and antibodies necessary for protection against infectious diseases with mother's milk.

In those distant times, a woman gave birth every year, and there was enough milk for both those who were born and for younger brothers. If for some reason there was no mother's milk, then the child died. Primitive man hunted mainly herbivores, which were domesticated in the future.

If primitive man did not eat meat, but would eat only plant foods, then it would be almost impossible to satisfy the year-round need for well-digestible proteins from plant foods, either in quantity or quality.

But the edible organs of herbivores were saturated with fat- and water-soluble vitamins and minerals, which animals absorbed from wild herbs that grew in abundance.

In humans today, the organs of absorption (intestine) and excretion (colon and rectum) have adapted mainly to products that can be digested "without residue" - in the stool of a healthy person, digested food is 10-15%, and the rest is symbiotic bacteria (30%), dead old cells, blood and bile (30%), unclaimed fats and water (25-30%). Unlike fiber-rich plant foods, meat, especially raw meat, is digested almost completely, while fiber-cellulose passes through the stomach, intestines and rectum almost unchanged. Therefore, the intestines of vegetarian animals (herbivores) are much shorter and excretion of waste is faster - only a few hours, and in a healthy person 12-18 hours. Therefore, a large amount of fiber in our diet leads to disorders of the gastrointestinal tract.

Edible plants. Nuts, berries, fruits and, to a lesser extent, honey were available during a relatively short season. They supplemented the meat of large animals and gave nomad hunters the opportunity to rest and gain weight for the winter. Proteins and fats were replenished by the beginning of autumn due to the abundance of fish and large birds (pheasants, wild turkeys).

Natural water. Access to a source of clean drinking water determined the site of the tribe. Underground or spring water, as it is called today, is mineral, saturated with minerals and trace elements dissolved in it.

Our distant ancestors needed solid fat protection to survive in cold weather. Subcutaneous fat replaced fireplaces and central heating. Fat protected from hypothermia, it was a reservoir of vitamins, minerals and water, in the event of an unsuccessful hunt, it was easy to go without food for 30-40 days, which today is called therapeutic fasting.

The accumulation of fat in the human body is a fast process, and its rational use is a slow process. These two processes were genetically, in their distant rational basis, laid down in man and have become the scourge of modern man.

Since man is an omnivore, he managed to populate the entire globe, using everything that nature and its resources provide him with food. Depending on the habitat, climate, geographical features, different styles of nutrition are developed. Some eat animal foods, others only plant foods. We are talking about the fact that nutrition should be varied, since a limited choice of a food table cannot provide the body with nutrients, which leads to metabolic disorders, which are reflected in health indicators. Vegetarians eat little fat and a lot of dietary fiber, and in general they have a higher risk of cardiovascular diseases compared to those who consume a lot of animal fats.

The exclusivity of the place that food occupies in the social and individual life of a person indicates the selective significance of forms of eating behavior among human ancestors. As studies of the structure and composition of the skeleton of Australopithecus show, traces of their activities associated with obtaining food, an increase in the proportion of the protein component in the diet was an event that contributed to the survival of species. An increase in the proportion of protein food automatically entailed an intensification of the development of the central nervous system, especially in the early stages of the individual development of the individual. There are no direct indications that only hunting or only necrophagy was the dominant way of obtaining protein food (Fowley, 1990; Butovskaya, Feinberg, 1993) .

Hunting improved communication links within society and contributed to the development of manifestations of altruism. A wide variety of food sources contributed to an increase in the area of ​​food search, the development of the central nervous system, and settlement over large areas. The earliest forms of tool activity are associated with the extraction of one or another type of food.

The late Australopithecus, which specialized in rough plant foods, is not directly related to the immediate ancestors of Homo.

Studies of the behavior of modern primates can be used to model the behavior within communities of forms ancestral to humans. This source indicates that the very first internal traditions that arise in primate communities are nothing more than a certain way of obtaining and processing food.

The distribution areas of Homo erectus within the tropical and subtropical climate coincide with those of large predators, which gives reason to assume the leading role of hunting among ancient people. It is assumed that the development of fire fundamentally changed human nutrition, as it introduced thermally processed food. Such food of plant and animal origin is much more high-calorie and nutritious. With a change in diet, anthropologists associate the enlargement of the total size of the body of the most ancient person, the further development of the brain. It is assumed that cooking was originally a female function, which significantly increased the social status of women, provided the necessary (primarily vegetable) food to the least protected members of society. Thus, one of the earliest forms of gender behavior is also associated with food (Wrangham et al., 1999) .

Studies of the isotopic composition of the bone tissue of European Neanderthals convincingly prove their specialization in a carnivorous diet. This source indicates that European Neanderthals (40,120 thousand years ago) specialized in hunting large land herbivores. Specialization in meat eating can be seen as one of the adaptations to the cold climate of the Ice Age. On the other hand, this specialization, like any other, leaves the bearers of these traditions exposed to drastic climatic changes. It is possible that the extreme carnivorous specialization of European Neanderthals was one of the reasons for their extinction (Bocherens et al., 2001) .

Anatomically modern Homo sapiens, coexisting with Neanderthal forms, probably followed a different diet. As studies of the chemical composition of the bone tissue of individuals from burials from the settlement of Sungir showed, people of the Upper Paleolithic used a wide range of food sources. It was not limited to the meat of terrestrial vertebrates, it included plants and invertebrates (Kozlovskaya, 2000) . Significant individual variability in the concentrations of chemical elements-indicators of nutrition indicates that food regulations already existed within society. As follows from the analysis of the structure of various mythologems, concepts related to food occupy a place among the most archaic plots and plot layers.

Judging by the data of paleoanthropology and biology of modern man, the formation of a full-fledged, varied diet was vital for the Upper Paleolithic man in connection with adaptation to cold and limited insolation. It is possible that the slowdown in the rate of individual development of a person, which was formed in the Upper Paleolithic era, was due (among other reasons) to the ability of children and adolescents to survive in conditions of a limited amount of food, primarily meat.

The study of modern tribes that have preserved the way of hunter-gatherers has made it possible to identify two settlement strategies associated with the peculiarities of the use of food resources. Specialized hunters for certain types of terrestrial vertebrates are characterized by high mobility of the entire population. For tribes that use the diverse food resources of the landscape, the slow development of new territories by groups that have separated from the indigenous society is typical. For the material culture of the former, specialization in the production of hunting equipment is described. For the material culture of the latter, there are much more diverse forms of tool production, the development of pictorial activity, etc. It is obvious that in the Upper Paleolithic there were population groups that were to some extent associated with these two described extreme options. Probably, the use of various food sources can be considered as biological and social prerequisites for the further settlement of mankind in the Upper Paleolithic. The use of various types of food contributed to the complication of social behavior, the formation of ancient food regulations, rituals, codes, symbols.

The global ecological crisis caused by the melting of the glacier has significantly changed the possibilities of using food resources. The richest food resources are the coasts of the oceans and seas. In various parts of the world, during the Mesolithic era, societies are formed that use the rich and diverse resources of the coasts and shallow waters. Animal gathering, fishing are becoming occupations that, with a minimum of danger, can provide women, adolescents, and older people with good food. The use of these food sources contributes to the development of a settled way of life, the enlargement of settlements, and an increase in the number of populations.

Other way of life and food structure are formed among the inhabitants of the coasts of large freshwater reservoirs. The study of the chemical composition of the bone tissue of individuals from the Mesolithic burial grounds of Popovo and Minino points to the complex nature of the nutrition of the population, where hunting prey occupied the main or significant place, and fishing and especially zoogathering were auxiliary ways of obtaining food.

Enlargement of parking lots, settlements in boreal forests occurs at a much later time of the Neolithic and Eneolithic, which is largely associated with the flourishing of fishing. The study of paleoanthropological materials from the Neoeneolithic sites of Ivanovskoye VII, Zamostye, Sakhtysh-Pa showed that the health status and nutrition structure of males and females differed. The diet of women consisted mainly of fish. Men ate both hunting prey and fish. The frequency of occurrence of markers of physiological stress among the children of the Lyalovsky and Volosovo population from Sakhtysh-Pa indicates that the quality of life of boys was higher than that of girls (Kozlovskaya, 1996, 1997) .

Comparison of data on the nutritional habits of the Mesolithic, Neolithic population of various natural and climatic zones indicates the existence of a known relationship between food traditions and local food resources. On the other hand, the high local variability of dietary habits, shown on the sites of Scandinavia, the Baltic states, and the North of the European part of Russia, suggests a significant influence of cultural traditions already in these eras.

Comparison of the structure and dietary patterns of the ancient societies of hunter-fisher-gatherers and later groups with the population of the producing economy makes it possible to judge the continuity between them. Based on these observations, an idea can be formulated about the deep antiquity of food traditions, dating back to the time of primitiveness.

Thus, the combination of plant and animal food, inherent in the early forms of the productive economy of Western Asia, can be associated with the widest distribution of these somehow transformed traditions in the vast territories of the Mediterranean, then Europe.

Variants of the territories of South and Mesoamerica, Southeast Asia, China, Japan are associated with a different original tradition of agriculture, more focused, firstly, on plant foods, and secondly, on local water resources (fish, invertebrates).

The emergence and further development of the productive economy was the largest event in the history of man. The question of the causes of the origin of the producing economy is complex. In this paper, it is considered only in connection with a change in the composition of the diet and the mode of eating food. Anthropological data indicate that the health status, indicators of physical development, demographic characteristics of the early Neolithic population are inferior to those of the previous time (Cohen, Armelagos, 1984) . This paradoxical situation suggests that the transition to a productive economy did not bring an improvement in the quality of life and the quality of nutrition, in particular.

In its most general form, the transition to a productive economy caused an increase in the plant component in the structure of human nutrition, without introducing fundamentally new components. The emergence of durable kitchen utensils, the widespread use of cooking traditions not only change the taste, but also the chemical composition of many types of food. An increase in the proportion of plant foods also changes the amount and ratio of organic and mineral substances entering the body. The intensification of the use of common salt probably dates back to the Neolithic era and may be due to the lack of chlorine and sodium as a result of a decrease in the supply of sodium and chlorine from animal proteins. Evidence from archaeological, historical, folklore sources point to the important place of table salt not only in the economy, but also in the minds of the ancient population. In situations where tradition or dietary composition did not favor the early use of salt, this dietary supplement exists only in the economic sphere of society.

The ability for everyday hard work distinguishes the representatives of the society of the productive economy from the hunter-gatherers. Not every ancient society with an appropriating economy can be considered as a precursor of a society with a producing economy. If we add to this evidence of a deterioration in the quality of life of the Neolithic population, then the question of the mechanisms for the spread of the appropriating economy becomes even more complicated.

The fact of an increase in the birth rate among the Neolithic population is known, which basically explains the mechanism for the spread of societies with this way of life. Observations of the seasonality of fertility and employment in agricultural work among modern Ngasioka (an African tribe that has preserved the traditional way of pastoral farmers) indicate a possible relationship between the frequency of feeding and hormonal changes in the female body. The findings suggest that women's employment is associated with increased fertility (Grey, 1995) . This hypothetical assumption suggests one of the possible automatic biological mechanisms that contributed to the growth in the number of population groups with a productive economy.

A study of the biochemical composition of cereals (corn) showed that the use of a large amount of this crop with a lack of animal proteins can affect the human psyche. Using these examples, one can be convinced of the existence of a number of automatic biological mechanisms that were launched by the introduction of a new diet and a new way of life. The study of such phenomena is a matter for future complex work.

Chronic malnutrition combined with hard work is a typical situation for the agricultural population from ancient times until recently. Therefore, tonic nutritional components are of particular importance. For example, narcotic substances, known to man since the era of primitiveness, are much more intensively used by the population with a manufacturing economy, drinks containing alcohol are widely used.

Adaptation to dairy food should be considered the latest food specialization. The formation of mobile pastoral societies that developed from the early Bronze Age led to the emergence of a new model of nutrition. In it, the most important place is occupied by milk and dairy products, as well as meat of domestic animals. The food of mobile pastoralists consists of proteins, fats and a small proportion of vegetable carbohydrates. Dairy food is distinguished by high calorie content, saturation with available forms of calcium, vitamins, and immune bodies. The emergence of a new food system, of course, influenced the rapid growth in the number (with a low birth rate) of nomads, the flourishing of their cultures in the Eurasian steppes. The description of the features of the chemical composition of the bone tissue of individuals from the burial sites of the Bronze Age and the Iron Age shows a high local variability in dietary traditions, requiring special attention to archaeological sources.

Later historical eras (before the Age of Discovery) did not introduce significantly new components or methods of cooking. However, the migration of population groups to new lands often posed a dilemma: to preserve their way of life and their food structure in the new conditions, or to accept local traditions. In most of the described cases, the migrant population retains its housekeeping traditions and its food traditions, even if this way of life is not optimal for given natural conditions.

A large-scale generalization of information from the sources of various sciences makes it possible to present the broad omnivorousness of a person as one of his specific characteristics, which largely determined the possibilities of his settlement, the complex social structure of society. Nutrition from an evolutionary factor is transformed into one of the ways of social and biological adaptation, which itself affects the biological, psychological, and behavioral patterns of a person. Food systems form the basis of major regional cultural traditions.

The height of the social position is invariably correlated with the peculiarities of nutrition, cooking becomes an art no less valued than music and painting. The birth of French court cuisine in the 17th century in the era of the heyday of absolutism - a vivid example of this. Briat-Savarin, a famous French culinary specialist, allows himself the phrase: “The discovery of a new dish is more conducive to the happiness of the human race than the discovery of a new star” (Michel, 2002, p. 199).

Review questions

• 1. What is the expression of the instability of human living conditions?
• 2. What edible plants were used in the diet in the Upper Paleolithic?
• 3. What effect does natural water have on human health?
• 4. How did primitive man eat?

Human Origins. One of the most interesting and complex topics studied in the course of general biology is the origin of man. Where, when and how did the human race originate? How did he spread across the earth? In the last century, there were two answers in European culture: one is given in the Bible, the other in the theory of Charles Darwin. Therefore, it was this question - whether man was created by God or descended from a monkey - that attracted the attention of the general public.

Human Origins. Charles Darwin did not deny the existence of God, but he believed that God created only the initial species, while the rest arose under the influence of natural selection. Alfred Wallace, who came to the discovery of the principle of natural selection almost simultaneously with Darwin, in contrast to the latter, argued that there is a sharp line between man and animals in relation to mental activity. He came to the conclusion that the human brain cannot be seen as the result of natural selection. Man is an animal interested in its origin. Interest in one's own origin has been characteristic of man since ancient times. The longer scientists study the fossil record, the clearer the picture of the transformation of apes into humans becomes.

Human Origins. Many species of primates followed the path of hominization, and Homo sapiens at the time of its appearance was simply a representative of one of several competing lines. That it was he who would succeed in the arena of evolution was not preordained. Today, most scientists adhere to the theory of the African origin of man and believe that the future winner in the evolutionary race arose in Southeast Africa about 200 thousand years ago and settled from there throughout the planet. Homo erectus appeared in Africa about 1.8 million years ago. He made more advanced stone tools found by paleontologists. Over several hundred thousand years, Homo erectus spread first through the Middle East, then into Europe and to the Pacific Ocean.

Pithecanthropus. Pithecanthropus (monkey-man) - was found in 1891 on the island of Java. Pithecanthropus was much larger than Australopithecus: it had a height of at least 170 cm, a brain volume of a cube. see Thus, Pithecanthropus can be considered a transitional link from apes to humans. He lived on earth 500 - 800 thousand years ago.

Neanderthal. Neanderthal, named after the Neandertal valley (Germany), where in 1856 the remains of these people were first found. They lived in groups of 50 - 100 people in caves, where they constantly maintained fire, dressed in skins, made primitive tools, painted their bodies with patterns, had religious ideas and funeral rituals. Neanderthal tools were more perfect and had some specialization. The last Neanderthals lived among the first modern people, and then they were finally forced out by them.

Modern type of people. The emergence of people of the modern physical type occurred about 50 thousand years ago. Their remains have been found in Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. In the grotto of Cro-Magnon (France), several skeletons of fossil people of the modern type were found, they were called Cro-Magnons. They possessed the whole complex of features: articulate speech, as indicated by a developed chin protrusion, construction of dwellings, the first rudiments of art (rock paintings), clothing, jewelry, perfect bone and stone tools, the first tamed animals - everything indicates that this is a real a man who finally separated himself from his animal-like ancestors. Cro-Magnons and modern people form one species - Homo sapiens - reasonable man; this species was formed no later than 100 - 40 thousand years ago.

Cro-Magnon. Homo sapiens is Cro-Magnon, named after the place of the first discovery (Cave of Cro-Magnon in France). These were large people - up to 180 cm high, with a skull volume of up to 1600 cc. They lived from about to years ago, in appearance they were noticeably different from Neanderthals. They made tools from stone, bone and horn, including composite tools, which indicates significant progress in this area.

The systematic position of man. Empire - Cellular Kingdom - Nuclear (Eucaryota) Kingdom - Animals (Animalia) Subkingdom - Multicellular (Metazoa) Phylum - Chordata (Chordata) Subphylum - Vertebrata (Vertebrata) Class - Mammals (Mammalia) Superorder - Placental (Placentabia) Order - Primates (Primates ) Suborder - Narrow-nosed monkeys (Catarhina) Family - People (Hominidae) Superfamily - Hominoids (Hominoidea) Genus - Human (Homo) Species - Homo sapiens

Evidence of the animal origin of man: Comparative anatomical - a single plan for the structure of the bodies of a person and an animal, the presence of rudiments and atavisms in a person. Physiological - the similarity of the processes occurring in human and animal organisms. Embryological - similar stages of the embryonic development of humans and animals. Paleontological - finds of the remains of ancient humanoid creatures. Biochemical - the similarity of the chemical composition of the intracellular environment of humans and animals. Genetic - the similarity of the number of chromosomes in humans and great apes.

Scientists about man Heraclitus - organisms develop according to the laws of nature. Aristotle - compared and studied the development of organs, introduced the concept of "organism". Hippocrates - studied the influence of natural factors on human health. Claudius Galen - compared the structure of human and animal organs. Leonardo da Vinci - studied, described and sketched the structure of the human body. Andreas Vesalius - accurately described the internal organs of the human body and the skeleton. William Harvey - discovered two circles of blood circulation.

Scientists about man. Rene Descartes - discovered the reflex. Sechenov I.M., Pavlov I.P. - developed the doctrine of reflex. Pirogov N.I. – Founder of military field surgery. Louis Pasteur - the development of the science of immunity, developed a method of preventive vaccinations. Mechnikov II - the founder of the phagocytic theory of immunity. Thanks to the development of immunology and surgical techniques, organ transplant operations became possible.
Human sciences: Anatomy: studies the structure of the body, its organs, tissues, cells. Physiology is a science that studies the functions of the whole organism, individual organs and their systems. Psychology is a science that studies the general patterns of mental processes and the individual-personal properties of a particular person. Hygiene is a science that studies the conditions for maintaining human health, the proper organization of his life, work and rest.

Conclusion. In human evolution, the most important role belongs not only to biological factors, but also to social ones (speech, labor activity and social behavior). The characteristics of a person, due to social factors, are transmitted in the process of education and training. In the future, social patterns have become important in human evolution. Since man is a biological and social being, this determines his special position.

Resources used: Dubrovsky E.V. The world around us. M., Politizdat, 1979. Ishkina I.F. Biology 8th grade. Lesson planning, Volgograd, 2003. Kulev A.V. General biology, Method. manual, St. Petersburg "Parity", 2002. Mukhamedzhanov I.N., Class tests, Moscow "VAKO", 2006. Sonin N.I., Man, 8th grade, Bustard, Moscow, 2004. Chaika T.I., Biology, Grade 10, Lesson plans, Volgograd: Teacher,

Lecture No. 2 The history of the development of nutritional physiology. Basic concepts. Plan 1. FOOD IN THE HISTORY OF HUMANITY.

Gene Migration Through Horizontal Gene Transfer

A separate note from ecologists is the use of the nptII gene from Escherichia coli resistance to the antibiotic kanamycin as a selective marker. Most commercialized transgenic plants contain it. It is believed that this gene can get into the soil with the remnants of plant DNA, and from there into the genome of soil bacteria. As a result, this will lead to the fixation of antibiotic resistance in the bacterial population and its transfer to pathogenic bacteria.

The DNA of transgenic plants does indeed remain in the soil for some time, although it degrades in the process. In addition, bacteria are able to “import” foreign genes into their own genome. The frequency of such an event in natural conditions for Acinetobacter bacteria was determined: the transfer of a circular plasmid 1.9 x 10−5 into the bacterial genome, a linearized molecule 2.0 x 10−8, the transfer of DNA from transgenic residues is less than the measurement limit of 1−11.

3.Basic concepts of nutrition science.
It is probably not a big exaggeration if we say that the history of human nutrition began long before the beginning of the history of man himself. It's just that the man was omnivorous, that is, he ate both plant food and food of animal origin. There are theories proving that it was thanks to omnivorousness that he became a proper person (the brain began to develop).

The diet of the prehistoric ancestor was meager and not very varied; it was provided by collecting. Primitive man ate the fruits that he found on the ground and for which he had to climb trees, dug up roots, extracted grains from spikelets of wild cereals, caught fish in the most primitive ways (since rivers and lakes abounded in fish, it was not difficult to catch - you just had to grab with her hands and throw ashore), hunted small animals, mainly rodents. He did not disdain insects and the meat of fallen animals. The fact that he diversified his diet and thus, is evidenced by the experience of some tribes inhabiting Australia, Oceania, Africa and South America and to this day retaining a way of life corresponding to the primitive communal system. Nutrition directly depended on the season, geographical conditions. Our prehistoric ancestors had to move around a lot to provide themselves with at least the amount of food needed to sustain life. Initially, there was no food processing - everything was consumed raw; a person had to gnaw hard roots and nuts, chew grains of cereals - numerous archaeological finds can serve as evidence of this (fangs and molars in a prehistoric person, as a rule, are badly worn, which indicates the heavy load they experienced).

The development of the level of productive forces, human economic activity has increasingly simplified the extraction of food. A person dug out tasty roots no longer with his hands, but with the help of a suitable stick, cracked nuts with a stone; armed with the same stone, he hunted larger animals, as well as birds. Over time, he discovered that the nutritional value of cereals is much higher than that of fruits and roots. Man now preferred to linger in those places where these cereals grew. He adapted to crush the grains between two stones, and later - to grind the grains; to facilitate the processing of grains, a person looked for stones of a suitable "! Shape; after some time, he began to correct the shape of the stone in order to make the tool more perfect (archaeologists often find stone slabs with recesses and made of different types of stone - sandstone, quartzite, granite and etc. - pestles-graters).

Increasingly, people used fire for cooking. It would be correct to assume that for the first time a prehistoric man tried thermally processed meat food after a fire in the forest, when he came across the remains of an animal that died in a fire. And every time after forest fires, a person regaled himself with light and tasty prey. Over time, man learned to keep fire in his dwellings - in rock crevices, burrows, caves, dugouts and semi-dugouts, huts, huts built using stones, bones of large animals and skins. He was no longer satisfied with the charred meat of animals that died in the fire (especially since these happy finds were too rare), but he himself baked the carcasses of animals obtained during the hunt in the fire. A person tried to bake and vegetable food. Food processed with the help of fire was tastier, softer and easier to digest. Food was baked on fire, on coals, on hot stones, etc. Later, people noticed that some plant products - for example, yams, cassava - are inedible in their raw form, but in a processed form they are quite suitable for food. Thus, with the acquisition of new skills in food processing, the diet of ancient man expanded ... In 13 human habitats of the Paleolithic era, archaeologists find hearths, in the ashes of which many remains of bones are found; as a rule, there are special baking holes near the hearths; the presence of these pits indicates that the primitive man, who did not have dishes, already prepared the simplest dishes for himself, without resorting to the use of an open fire. Gained in the process of gathering and accumulated experience led a person to the basics of agriculture. A man once realized that it is not at all necessary to settle near those places where cereals grow, but you can grow these useful plants in those places where it is convenient for a person to live - you just need to cultivate the soil and sow it. So people slowly began to move to a settled way of life. With the transition of man to a sedentary lifestyle, new opportunities for improving nutrition have appeared. He sowed small fields cleared of stones and weeds with barley and millet - historical science established with accuracy that these grain crops were first mastered by man. In addition, scientists have found that barley and millet were first eaten in the form of cereals. These porridges were boiled using primitive utensils or baked. Subsequently, a person learned to use the collected and dried grains in a different way: with the help of a stone grain grater, he ground them into flour and then, adding water or milk to the flour, baked cakes. It was the first bread. Only much later, somewhere in the countries of the Ancient East, they began to bake bread from sour dough.

The experience of the hunter, who knew perfectly the habits of various animals, also played an important role; man learned to tame animals and breed them. He domesticated some of the animals not so much as a source of meat, but as a source of milk - of course, this was an event of the greatest significance when a person first clung to the udder of the bottom of an animal he had caught (only much later did a person learn how to milk a tamed animal).

Over time, when a person learned to get more food, he faced the problem of how to save excess food. Roots, some fruits, mushrooms, berries, fish could be dried. It was also possible to store dried (dried) animal meat; a little later, man learned to smoke meat. After a successful hunt for large animals (for example, mammoths), the mined meat, which they did not have time to sell, was stored in deep pits, as in cellars; on the one hand, deep in the ground - it is cold and sometimes snow accumulates until mid-summer, and on the other hand, small predators cannot get to the meat. Each dugout was surrounded by several storage pits. With the advent of earthenware, albeit primitive, a way was mastered to preserve boiled meat by filling it with melted fat; it was the first stew. Since man has learned to extract enough salt, the problem of storing certain products has become even easier to solve. Salt helped to preserve large catches of fish, as well as the meat of killed, beached whales; they dug a hole not far from the shore, laid the prey in it, pouring it with salt, a more stones were piled on top to save supplies from animals - bears, wolves, foxes, etc. In winter, they came to these pits, rolled off stones and took away part of the product; stocks made in this way helped to survive the coldest season - winter and the hungriest season - spring. It is noteworthy that the method of salting fish in specially prepared pits has been used by northern peoples for many centuries; for example, Pomors on Murman used it until the beginning of the 20th century.

We have already said above that the way of life of a person and, therefore, his diet largely depended on the geographical conditions in which the person lived. Gardens did not bear fruit everywhere on earth, rivers and lakes did not fill with fish everywhere, fields did not grow ears everywhere. Many peoples engaged in livestock breeding and preferring meat to any other food were forced to lead a nomadic lifestyle; after one pasture was impoverished, the cattle were driven to another, then to the next - and so on in a circle "from year to year, from century to century. The ancient nomads had mainly meat and dairy food - what they could get from animals that were bred.Bread, dishes from cereals, vegetables and fruits, etc., were a rare delicacy, all this could be obtained through barter.It is surprising that some ancient pastoralists, for example, the Egyptians and The Babylonians did not eat milk; perhaps this is due to some peculiarities of their beliefs.

The people who inhabited the Nile Valley in ancient times collected edible plants, fished, diversified their food with shellfish, hunted wild birds and animals (gazelles, deer, wild bulls, hippos). Since the conditions for life in the Nile Valley were very favorable, the population here increased rapidly. However, this has led to a reduction in ready-made food resources. People on the banks of the Peel were forced to change something in their way of life, and they found a way out: they began to cultivate the land, which turned out to be very fertile in this area, and raise cattle. According to archeology, large and small cattle, pigs were bred. From cereals, the Egyptians sowed wheat and barley. The harvest was stored in large vessels; if the harvests were very large, they prepared special bins for grain, smeared with clay. In order to prevent rodents from stealing the grain, cats were left in the bins. Not otherwise, due to such usefulness of a cat, the ancient Egyptians elevated this animal to the rank of a deity. The inhabitants of Ancient Egypt worshiped the cat as a deity, because the cat guarded food supplies from rodents.

The menu of the average Egyptian was quite diverse: barley and millet porridge, barley or wheat bread (mainly barley), sweet pies, vegetables and fruits, fish, vegetable oil, domestic meat, as well as wild animals and birds. Noble Egyptians often indulged themselves with cakes.

Over time, in addition to wheat and barley, they began to grow spelt (a plant very similar to barley); it is noteworthy that spelled flour is much softer and whiter than wheat flour; however, spelled flour bread is less loose and inferior to wheat bread in nutritional value; in addition, spelled bread goes stale very quickly. Along with agriculture, cattle breeding, especially sheep breeding, became increasingly important. Poultry farming developed more and more; in particular, many ducks were bred. The fact that the breeding of poultry was very important for the Egyptians is indicated by the appearance in the pantheon of the gods of the guardian of the poultry yard.

Cultural ties with other countries led to further diversity in the diet of the Egyptians. Apple trees, various oil plants, pomegranate tree, myrrh tree, etc. were brought to the Nile Valley and successfully acclimatized there.

Dated to about 1550 BC. e. "Papyrus Ebers" contains several hundred recipes from various medicinal and aromatic plants, which indicates both a well-developed medicine and a high level of food culture in this ancient civilization. It is curious that the Egyptians used some spices not only in the preparation of delicious dishes, but also in the embalming of the bodies of their dead rulers.

In addition to water, the Egyptians drank wine and beer brewed from sprouted barley.

"" In later eras, more valuable cereals became widespread in Egypt, and already in the 1st millennium BC. barley was almost universally replaced by emmer (twin-grain wheat).

Religion had a great influence on food hygiene in Egypt. The deciphered ancient inscriptions say that the priests demanded from their flock moderation in eating and drinking, in the use of meat dishes, in every possible way promoted regular bowel cleansing; the priests controlled the condition of the water sources. But above all, the priests themselves performed exactly what they demanded of the believers - they set the tone. The priests drank only boiled ox; they did not eat food that was considered unclean or polluted: pork, beans, fish, onions. The priests did not drink wine. They also did not eat the meat of sacred animals: cows, crocodiles, ibises, etc.

Priests established posts and supervised their observance. Often the fasts were long and very strict; the longest fasts were before the big holidays. Already in ancient Egypt, fasting was observed; their observance was strictly controlled by the priests. Familiar with medical issues, the priests, of course, understood the usefulness of fasting.

In the highest, most enlightened circles of Egyptian society, among people close to the pharaoh, there was an opinion that various diseases and premature aging of the body are a direct consequence of malnutrition, a consequence of the impact on the body of harmful substances contained in certain products. Thus, the common aphorism of our time, which says that "a man is what he eats," has very deep historical roots. The Egyptian nobility treated their food with great attention, believed that proper nutrition, and not the services of an expensive doctor, could become the basis of longevity, and did not forget to periodically cleanse themselves with the help of emetics and enemas.

Pharaohs attached great importance to proper and varied nutrition. But belief in their own divine origin sometimes caused some distortions in their diet: in those days, mushrooms were revered as the food of the gods, and pharaohs especially often ate mushrooms.

The radish was highly valued in ancient Egypt. The image of a radish on the walls of the tombs is quite common.

In ancient Mesopotamia, stretching from the Caucasus Mountains in the north to the shores of the Persian Gulf in the south, from the mountains of modern Iran in the east to the steppes of modern Syria in the west, mainly cultivated crops such as millet, barley, spelt, sesame, cucumbers, pumpkin, eggplant, onion, garlic; from legumes, which occupied a rather significant place in the diet of the population, they grew peas, beans, and lentils. The diverse and rich fauna of these places at that time (gazelles, donkeys, wild bulls, pigs, hares, etc. were found in Mesopotamia) provided people with a sufficient amount of meat. There were many fish in the rivers.

The population of Mesopotamia gradually began to master agriculture and cattle breeding already in the 11-8th millennium BC. Evidence of TOM is the numerous finds by archaeologists of stone grain graters, mortars and pestles, as well as flint inserts for primitive sickles. Historical science has established with certainty that the ancient population of Mesopotamia knew three types of wheat and four types of barley. Sheep breeding was the most widespread, although both goats and cattle were bred.

The Babylonian state reached its peak after the accession of Hammurabi (he was the sixth king of the I Babylonian dynasty). The sown areas in Babylon are expanding significantly due to the development of virgin and fallow lands; cereals and oilseeds (sesame, or sesame) crops are becoming more widespread, their yields are huge; horticulture is gaining more importance - the date palm is bred everywhere. Cattle breeding is developing - herds of large and small cattle, donkeys are multiplying.

The well-thought-out interconnected laws of Hammurabi had a huge impact on the economy of the state and on the whole way of life (the Code of Hammurabi dates back to the first half of the 18th century BC). In the texts of these laws, which have survived to this day, there are references to many medicinal and aromatic plants, their effect on the body is described; mentioned in the Code and yeast (1) bread. The same yeast was used to make dough in Babylon as for beer. But yeast bread was rare and revered as a delicacy. The main food of the common people was barley bread - cakes.

Food in Babylon was taken lying near the banquet table on special beds. Women were not invited to the table, and they ate separately in special rooms. This custom could be violated if a noble woman came to visit - she could well be seated at the table of men. Cutlery was not used, food was taken by hand. Thin breads, flat cakes, on which other food was put, acted as plates. The bread was not cut, but broken. Broken off pieces of bread, cakes were dipped by hand in vegetable oil, milk, sauce, etc. If a meat dish was served on the table, then it was served already sliced. Drinks were drunk from bowls, cups, goblets.

Pork in Babylon was a forbidden product. The ban also extended to many alcoholic beverages. To ensure that the prohibitions were not violated, the servants of the faith followed; the clergy, on the other hand, established strict hygienic regulations, which mainly concerned keeping the body clean and storing food in appropriate conditions. In order to avoid the emergence and spread of infectious diseases, strict control was exercised over the state of water sources and the purity of drinking water.

The population of Asia Minor (modern Turkey) lived mostly on the coast of the seas, in valleys on the banks of rivers; the central regions of the peninsula were already too dry in ancient times, which did not favor either agriculture or cattle breeding. The food of the Hittites (the vast Ancient Hittite kingdom was located on the territory of Asia Minor in the 18th-16th centuries BC) consisted of meat, fish, vegetables and fruits, greens, etc. The main product grown in the fields was barley. This cereal was so valued that for a long time barley measures served as money. The Hittites knew several types of wheat; the most popular and widespread was the emmer. In areas with a suitable climate in Asia Minor, gardens were planted; apple, pear, apricot and fig trees grew here. There were many olive groves in the north and west of the country. Viticulture flourished in Asia Minor. The fruits of the date palm did not ripen here due to unfavorable climatic conditions, so the date palm was an ornamental plant.

The tribes that inhabited the Eastern Mediterranean already in the 9th-8th millennia BC collected wild cereals and ate them in large quantities. The fact that wild varieties of wheat and barley occupied rather vast areas in this region contributed to the rapid transition of the tribes from gathering to agriculture. The first cultivated crops were barley and two varieties of wheat. Of the wild animals, goats were the first to be tamed. Already a thousand years later (and for the history of mankind this is a very short period of time), in addition to wheat and barley, the population of the Eastern Mediterranean uses lentils for food. In addition to goats, sheep, pigs, and cattle are now bred. A cat helps a person protect grain reserves from rodents.

The population of China in the Neolithic era preferred to build their dwellings near river floodplains, abundant with living creatures and edible plants. They lived from gathering, hunting, and fishing. Already by the 3rd millennium BC. here - on fertile alluvial soils, they learned to cultivate chumiza (an annual cultivated plant of the cereal family). There is evidence that in 3000 BC. the Chinese already cultivated soybeans, knew cassia (a genus of plants in the legume family). The ancient Chinese bred large numbers of pigs and dogs. Mushrooms were especially popular in ancient China; It was believed that the frequent use of mushrooms in food prolongs life. Chinese doctors tried to treat various viral diseases with mushrooms. In cooking, ginger root was widely used - to give dishes a pleasant aroma; ginger was also used as a medicine - they were treated with nausea, diseases of the bronchi and lungs, and fever.

In Chinese myths, dating back to a very distant period of history, but well preserved to this day, among the heroes are: Fuxi, who taught people to hunt and fish, Sheng Nong, who taught people agriculture and showed how cereals can be eaten, Huangdi, invented a way to process grain with using steam.

The diet of the ancient Chinese was very diverse. Of course, a lot depends on where you live. Among some peoples inhabiting the territory of China, rice prevailed in the diet, among others - vegetables and fruits, and among others - seafood. The development of trade relations favored the distribution of various products, the exchange of traditions, and general cultural enrichment.

The achievements of Chinese medicine are well known, sometimes they seem simply fantastic; but these are the achievements of a very ancient medicine. And nutrition has always been an integral part of this medicine. In one of the Han burials dating back to the beginning of the 2nd century BC, a manuscript of medical writings was discovered at the end of the 20th century; as part of these works - a rather extensive treatise but dietetics; other treatises describe the treatment of many diseases - including diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.

The nutrition of the ancient inhabitants of the Balkan Peninsula directly depended on geographical conditions - the proximity of rivers, mountains, seashores, etc., on the fertility of the land, as well as on economic conditions. Farming, cattle breeding, and fishing were traditional. With the development of statehood, with the emergence of trade relations with neighboring countries, the nutrition of people gradually changed - new products, new dishes appeared. The ancient Greeks had breakfast early in the morning. The usual breakfast of a middle-class family consisted of barley or wheat cakes, which were soaked in wine diluted with water. We dined about noon; this was the main reception of poverty. The menu consisted of meat or fish dishes, wheat or barley bread and wine. In the evening they ate the same dishes as during the day, but in smaller quantities. Eat fruit throughout the day. Over time, the way of life of the ancient Greeks changed somewhat: social activities gained more and more importance. There were also changes in the diet: if the breakfast time remained unchanged, then lunch, remaining the main meal, was moved to the evening; however, there was a second breakfast, which often took place at the workplace. At home, men and women usually ate together; but when solemn feasts were convened, women were not invited to them (if they took part in the feasts, then only as servants, dancers or priestesses of love).

Bread in ancient Greece was a kind of flat cakes - long and narrow. They baked bread at home, it rarely went on sale. Only in the 5th century BC. in Athens, the first bakeries appeared, in which they baked different types of bread: depending on the flour used - barley, spelled, wheat, millet. Already in those days, many recipes for baking bread were used. In addition to simple cakes, bread was baked from sour, as well as yeast dough. It is noteworthy that the ancient Greeks I on l and dietary bread - salt-free. However, in those days, bread was not as accessible as it is available to a person of our time. People from the poor strata of the population generally revered bread as a luxury; their common dish was a stew made from barley or wheat flour. Another dish common among the poor is porridge made from barley or wheat, and in the 4th century BC. Rice quickly gained popularity in Greece. It is believed that rice was brought from the East by Alexander the Great.

Another important product in the diet of the ancient inhabitants of Hellas is meat. The most common were lamb and beef. Meat dishes varied with both venison and wild pig meat. The whole carcass of the animal was roasted on a spit and no seasonings were used; then, during the meal, pieces were cut off from the carcass. Subsequently, the Greeks learned how to make sausages. The Greeks loved poultry dishes; in addition to such birds traditionally used as food, such as quail and pheasants, the Greeks knew how to cook delicious dishes from sparrows, pigeons, thrushes, larks and swallows; in the preparation of these delicacies, the Greeks used vinegar, various spices, olive oil; according to complex recipes, sauces were prepared, with which the carcasses of birds were poured.

Among the vegetables that were constantly on the table of the Greeks, one should first of all name onions and garlic, lettuce, and radishes. Onions were revered in any form - fresh, soaked, as a seasoning for dishes. They tried to season meat, fish, vegetable dishes with as much onion as possible. The ancient Greeks seriously believed that the bow gives a person courage, makes him stronger; and therefore the Greek warriors not only consumed onions in large quantities, but also wore them on their chests under their shells as a source of strength and an amulet against mortal wounds. Other warriors before the battle put on shells, on which a bow was depicted. Parsnips, a close relative of carrots, were also on the table of the ancient Greeks. But it was not the parsnip that our contemporary knows (the variety of modern parsnip was bred in Europe in the Middle Ages).

In large quantities (especially the poor) various legumes were eaten. Of the greens used in cooking, the most popular were dill, parsley, celery; in general, the Mediterranean is considered the birthplace of these plants. The bay leaf gave a pleasant aroma to the dishes of the ancient Greeks. one

The Greeks knew apricots. There is a legend that apricots were brought to Greece by Alexander the Great; already from Greece, this tasty and healthy fruit has spread to Europe. Cherry was also valued in ancient Greece; it is even known that ancient Greek physicians tried to treat epilepsy with the help of the fruits of vinit. Somewhat later, cherries were recommended to be eaten more often by those who suffer from kidney diseases.

Ancient Greece, having its own highly developed culture, could not avoid the influence of the cultures of neighboring peoples. The Greeks adopted a lot from the Egyptians, Babylonians, Persians, etc. The customs of these peoples brought a lot of new things to the culture of feasts. The feasts of the Greek nobility became much more luxurious over time. At these feasts, in which only men took part, gourmet dishes were served, prepared from overseas products according to overseas recipes using exotic roots and spices, and the best wines were also served. Many wealthy Greeks had skilled foreign cooks in the service (or in slavery). In addition to the usual beef, fish, cheeses, olives and olive oil, fruits, etc., the Greek menu now included foods such as coconuts, almonds, figs, raisins. Diversified fish dishes; in literary sources there are references to perch, mackerel, pike, flounder, herring, moray eels, rays, crabs, etc. Food at such feasts was sometimes taken in too large quantities. Having eaten "to satiety", the guests left the banquet hall, emptied their stomachs and returned to the table to taste new delicious dishes.

At times, a lot of time was spent at plentiful meals; while eating, they discussed socially significant issues, arbitrated courts, and made deals. The range of topics that were touched upon in endless table conversations was very wide: arts, sciences, politics, philosophy, sports, love, and so on. The custom of long conversations at meals had a great influence on literature; even a special literary genre "feast" was created. The best, which have become classic, examples of this genre were the works of Plato, Xenophon, Plutarch. In addition to other issues of concern to people of that time, issues related to nutrition were also discussed at the feasts. Our contemporary has the opportunity to get acquainted with the content of such wonderful chapters from Plutarch's "Table Talks", such as: "Why old people prefer unmixed wine", "Why people are more inclined to eat in the autumn", "Is it preferable to serve the custom of the ancients to each of those who dine in a separate portion or the current one - serve a common dish", "Why meat rots faster in the moon than in the sun", "Is a variety of food better digested than simple food", "Why drinking satisfies hunger, and food only increases thirst", etc. Only by reading the titles of these chapters can we be convinced that the ancient Greeks were keenly interested not only in questions of dietetics, but also in questions of food hygiene, as well as questions of the physiology of digestion.

Special cookbooks were widely used in Ancient Greece. Of course, there were not such folios as we can find among other publications; ancient cookery books were written in the form of small treatises, recipes for favorite dishes were copied from them. Among the most famous culinary books that were in circulation in the states of the Balkan Peninsula, one can name the "Cooking Whale" by Arhita, "The Cooking Dictionary" by Paksam. Culinary topics were often touched upon in their works, even by authors who were very far from cooking. Other authors specifically dealt with certain areas of culinary art and published treatises - for example, on baking bread, on the use of spices. Unfortunately, most of the treatises have not survived to this day (the texts were copied by hand, so the "circulation" was very small), and we know about them only because these works are mentioned in other books.

Wine occupies a special place in the menu of the ancient Greeks. Winemaking is a very ancient craft, and the Greeks are one of the few peoples who are at the origins of this craft. Every more or less large farm made its own wine - and not only for themselves, but also for sale. Literary monuments preserved references to famous wines from the Greek islands - Rhodes, Chios, Kos, Lesbos, etc. Probably, winemakers on the Utih Islands had a special skill; the natural conditions in which the grapes grew were also important.

The wines that were made in the states of Ancient Greece had different strengths, differed from each other in color, and were famous for their good bouquet. Depending on the combination of qualities, TC or other wines were intended for different occasions. Strong old wines were only available to the wealthy; these wines were drunk on solemn occasions, appreciating their qualities, enjoying the bouquet. On ordinary days, light sweet wines were served at the table, which, as a rule, were still diluted with water. The poor and slaves also drank wine, but they were forced to be content with wines made from grape pomace; It is clear that this wine was not of the highest quality.

The poorest population of Ancient Greece did not know exquisite dishes and fine wines. The poor man's diet consisted of barley cake, turnips, onions, garlic, peas, beans, beans, dried figs, and ground pears. Poor people cooked the so-called black stews; and the poorer a man was, the thinner was his stew. They also ate acorns, chestnuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, and peanuts. A successful addition to the table was a fish caught in the sea, a lined bird. Food was often washed down with plain water. The ancient Greeks had a broader meaning in the concept of diet than we do today. By diet they meant a way of life in general. Attempts to develop a healthy eating system were made long before Hippocrates, but only Hippocrates and the doctors of his school managed to make more or less significant progress in this field. The diet developed by Hippocrates is based on the doctrine of four bodily fluids - blood, mucus, yellow bile and black bile. Since it was believed that any disease develops due to the improper mixing of these fluids, they tried to influence their mixing with the help of a diet. According to Hippocrates and his students and followers, the best diet that can purify the patient's vital juices should include meat, fish, milk, bread, vegetables and fruits in certain proportions. Note that Hippocrates recommends eating milk among other foods; meanwhile, it is known that the Greeks, who ate large quantities of cheese, back in the 4th century BC. refused milk; drinking milk they considered beneath their dignity; the Greeks believed that eating milk was the lot of the barbarians; one of the contemptuous names of the barbarians is translated from Greek as "drinking milk" ... Over time, the field of medicine, which studied the relationship of human health with his nutrition, took shape in a separate science; The name of this science was - dietetics.

"Diocles from Karist made significant additions to Hippocrates' dietary doctrine. In his famous work Hygiene, he argued that one of the surest ways to health is moderation in food. The ancient population of the Apennine Peninsula ate as simply as the population of the entire Mediterranean in began their history. The future Romans lived from agriculture and cattle breeding. Their main food was a thick porridge made from barley, spelt or millet. They cooked porridge from bean flour. Other products that sometimes appeared on the table were: "the meat (of animals, mined hunting), fish, cheeses, vegetables and fruits.

With the development of cultural ties with neighboring peoples, mainly with the Greeks and Eastern peoples, the range of Roman food products expanded. The culinary art of Rome developed rapidly - mainly due to borrowings from the Greeks (perhaps there is no area of ​​human activity in which Rome would not borrow something from the Greek civilization), the Carthaginians, the peoples inhabiting the eastern Mediterranean, etc. Further abundance on the table of the Romans was largely facilitated by military campaigns and numerous conquests - the conqueror adopted a lot from the conquered. The diet of the average Roman was very similar to that of the Greek. And the wealthy Romans sometimes built their entire life according to the Greek model; this happened not without the influence of Greek doctors, popular in Rome and who were in the service of Roman citizens (or were in slavery). The Romans ate food three times a day. Early in the morning was the first breakfast, closer to noon - the second breakfast; dinner was in the evening. The first breakfast consisted of a meat or fish dish with a side dish of vegetables and dry bread; also cheese, fruits could be served for breakfast; washed down food with wine - diluted or undiluted. For the second breakfast, some cold appetizers were served; usually the second breakfast was not rich. Lunch was the main meal. Lunch consisted of several dishes, including hot dishes. Historians testify that a rare Roman dinner did without an egg, from which the meal began. After the egg, they ate meat or fish dishes; garnished with vegetables and herbs. As a frequent addition to the table there were various seafood. A lot of fruits were served - fresh or dried. Washed down food with wine - usually light; The Romans also loved a drink made from wine and honey.

The first bread baked in Rome was in the form of flatbread. With the development of baking art and the material base in Rome, several varieties of bread began to be baked. In addition, ready-made bread was brought in large quantities from Greece. The most expensive was white bread; it was a table decoration for rich merchants and patricians. The average Romans mostly consumed black bread. Special "camp" bread was supplied to the army. The cheapest and coarsest bread - bread for the plebeians - was sometimes handed out to poor citizens for free. From time to time, free bread was distributed on the streets of Rome: this bread was cheap and coarse, but it helped the poor citizens to survive. Bread was baked in different forms, round, oblong and ir. Archaeologists discovered during excavations the remains of wicker-shaped bread. A more bizarre form of Roman bread is also known - lyre-shaped. In addition to cakes and various breads, the population of the Roman Empire knew other flour products, such as cookies.

From about 400 BC. the population of the Apennine Peninsula already knows pasta. Various types of these products are called here pasta, which means "dough".

Meat dishes were more often prepared in the homes of wealthy citizens; the poor did not have enough money for meat. Romans' favorite meats are pork and goat. Game meat dishes varied. Since there were many hares on the peninsula and it was not difficult to hunt them, hare meat was often included in the menu of the Romans - and not only the rich.

V Fish were brought to Rome from all over the world; in addition to the Mediterranean, the Romans ate fish brought from the shores of the Burrow Sea, as well as from the Atlantic. The Romans bred freshwater fish in large numbers. For this purpose, large landowners arranged ponds or pools in their villas. Actually, specially trained slaves were engaged in breeding fish. Bred in rich farms and sea fish, for example moray eels. In order to fill the pools with sea water, channels were brought to them from the coast; such canals were often cut many miles away. The remains of these channels, dug by slaves under the scorching sun, have survived in some places to this day.

In special cages, the Romans bred oysters and edible snails. The wort with the addition of honey served as food for snails and oysters.

Huge income wealthy Romans brought breeding birds. Mostly bred such poultry as chickens and geese. However, some farms specialized in breeding pheasants and guinea fowls. Gourmet tables were served with dishes prepared from peacocks, flamingos, storks and even songbirds.

The surprising fact is that milk was not one of the main products for the population of the Roman Empire; like the Greeks, the Romans did not drink milk. Among the wives and daughters of Roman patricians, milk was prized as a skin care product; it was believed that daily rubbing milk into the skin protects it from withering; Roman women from wealthy families regularly took milk baths in order to make their skin softer and whiter. However, they ate cheese in significant amounts every day. The Romans themselves made cheeses according to various recipes, and brought them to the metropolis from the provinces, they knew how to preserve cheeses for a long time. They ate cheese alone or as part of other dishes.

Vegetables and fruits occupied a large place in the Roman diet. The most affordable (not only rich) were onions, garlic, lettuce, chard, cabbage, asparagus, cucumbers, carrots, turnips, radishes, radishes, pumpkins, mallow root, chicory, rue, sorrel, lentils, and peas. Pea soup and lentil stew were sold inexpensively on city streets.

The ancient Roman writer Pliny in his works but once mentions the artichoke; this plant is a relative of the sunflower; for its useful qualities (regular consumption of artichoke helps to lose weight), the artichoke was very much appreciated in Rome and therefore was expensive. We knew several dozen varieties of artichoke.

Cabbage was considered one of the most delicious vegetables in ancient Rome. Headed cabbage was also used in medicine: with its help, colic and wounds were treated, as well as dog bites, they tried to treat deafness, paralysis and cancer; cabbage juice was used to prevent intoxication; doctors believed that eating a large amount of cabbage could prevent the plague. The fact that the Roman troops were regularly supplied with cabbage was very conducive to the spread of this vegetable, which indeed has many healing properties, throughout Europe. In addition to cabbage, broccoli was used as food; the Romans loved this vegetable and called it "five fingers of Jupiter". Another well-known relative of cabbage is Brussels sprouts. Among botanists, not everyone agrees that this cabbage began to be grown in Belgium; It is believed that this vegetable was known in ancient Rome and was famous as "food for the mind."

Like the inhabitants of Greece, the Romans ate onions in large quantities; They used it both fresh and as seasonings for meat and fish dishes. The bow was especially popular among the Roman soldiers (and the German soldiers took over the good attitude to the bow from them); the bow was revered by them as a source of remarkable strength and courage; like Greek soldiers, Roman soldiers wore an onion under their armor on their chests. For our contemporary, the bow is associated more with the character of the famous fairy tale Cipollino than with the polished shell of a Roman who is going to war; but in those distant times, a legionnaire, from whom a mile away reeked of a bow, was quite common. Before the competition, athletes massaged each other with onion oil in order to make the muscles more elastic.

One of the favorite dishes of the ancient Romans (and not only the poor) was baked turnips. Doctors were aware of some of the healing properties of turnips, and this vegetable was used in the treatment of smallpox, measles, frostbite, joint pain. In addition, turnips were used to make soap.

In large quantities, the Romans grew beets. Beets were used not only as a food product, but also for the treatment of headaches and toothaches, and some diseases of internal organs.

When preparing dishes for meat, fish and vegetables, various roots and spices were used to activate the digestion process and stimulate appetite. Mostly spices were delivered from the East. Vinegar added spice to sauces. Added to sauces and olive oil, which was brought to Rome in large quantities from the Eastern Mediterranean. Oil squeezed from both unripe and mature olives was used.

Fruits and berries were eaten in large quantities - not only their own, but also imported. Already in those days, doctors convinced the population that vegetables and fruits are the healthiest food. The ancient Romans knew apples, pears, pomegranates, plums, figs (or otherwise - figs), lemons, dates, cherries, grapes, strawberries, olives, etc. Lemons were used not only for food, but also in the treatment of certain diseases - tonsillitis, skin diseases, flatulence. Lemon juice was used in the treatment of wounds. It was also believed that lemon helps against the effects of snake venom. Doctors in Rome recommended eating figs more often - especially for people suffering from hemorrhoids and constipation. For the ancient Romans and other peoples of the Mediterranean, dates were the most common sweet delicacy and, as it were, replaced sweets.

Romans loved sweets - mainly honey and various dried fruits.

Wines in ancient Rome were consumed daily and in large quantities. Both some local wines and imported wines were famous - from the Greek islands, from the island of Sicily, from Spain. The best wine ended up on the table of rich Romans, while the plebs and slaves were content with cheap wine from grape pomace. Already in those days, the citizens of Rome, sitting at the banquet table, followed well-established traditions: they preferred to drink certain blues with this or that wine - light wine was served with light meat and fish dishes, red wines with lamb, game and poultry; it was customary to drink first the less strong wines, then the stronger ones; like the Greeks, the Romans often diluted their wines with water; Some wines were drunk warm, others chilled. To quench their thirst, they used the so-called sour wine - especially the poor and mercenary soldiers who served in the provinces. Another drink, beer, was also very popular among the citizens of Rome.

The ancient Romans, like other peoples who inhabited the shores of the Mediterranean Sea, used to help themselves while eating with their hands, so they always washed their hands thoroughly before eating, and used napkins during meals. Hands took various cereals, meat, fish, vegetables. The Romans, of course, knew what a fork was, but it was used only to remove cooked meat from a cauldron; it was usually a two- or three-pronged fork with a long handle. During the meal they could use a knife. Liquid dishes like lentil stew were eaten by the citizens of Rome with the help of a spoon from deep plates. For meat, fish, vegetables, cereals, shallower plates were used. Fruits were served on the table in wide dishes.

The most enlightened Romans attached great importance to food hygiene - a science, the basics of which they knew from the Egyptians and Greeks. In the Roman state, rather strict laws regarding public hygiene were established. Among these laws, there are many those whose observance guaranteed the quality of the products sold and the dishes prepared for public catering. Violators of these laws faced heavy fines. Strict supervision in the cities of the Roman Empire was carried out for the quality of drinking water, for cleanliness in the markets and streets. Doctors not only used the patients with the means that they had in their arsenal, but also gave various recommendations regarding the lifestyle in general, as well as the issues of proper food storage, the intake of certain foods, moderation in eating, etc. It is known that doctors in Rome urged their patients to prefer simple food, advised them to refuse long feasts with an abundance of delicious dishes; doctors of that time argued that the abundance of spices in food adversely affects the state of the body, that spicy or overly sour dishes can become the cause of the disease, that taking too many different dishes during one meal has nothing to do with the variety of food and is a significant burden on the digestive organs . Some of the recommendations of Roman doctors, which have come down to us in written sources, directly indicate that already in those days the best followers of Asclepius understood the basics of the physiology of digestion; for example, too fast food without thorough chewing was condemned by doctors; doctors warned against plentiful food in the warm season and did not object to hearty meals in the cold season. Doctors of that time believed that each product has one defining quality, or several qualities, and when preparing dishes, these qualities should be taken into account; in addition, combinations of defining qualities must be taken into account, otherwise the body will experience an excessive load at each meal, and this will lead to illness. If we take into account that bread was considered the ideal food for a person, it can be assumed with a sufficient degree of certainty that the “qualities” of the product were understood to be known to us, but unknown at that time, nutrients - proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals; After all, it is in bread that nutrients are present in the ratio necessary for a person. “* It is a remarkable fact that already in the days of the Roman Empire, people suffering from excessive fullness turned to doctors for advice. The doctors advised them to abstain from rich meals, from everything that might burden the stomach, from libations that stimulate the appetite, from spices and spicy dishes that stimulate the appetite, from everything sweet and fatty; they also advised to lead a more mobile lifestyle. All of these recommendations remain valid today.

After the collapse of the Roman Empire, dietetics developed in Byzantium for quite a long time. But after the capture of Constantinople by the Turks, science and art fell into decline, and the achievements of Greek and Roman doctors were forgotten for a long time.

In the commandments of Moses - the prophet, leader and legislator of the Jewish people - rather detailed instructions are given regarding not only certain foodstuffs, but also the hygienic condition of the products. For example, in Deuteronomy (one of the books of the "Old Testament") we can read:

“If the place that the Lord your God chooses is far from you, so that His name may dwell there, then slaughter from your herds and flocks, which the Lord has given you, as I commanded you, and eat in your dwellings, according to the desire of the soul. yours. But eat them as they eat chamois and deer; unclean as well as clean you can eat this. Only be careful not to eat blood, because blood is the soul; do not eat the soul with the meat. Do not eat it; pour it out it on the ground like water. You shall not eat it, that it may be good for you and your children after you, if you do what is good and just in the sight of the Lord" (chapter 12; vv. 21-25).

In the next chapter of this book we read:

"Do not eat any abomination. Here are the cattle that you can eat: oxen, sheep, goats. Deer and chamois, and buffalo, and fallow deer, and bison, and oryx, and camelopard. All cattle that have cloven hooves and on both hooves deep cut, and which cattle chew the cud, you shall eat. they are for you, and pigs, because their hooves are cloven, but they do not chew the cud: they are unclean for you, do not eat their flesh, and do not touch their carcasses. Of all the animals that are in the water, eat all that have feathers and scales, but do not eat all those who do not have feathers and scales: it is unclean for you. Eat every clean bird. But these should not be eaten of them: the eagle, the vulture, and the sea eagle, and the kite, and the falcon and the gyrfalcon with its kind, and every raven with its kind, and the ostrich, and the owl, and the gull, and the hawk with its kind, and the owl, and the ibis, and the swan, and they sang cana, and a vulture, and a fisherman, and a heron, and a puffin with its breed, and a hoopoe, and a bat. All winged reptiles are unclean for you, do not eat them. Do not eat any carrion; give it to a foreigner who happens to be in your dwellings, let him eat it, or sell it to him; for you are a holy people with the Lord your God. Do not boil a kid in its mother's milk" (chapter 13; vv. 3-21).

In the books of the "Old Testament" and "New Testament" in many places bread, wine, oil (olive oil), goat's milk, sheep's milk, cow's milk and such products as cream, butter, cheeses, cottage cheese, etc. d. Jews baked bread from wheat, barley, spelled. Honey was constantly present on the table of wealthy Israelis - and not only honey of bees bred in apiaries, but also honey of wild bees living among the rocks. Vegetables were also eaten in large quantities: cucumbers, onions, garlic, various greens, salted olives; among legumes, lentils and beans were especially popular. Of all the meats permitted in the commandments of Moses, beef, as well as sheep and goat meat, were most commonly used; veal and lamb were considered delicacies, and pigeon meat from poultry. In addition to the animals classified by Moses as unclean, it was impossible to eat the meat of animals that died from diseases, the meat of animals that were strangled, etc. The ancient Jews ate fish in large numbers; practically no day akin to a family could do without fish. Historians believe that the Jewish people acquired a taste for fish and a passion for fish dishes while still in Egyptian slavery. Fish was eaten salted, dried, baked on fire and fried in vegetable oil.

It is impossible to ignore such a curious fact as the use of locusts by the ancient Jews; There are many testimonies of this in the Holy Scriptures. Mostly locusts were eaten by people from the poor. The most common locust dishes are: salted dried locust; salted locust baked on coals; boiled locust seasoned with oil, etc. (presumably, the locust invasions were a real festival of abundance for the poor).

For drinking, the ancient Israelites used mostly plain water. A very sour drink made from vinegar and water was very popular among the people; this drink was cheap and well quenched thirst. More prosperous people quenched their thirst with wine; sometimes wine was diluted with water in the Greek manner, and spices were added to make the drink pungent and aromatic. Strong wine was consumed during the meal. Warriors (including those in the service of Rome) drank sour wine. Such wine was sometimes given to drink condemned to death, but myrrh was added to it. The oxidized wine with myrrh had a pronounced intoxicating effect and somewhat dulled the feeling of pain, which in one way or another alleviated the suffering of the condemned. According to the gospel legend, this drink was given to the crucified Jesus Christ. .

The time for lunch - the main meal - for the ancient Jews was noon. They took food not sitting, but reclining - they reclined at the table on special beds. This custom, no doubt, was borrowed from the Babylonians. Women should not eat at the same table as men. They took food with their hands - they did not use spoons, forks and knives for food; if any of the dishes required cutting, this dish was cut even before serving.

Written sources brought to us the teachings of Father Dorotheus, who lived in the 6th-7th centuries, hegumen of a monastery near Gaza; these teachings apply in particular to moderation in eating. "When the time came to eat food, Abba (i.e. father) Dorotheos said to him:" Eat until you are full, just tell me how much you eat. "He came and said to him:" I ate one and a half bread, and there were four liters (in one liter - about 3/4 of a pound)". Abba Dorotheos asked him: "Is this enough for you, Dositheus?" He answered: "Yes, my lord, this is enough for me." Abba asked him: "You are not hungry Dositheus?” He answered him: “No, Vladyka, I’m not hungry.” Then Abba Dorotheos said to him: “Another time, eat one bread, and divide the other half of the bread in half, eat one quarter, but divide the other quarter in two, eat one Half." Dositheus did so. When Abba Dorotheos asked him: "Are you hungry, Dositheus?", he answered: "Yes, sir, a little hungry." Do you continue to feel hungry?" He answered him: "No, sir, I feel good with your prayers." Abba said to him: "And so set aside the other half of the quarter." And he did this. Again, a few days later, Abba Dorotheos asked him: "How do you feel now, Dositheus? Aren't you hungry?" He answered: "I feel good, sir." The abba told him: "Divide the other quarter in two and eat half, and leave the other half." He did it. And so, with God's help, little by little, from six liters, and a liter has twelve ounces, he stopped at eight ounces, that is, sixty-four drachmas. “Just as in lawful marriage and fornication, the action is the same, but the goal is the difference between the deed: for one copulates for the birth of children, and the other for the satisfaction of his lust; the same can be found in relation to food: eat according to need and eat to please taste, the matter is the same, and the sin lies in the intention.Eating according to need means, when someone decides for himself how much food to take per day: and if he sees that this amount of food determined by him has weighed him down and needs to be somewhat reduced, then he reduces it, or if it does not weigh him down, but is not enough for the body, so that it is necessary to add a little, he adds a few. maintain the strength of your body." The population of Europe, formed, apart from the Mediterranean peoples, from numerous tribes of the Celts, Germans, Slavs, Turks, and others, had a rather varied diet. Favorable natural conditions on the continent allowed the rapid development of agriculture and cattle breeding. Numerous rivers and lakes provided people with fish. Especially a lot of fish, mainly herring, were caught by the tribes that inhabited the shores of the Baltic Sea (the Baltic Sea - the German ancestor). The vast hunting grounds and the rich European fauna also mattered. Very early the peoples of Europe came under strong Roman influence. Of course, Rome's trade relations with the barbarians played a big role, but one must think that Rome's conquest of vast European territories - up to the British Isles ~ and the subsequent colonization of the lands of Gauls, Germans, etc. (a curious fact: the name of the city of Cologne came from from the word "colony"). The Romans spread their cultural traditions to those lands in which they left garrisons, in which they built defensive structures. Kitchen gardens and orchards were planted around the military settlements, the Romans planted grapes, sowed fields with wheat, organized their livestock farms - all this made the garrisons less dependent on supplies from the metropolis, which, due to the remoteness of the center, were sometimes very unreliable. The cultural enrichment of the barbarian peoples was also served by their conquest of Rome; the tribes of Gauls and Germans, who came to the Apennines with fire and sword and destroyed cities, saw, however, how reasonably the households were arranged (irrigation canals, pools and ponds, fenced pastures, various outbuildings, stone-paved roads, etc.), voluntarily or involuntarily adopted a lot. The natural conditions of Western and Central Europe made it possible to grow many vegetables and fruits brought from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea and even from the East. The barbarians also borrowed some of the customs, in particular, those relating to food intake, the mode of eating, cooking; mastered the skills of food hygiene - a science developed by the efforts of ancient Greek and Roman doctors.

Already in the Middle Ages, the diet of Europeans in general terms was very similar to the diet of Europeans of our time, except that there were still products originating from the American continent and perishable exotic fruits that simply could not be quickly delivered fresh in the markets. The nutrition of a European in the Middle Ages differed from the diet of a modern European only in the absence of products of American origin in the diet, as well as the absence of perishable fruits, which, when fresh, in conditions when there were no air transport or refrigerators, could not be quickly delivered to large cities. distances. Food from one land to another was delivered both by land and by sea - along the coast of Europe, as well as along large rivers - the Danube, Rhine, Vistula, etc. The Hansa, the trade union of North German cities (Lubeck , Hamburg, Rostock, Danzig, etc.), which was subsequently joined by other Baltic cities, as well as some Russians.

After the discovery of the New World, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, cocoa, avocados, peppers (green, red and hot) and other previously unknown products appeared in European states. They greatly enriched the table of Europeans - to the point that for some peoples they became almost the main food. Of the newly acquired products, potatoes have become especially popular.

The greatest physician of the Middle Ages Abu-Ali Ibn-Sina (born in 980 near Bukhara), who gained fame in Europe under the name of Avicenna, paid much attention to food hygiene issues. In his most famous work, The Canon of Medicine, which has served for centuries as a guide for physicians in East and West, and has not lost its practical significance even now, he constantly refers to the topic of nutrition.

Ibn Sina states that "a person who wants to keep his body healthy should take care of the quality of his food." He advises to eat only when there is an appetite, and not to endure hunger for a long time, because "as a result of hunger, the stomach is filled with bad juices." In winter, according to Ibn Sina, one should eat hot food, and in summer - cold or warm.

It is noteworthy that already a thousand years ago Ibn Sina recommended using only homogeneous food at each meal: “It is important not to eat too varied food at the same time, which is harmful due to the fact that the digestion of different types of food does not occur simultaneously, and incompatible between are products." Meanwhile, we know that this is one of the fundamental features of the now very popular separate diet.

Ibn Sina wrote in the "Canon of Medicine" that only foods that balance each other should be taken - after foods that are cold in nature, eat foods with a hot nature (for example, immediately after cucumber and pumpkin, eat garlic and leek). The fact that Ibn Sina was well versed in nutritional physiology for his time is evidenced by his following recommendations, which may be useful to our contemporary:

"The next meal should be only after the stomach and small intestines are completely free. Mixing new food with old, unripe and undigested food is very unhealthy. This can lead to indigestion, which entails pain in joints and nights, asthma, shortness of breath, gout, hardening of the spleen and liver, as well as various diseases associated with mucus and black bile, if indigestion is caused by coarse food.

"The optimal amount of food eaten is considered to be one in which the food does not stretch the ribs and does not cause rumbling in the stomach. In addition, after eating there should not be nausea, loss of strength, stupor, insomnia, there should not be a taste of food when burping, should not become more frequent pulse and shortened breathing.

"It is not recommended to use liquid and quickly digestible food after coarse and solid food, since liquid food begins to be digested, being over coarse, and, not finding ways to pass, may begin to rot."

Ibn Sina taught that, in addition to proper nutrition, a person should pay attention to a healthy lifestyle, should follow a regimen, and exercise regularly; then the body will remain in good condition for many, many years.

A follower of Ibn Sina, the Arab physician Maimonides, who lived in the 12th century, devoted many years of his life to the study of nutrition. He wrote the book Dietetics for Soul and Body. Repeatedly referring to Ibn Sina, he also urges everyone to lead a healthy lifestyle, take care of personal hygiene, do gymnastic exercises and eat right - do not overeat, give up unhealthy foods, etc. Maimonides lists wheat bread, lamb meat, and poultry among the most useful foodstuffs.

The nutrition of the population on the territory of Ancient Russia, as well as the nutrition of other peoples, depended on such factors as geographical (and in particular climatic) and economic conditions, trade relations, beliefs, established traditions, etc. It is also important that the population of Russia does not was homogeneous. By the time the Slavic tribes appeared in the vast territories east of the Baltic Sea, quite numerous Finno-Ugric tribes lived here; their culture, of course, could not disappear without a trace. The tribes of the Slavs who came from the east settled sparsely along the banks of the rivers and began the development of new territories by uprooting forests. With the advent of the Slavs in the local lands, agriculture began to develop more actively. But traditional crafts - hunting, fishing, gathering - continued to live. The northern lands of Russia, as well as the lands along the way "from the Varangians to the Greeks" and the Volga region, were for a long time under the influence of the Scandinavian Germans, who came here to trade and settled here. The southern Russian principalities could not escape

History and evolution of man. Modern concepts of the field of nutritional physiology.

Human nutrition has changed in the course of the historical development of civilization, and even now in different parts of the world it varies significantly depending on the climate, terrain and landscape, the level of culture, the economy, scientific and technological progress, religious and national customs and other circumstances.
At different stages of its development, man was a hunter, a gatherer, or a peasant farmer. Anthropological finds and acquaintances with the diet of isolated groups of people, such as the Bushmets of the Kalahari Desert, the Aborigines of Australia or the tribes of the Amazon basin, show that in ancient times, Homo sapiens obtained food by picking fruits and berries, leaves, roots of plants, beans, seeds, hunted wild animals and birds, seafood, fish and sea animals.
Having learned to use fire, millions of years ago people learned how to cook food. After heat treatment, meat and plants become soft in taste and more pleasant than in their raw form, easily digestible. At the same time, pathogenic microorganisms are also destroyed, toxic substances are destroyed.
Drying, boiling and smoking allowed people to store food for the future, later they learned to salt, pickle and pickle.
About 10,000 years ago, the inhabitants of the Middle East and Central Asia realized that cereal plants could be sown and harvested, used in dried form, and then in the form of ground grain products. It was a very important stage in the history of mankind. Sorghum was grown in the dry climate of Africa, wheat became the main crop in Central Asia and the Middle East, barley and oats grew well in more northern areas. In Asia, millet was first distributed, then rice was grown in areas with a humid climate. America cultivated corn. The cultivation of grain crops made it possible to feed the masses of the population. It can be said that cereals have saved and are still saving humanity from hunger.
Gradually, people learned to cultivate root crops and tubers, and leguminous plants. In Africa, even now they use a tuber that is little known to us, called cassava, or sweet potatoes. On the territory of our country, well used turnip and radish, beetroot, which grow well and ripen in a temperate climate.
People living along the banks of rivers and seas have been eating fish, the meat of marine mammals, and many other aquatic inhabitants since time immemorial.
Speaking about the nutrition of an ancient person, one should not forget about his physical activity, constant work and movement. During the harvesting or hunting period, physical activity was very high and led to seasonal loss of body weight. Before the ancient man was not faced with the problem of overeating and obesity, his life consisted in the constant search and getting enough food.

Physiology (from the Greek words: physis - nature, logos - doctrine, science) is the science of the functions and processes occurring in the body or its constituent systems, organs, tissues, cells, and the mechanisms of their regulation that ensure the vital activity of humans and animals in their interaction with environment.

A function is understood as the specific activity of a system or organ. For example, the functions of the gastrointestinal tract are motor, secretory, absorption; respiratory function exchange of O2 and CO2; the function of the circulatory system is the movement of blood through the vessels; myocardial function contraction and relaxation; the function of the neuron is excitation and inhibition, etc.

The process is defined as a successive change of phenomena or states in the development of any action or a set of successive actions aimed at achieving a certain result.

A system in physiology implies a set of organs or tissues connected by a common function. For example, the cardiovascular system, which provides, with the help of the heart and blood vessels, the delivery of nutrients, regulatory, protective substances and oxygen to tissues, as well as the removal of metabolic and heat exchange products. Speech-motor system - a set of formations that normally ensure the implementation of a person's speech ability in the form of reproduction of oral and vocal speech.

The reliability of biological systems is the property of cells, organs, body systems to perform specific functions, maintaining their characteristic values ​​for a certain time. The main characteristic of system reliability is the probability of failure-free operation. The body increases its reliability in various ways:

1) by enhancing regenerative processes that restore dead cells,

2) pairing of organs (kidneys, lobes of the lung, etc.),

3) the use of cells and capillaries in the working and non-working mode: as the function increases, previously non-functioning ones are switched on,

4) using protective braking,

5) achievement of the same result by different behavioral actions.

Physiology studies the vital activity of an organism in a normal way. The norm is the limits of the optimal functioning of a living system, it is interpreted in different ways:

a) as an average value characterizing any set of events, phenomena, processes,

b) as an average value,

c) as a generally accepted rule, a sample.

The physiological norm is the biological optimum of life activity; a normal organism is an optimally functioning system. The optimal functioning of a living system is understood as the most coordinated and efficient combination of all its processes, the best of the really possible states, corresponding to certain conditions for the activity of this system.

A mechanism is a way of regulating a process or function. In physiology, it is customary to consider the mechanisms of regulation; local (for example, vasodilatation with an increase in blood pressure), humoral (influence on the functions and processes of hormones or humoral agents), nervous (intensification or weakening of processes during excitation or inhibition of impulses in the first), central (command sendings from the central nervous system).

Regulation is understood as minimizing the deviation of functions or changing them in order to ensure the activity of organs and systems. This term is used only in physiology, and in technical and interdisciplinary sciences it corresponds to the concepts of "management" and "regulation". In this case, automatic control is either maintaining the constancy of some regulated value, or changing it according to a given law (program control), or in accordance with some variable external process (following control). Automatic control is a broader set of actions aimed at maintaining or improving the functioning of a controlled object in accordance with the purpose of control. In addition to solving control problems, automatic control covers the mechanisms of self-adjustment (adaptation) of control systems in accordance with changes in object parameters or external influences, automatic selection of the best modes from several possible ones. Because of this, the term "management" more accurately reflects the principles of regulation in living systems. In the case of program regulation, regulation is carried out “by disturbance”, in the case of a follower - “by deviation”.

A reaction is a change (intensification or weakening) of the activity of the organism or its components in response to irritation (internal or external). Reactions can be simple (e.g. muscle contraction, secretion by a gland) or complex (eating). They can be passive, arising as a result of external mechanical efforts, or active in the form of a purposeful action carried out as a result of nervous or humoral influences, or under the control of consciousness and will.

A secret is a specific product of the vital activity of a cell that performs a specific function and is released onto the surface of the epithelium or into the internal environment of the body. The process of producing and secreting a secret is called secretion. By nature, the secret is divided into protein (serous), mucous (mucoid), mixed and lipid.

Irritation - exposure to living tissue of external or internal stimuli. The stronger the irritation, the stronger (up to a certain limit) the response of the tissue; the longer the irritation, the stronger (up to a certain limit) and the response of the tissue.

Irritant - factors of the external and internal environment or their changes that have an effect on organs and tissues, expressed in a change in the activity of the latter. In accordance with the physical nature of the impact, stimuli are divided into mechanical, electrical, chemical, temperature, sound, etc. The stimulus can be threshold in magnitude, i.e. having minimal effective impact; maximum, the presentation of which causes effects that do not change with increasing stimulus; superstrong, the action of which can have a damaging and painful effect, or lead to inadequate sensations.

Reflex reaction - a response action or process in the body (system, organ, tissue, cell) caused by a reflex.

Reflex - the emergence, change or cessation of the functional activity of organs, tissues or the whole organism, carried out with the participation of the central nervous system in response to irritation of nerve endings (receptors).

Under the influence of various stimuli, due to the property of the living protoplasm of excitability, the processes of excitation and inhibition are carried out in the body. Excitability - the ability of living cells to perceive changes in the external environment and respond to these changes with an excitation reaction. The lower the threshold strength of the stimulus, the higher the excitability, and vice versa. Excitation is an active physiological process by which some living cells (nerve, muscle, glandular) respond to external influences. Excitable tissues are tissues capable of moving from a state of physiological rest to a state of excitation in response to the action of a stimulus. In principle, all living cells are excitable, but in physiology it is customary to refer to these tissues mainly as nervous, muscular, and glandular. The result of excitation is the emergence of the activity of the organism or its components; the consequence of inhibition is the suppression or inhibition of the activity of cells, tissues or organs, i.e. a process leading to a reduction or prevention of excitation. Excitation and inhibition are mutually opposite and interrelated processes. Thus, excitation can, when it is strengthened, turn into inhibition, and inhibition can enhance subsequent excitation. To cause excitation, the stimulus must be of a certain strength, equal to or exceeding the threshold of excitation, which is understood as the minimum strength of irritation at which the minimum response of the irritated tissue occurs.

Automation - the property of some cells, tissues and organs to be excited under the influence of impulses arising in them, without the influence of external stimuli. For example, automatism of the heart is the ability of the myocardium to contract rhythmically under the influence of impulses that arise in itself.

Lability is a property of living tissue that determines its functional state. Lability is understood as the rate of reactions underlying excitation, i.e. the ability of a tissue to carry out a single process of excitation in a certain period of time. The limiting rhythm of impulses that an excitable tissue is able to reproduce per unit of time is a measure of the lability, or functional mobility of the tissue.

An important feature of man and higher animals is the constancy of the chemical composition and physicochemical properties of the internal environment of the organism. To denote this constancy, the concept of homeostasis (homeostasis) is used - a set of physiological mechanisms that maintain the biological constants of the body at an optimal level. Such constants are: body temperature, osmotic pressure of blood and tissue fluid, the content of sodium, potassium, calcium, chlorine and phosphorus ions, as well as proteins and sugar, the concentration of hydrogen ions, etc. This is the constancy of the composition, physicochemical and biological properties the internal environment is not absolute, but relative and dynamic; it is constantly correlated depending on changes in the external environment and as a result of the vital activity of the organism.

The internal environment of the body is a set of fluids (blood, lymph, tissue fluid) that are directly involved in the processes of metabolism and maintaining homeostasis in the body.

The metabolism and energy consists in the intake of various substances from the external environment into the body, in their change and assimilation, followed by the release of the decay products formed from them. Metabolism (metabolism) is a set of chemical transformations occurring in living organisms that ensure their growth, vital activity, reproduction, constant contact and exchange with the environment. Metabolic processes are divided into two groups: assimilatory and dissimilatory. Assimilation is understood as the processes of assimilation of substances entering the body from the external environment; the formation of more complex chemical compounds from simple ones, as well as the synthesis of living protoplasm occurring in the body. Dissimilation is the destruction, disintegration, splitting of the substances that make up the protoplasm, in particular, protein compounds.

Compensatory mechanisms are adaptive reactions aimed at eliminating or weakening functional changes in the body caused by inadequate environmental factors. These are dynamic, rapidly emerging physiological means of emergency support for the body. They are mobilized as soon as the body gets into inadequate conditions, and gradually fade as the adaptation process develops. (For example, under the influence of cold, the processes of production and conservation of thermal energy increase, metabolism increases, as a result of reflex constriction of peripheral vessels (especially the skin), heat transfer decreases. Compensatory mechanisms serve as an integral part of the body's reserve forces. Having high efficiency, they can maintain a relatively stable homeostasis long enough for the development of sustainable forms of the adaptation process).

Adaptation is the process of adapting an organism to changing environmental conditions. An important component of the body's adaptive response is stress syndrome - the sum of nonspecific reactions that create conditions for the activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal system, an increase in the flow of adaptive hormones, corticosteroids and catecholamines into the blood and tissues, stimulating the activity of homeostatic systems. The adaptive role of nonspecific reactions lies in their ability to increase the body's resistance (resistance) to various environmental factors.

Although physiology is a unified and holistic science of the functions of animal and human organisms, it is divided into several, largely independent, but closely related areas. In this regard, general and particular physiology, comparative and evolutionary, as well as special (or applied) physiology and human physiology are usually distinguished.

General physiology studies the nature of the processes common to organisms of various species, as well as the patterns of reactions of the organism and its structures to environmental influences. In this regard, such processes and properties as contractility, excitability, irritability, inhibition, energy and metabolic processes, and the general properties of biological membranes, cells, and tissues are being studied.

Private physiology studies the functions of tissues (muscular, nervous, etc.), organs (brain, heart, kidneys, etc.), systems (digestion, circulation, respiration, etc.).

Comparative physiology is devoted to the study of the similarities and differences of any functions in different representatives of the animal world in order to identify the causes and general patterns of changes in functions or the emergence of new ones. Particular attention is paid to the elucidation of the mechanisms of qualitative and quantitative changes in physiological processes that appeared during the species and individual development of living beings.

Evolutionary physiology combines the study of general biological patterns and mechanisms of the emergence, development and formation of physiological functions in humans and animals in onto- and phylogenesis.

Special (applied) physiology studies the patterns of changes in body functions in connection with its specific activity, practical tasks, or specific living conditions. In practical terms, the physiology of farm animals is of great importance. Some sections of human physiology (aviation, space, underwater physiology, etc.) are sometimes referred to as problems of special physiology.

In terms of tasks of human physiology, the following stand out:

1) Aviation physiology - a section of physiology and aviation medicine, focused on studying the reactions of the human body when exposed to aviation flights in order to develop methods and means of protecting flight personnel from adverse production factors.
2) Military physiology - a section of physiology and military medicine, within the framework of which the laws of regulation of body functions are studied in conditions of training, combat and combat situations.
3) Age-related physiology - studying the age-related features of the formation and extinction of the functions of organs, systems and the human body from the moment of inception to the cessation of its individual (ontogenetic) development.
4) Clinical physiology - within the framework of which the role and nature of changes in physiological processes in the human body are studied during the development and establishment of pathological conditions in its organs or systems.
5) Space physiology - a section of physiology and space medicine related to the study of the reactions of the human body to the effects of space flight factors (weightlessness, hypodynamia, etc.) in order to develop methods and means of protecting a person from their adverse effects.
6) Psychophysiology - a field of human psychology and physiology, consisting in the study of objectively recorded shifts in physiological functions that accompany the mental processes of perception, memorization, thinking, emotions, etc.
7) sports physiology - studying the functions of the human body during training and competitive exercises.
8) Labor physiology - studying physiological processes and features of their regulation during human labor activity with the aim of physiological substantiation of ways and means of organization.

Excitable tissues and their general properties

Excitable tissues are nervous, muscular and glandular structures that are capable of being excited spontaneously or in response to the action of an irritant. Excitation is the generation of an action potential (AP) + the spread of AP + a specific tissue response to this potential, for example, contraction, release of a secret, release of a mediator quantum.

Properties of excitable tissues and indicators characterizing them:

Properties:

1. Excitability - the ability to be excited
2. Conductivity - the ability to conduct excitation, i.e. conduct PD
3. Contractility - the ability to develop force or tension when excited
4. Lability - or functional mobility - the ability to rhythmic activity
5. The ability to secrete a secret (secretory activity), mediator

Indicators:
Threshold of irritation, rheobase, chronaxy, duration of the absolute refractory phase, rate of accommodation.
The speed of AP conduction, for example, in a nerve, it can reach 120 m/s (about 600 km/h).
The maximum value of force (voltage) developed during excitation.
The maximum number of excitations per unit of time, for example, a nerve is capable of generating 1000 APs in 1 s.
Electrical phenomena in excitable tissues

Classification:

Biopotentials - the general name for all types of electrical processes in living systems.

The damage potential is historically the first concept of the electrical activity of the living (demarcation potential). This is the potential difference between intact and damaged surfaces of living excitable tissues (muscles, nerves). The clue to its nature led to the creation of the membrane theory of biopotentials.

Membrane potential (MP) is the potential difference between the outer and inner surfaces of the cell (muscle fiber) at rest. Typically, the MP, or resting potential, is 50-80 mV, with a "-" sign inside the cell. When a cell is excited, an action potential is recorded (its phases: peak, trace negativity, trace positivity) - a rapid change in the membrane potential during excitation.

Extracellularly registered action potential, intracellularly registered action potential - these are variants of action potentials, the form of which depends on the method of assignment (see below).

Receptor (generator) potential - a change in the MP of receptor cells during their excitation.

Post-synaptic potentials (options: excitatory postsynaptic potential - EPSP, inhibitory postsynaptic potential - IPSP, a special case of excitatory postsynaptic potential - PKP - end plate potential).

An evoked potential is the action potential of a neuron that occurs in response to the excitation of a receptor that carries information to this neuron.

History of arousal physiology research

L. Galvani was the first to be convinced of the existence of "living electricity". His first (balcony) experience was that the preparation of the hind legs of frogs on a copper hook was suspended from an iron balcony. From the wind, he touched the balcony railing, and this caused muscle contraction. According to Galvani, this was the result of closing the current circuit, as a result of which "living electricity" caused contraction. Volta (Italian physicist) refuted this explanation. He believed that the reduction was due to the presence of a "galvanic pair" - iron-copper. In response, Galvani set up a second experiment (experiment without metal), which proved the author's idea: a nerve was thrown between the damaged and undamaged muscle surfaces and, in response, the intact muscle contracted.

Membrane potential and its origin

MP, or resting potential, is the potential difference between the outer and inner surfaces of the membrane at rest. On average, in cells of excitable tissues, it reaches 50-80 mV, with a “-” sign inside the cell. It is mainly due to potassium ions. As you know, in the cells of excitable tissues, the concentration of potassium ions reaches 150 mmol / l, in the environment - 4-5 mmol (potassium ions are much more in the cell than in the environment). Therefore, along the concentration gradient, potassium can leave the cell, and this occurs with the participation of potassium channels, some of which are open at rest. As a result, due to the fact that the membrane is impermeable to cell anions (glutamate, aspartate, organic phosphates), an excess of negatively charged particles is formed on the inner surface of the cell, and an excess of positively charged particles is formed on the outer surface. There is a potential difference. The higher the concentration of potassium in the medium, the lower this ratio, the lower the value of the membrane potential. However, the calculated value is usually lower than the actual value. For example, according to calculations, the MP should be -90 mV, but in reality -70 mV. This discrepancy is due to the fact that sodium and chloride ions also contribute to the creation of the magnetic field. In particular, it is known that there is more sodium in the medium (140 mmol/l versus 14 mmol/l intracellular). So sodium can enter the cell. But most of the sodium channels are closed at rest. Therefore, only a small part of sodium ions enter the cell. But even this is enough to at least partially compensate for the excess of anions. Chlorine ions, on the contrary, enter the cell (partially) and introduce negative charges. As a result, the value of the membrane potential is determined mainly by potassium, as well as by sodium and chlorine.

In order for the magnetic field to be maintained at a constant level, it is necessary to maintain ionic heterogeneity - ionic asymmetry. For this purpose, in particular, the potassium-sodium pump (and chloride) is used, which restores the ionic asymmetry, especially after the act of excitation. The proof of the potassium nature of the magnetic field is the dependence: the higher the concentration of potassium in the medium, the lower the value of the magnetic field. For further presentation, the concept is important: depolarization (reduction of the magnetic field, for example, from minus 90 mV to minus 70 mV) and hyperpolarization - the opposite phenomenon.

action potential
An action potential is a short-term change in the potential difference between the outer and inner surfaces of the membrane (or between two points in the tissue) that occurs at the moment of excitation. When registering the action potential using microelectrode technology, a typical peak-shaped potential is observed. It has the following phases or components:

1. Local response - the initial stage of depolarization.

2. The phase of depolarization - a rapid decrease in the membrane potential to zero and recharging of the membrane (reversion, or overshoot).

3. Repolarization phase - restoration of the initial level of the membrane potential;

in it, the phase of fast repolarization and the phase of slow repolarization are distinguished, in turn, the phase of slow repolarization is represented by trace processes (potentials):

trace negativity (trace depolarization) and trace positivity (trace hyperpolarization). The amplitude-time characteristics of the action potential of the nerve, skeletal muscle are as follows: the amplitude of the action potential is 140-150 mV; the duration of the action potential peak (depolarization phase + repolarization phase) is 1-2 ms, the duration of trace potentials is 10-50 ms.

The shape of the action potential (during intracellular recording) depends on the type of excitable tissue: in the axon of a neuron, skeletal muscle - peak-like potentials, in smooth muscles in some cases peak-like, in others - plateau-like (for example, the action potential of the smooth muscles of the uterus of a pregnant woman is plateau-shaped, and its duration is almost 1 minute). In the heart muscle, the action potential has a plateau shape.

The nature of the action potential

When studying the AP of the axons and soma of the nerve cell, the AP of the skeletal muscle, it was found that the depolarization phase is due to a significant increase in the permeability for sodium ions that enter the cell at the beginning of the excitation process and thus reduce the existing potential difference (depolarization). Moreover, the higher the degree of depolarization, the higher the permeability of sodium channels becomes, the more sodium ions enter the cell and the higher the degree of depolarization. During this period, there is not only a decrease in the potential difference to zero, but also a change in the polarization of the membrane - at the height of the AP peak, the inner surface of the membrane is positively charged with respect to the outer one (the phenomenon of reversion, or overshoot). However, this process cannot go on indefinitely: as a result of the closing of the inactivation gate, the sodium channels close, and the influx of sodium into the cell stops. Then comes the repolarization phase. It is associated with an increase in the release of potassium ions from the cell. This is due to the fact that as a result of depolarization, most of the potassium channels, which were closed under resting conditions, open and the "+" charges go outside the cell. At first, this process goes very quickly, then slowly, so the repolarization phase first proceeds quickly (descending part of the AP peak), and then slowly (trace negativity). The same process underlies the trace hyperpolarization phase. Against the background of trace potentials, the potassium-sodium pump is activated. If it operates in an electrically neutral mode (2 sodium ions are removed from the cell in exchange for 2 potassium ions introduced into the cell), then this process is not reflected in the form of AP. If the pump operates in an electrogenic mode, when 3 sodium ions are taken out of the cell in exchange for 2 potassium ions introduced into the cell, then as a result, for each cycle of the pump, 1 less cation is introduced into the cell than is taken out, therefore, the excess in the cell gradually increases. anions, t.s. in this mode, the pump contributes to the appearance of an additional potential difference. This phenomenon may underlie the trace hyperpolarization phase.

In the heart muscle, the nature of AP is different: the depolarization process is caused by sodium and calcium ions - these ions enter the cell at the beginning of the depolarization phase.

In the smooth muscles of blood vessels, stomach, intestines, uterus, and other formations, AP generation is associated with the fact that at the moment of excitation, calcium ions, rather than sodium ions, enter the cell mainly.
etc.................

Human evolution is a gradual process starting several million years ago from our immediate ancestors (who in turn evolved from other primates about 7 million years ago) to modern Homo habilis.

For the first time, we began to resemble modern humans (Homo habilis and Homo erectus) 2-3 million years ago, when truly human habits began to appear in their infancy, such as hunting, gathering, the use of spears, prisons, and stone tools. According to anthropologist Richard Wrangham, around the same period, our ancestors began to use and control fire.

The first representatives of Homo sapiens anatomically similar to modern humans appeared 400,000 years ago in Africa. All this time, our ancestors evolved slowly and gradually, and only 10,000 years ago we began to develop rapidly and radically. This entire period, from the appearance of Homo habilis to the agricultural revolution, is called the Paleolithic in archeology. The Paleolithic makes up 99.9% of our evolution.

As our primate ancestors evolved, so did their diet. Developing humanity moved from the simple to the more complex, from eating plants and insects while living in trees, to wearing skins and hunting large animals. A caveman dressed in the skins of the animals he killed - this is how we most often imagine our ancient ancestors. The food was varied as much as possible in order to get the maximum of useful substances and energy. In order to survive, people kept and passed on knowledge about a wide variety of plants (herbs, berries and fruits, roots, etc.), animals, fungi and minerals. At the same time, the amount of a certain type of food eaten depended on a number of factors, such as geographical location and climate. However, based on a number of studies, it can be assumed that our ancestors preferred animal food as a staple food whenever possible. People received 45-65% of their energy from animal food. Perhaps people preferred animal foods due to their high calorie content, which was necessary to support the normal functioning of the large brain (which is typical for people). Of course, carbohydrates made up an essential part of the diet - these are roots, stems, leaves, fruits, bark. But all this, in its properties, is very different from the carbohydrate-rich foods that we eat today (bread, pasta, potatoes, sugar, etc.).

At the moment, there are very few places left on earth where an example of the Paleolithic diet can still be found, while the Kung peoples in Africa, the Eskimos in the Arctic, and the Yanomamo and Ache peoples in South America are still living examples. When the first Europeans arrived in North America, they were surprised to note the physical health and vitality of the local population, which did not suffer from chronic diseases characteristic of a more "developed" European civilization. Research by modern hunter-gatherers of the Yanomamo peoples shows that adherence to Paleolithic dietary principles protects against diseases common not only to Western culture, but possibly to all modern civilization (Truswell 1977, Neel 1977, Salzano and Callegari-Jacques 1988).

About 10,000 years ago, truly revolutionary changes began to occur with humanity. Quite unexpectedly, we began to experiment with the domestication of wild animals and plants. People began to gather in sedentary communities, gradually moving away from the usual type of existence - hunting and gathering. The first wave of these changes swept over Africa and the Middle East, a little later India and China, and much later Mesoamerica and Northern Europe. Animals such as the dog, the pig, and the cow were the first creatures to be tamed by man. In addition, people experimented with edible plants, selecting and leaving the best in terms of taste and other useful qualities (primitive selection). After man mastered the cultivation of vegetables, the most significant moment in the agrarian revolution came, the cultivation of cereals, cereals and legumes. Pulverizing, soaking, fermenting, and cooking seeds of various herbs including wheat, barley, and flax have unexpectedly provided man with a food rich in energy and protein. The relatively stable climate of the period allowed sedentary peoples to plan their harvest and quantity with confidence and no longer depend on hunting, the outcome of which was often unpredictable. Thus, for better or worse, humanity has begun to change. Gradually, the food became less varied, as our Neolithic ancestors worked tirelessly from morning to evening: plowing and sowing the land, growing and harvesting. Such a regime took a lot of time and effort, not allowing you to be distracted by anything else. Prepared food became of great value in early human society, and those with more supplies were in a better position than those whose supplies were not so large. This state of affairs contributed to the division of society into classes, where the top or elite controls the lower - the working class by controlling food supplies and the means of their production (we can observe the same thing today). Since then, many empires have risen and fallen, and the diet of the working class has remained almost unchanged until quite recently. The diet of the peasants of that time, with a predominance of grains and legumes, was, although not the most unhealthy, but still far from optimal. According to archaeological research, this diet probably contributed to the development of both physical and mental chronic diseases. Sensing this (perhaps even on a subconscious level), traditional peoples tried to reintroduce animal products into their diets, but since slaughtering livestock for meat was an extremely expensive way to get food, people used milk and eggs much more often. Unlike today, there was no separation of products into refined (refined and processed) and unrefined products, since there were no technical means to do this. For example, rice in Asia became a staple food, and was almost always eaten unpeeled, except in those cases when they could afford to pre-clean it for money (rice in those days was cleaned by pounding and grinding in the sand). But even after this cleaning, the rice was still very different from the fluffy white rice that is now eaten by all of Asia, and the rest of the world.

Poor hygiene and hard work throughout life took their toll, but in general the peasants were healthier compared to the upper class, whose representatives suffered from chronic diseases characteristic of our time. Such a strange, at first glance, difference in health was due to the fact that the poor simply could not afford the food that rich people ate, mostly purified - refined food. The sharp difference between the diseases of the rich and the diseases of the poor existed until the so-called Green Revolution of the 20th century, when agriculture became industrialized and technical possibilities appeared to increase the shelf life of products. Enhancers of taste and smell were invented, as well as food preservation. Thus, that social stratum, which a few generations ago ate very modestly, today got the opportunity to eat foods that were available in the past only to kings and the wealthy class. This state of affairs has resulted in developing India having the highest rate of diabetes in the world. All this is due to the high content of refined foods in the daily diet, and after all, just a few decades ago, Indians ate simple and natural food, and diabetes among them was an extremely rare disease.