This is pure theory, but I've always ponderd it allot.Okay so from what I understand, AMY-1A is the gene code for making the enzymes that breaks down starch(alpha-amylase), apes like chimps, bonobos, ect. Can have a variance of 0-2 copies of AMY-1A in their gnomes, making they pretty dependent on fruit. Humans can have a varience of 2-16 copies.So let's say someone indigenous to mainland South America has only 2 AMY-1A copies in their DNA, they are going to do extremely well on fruit, and could very well be classified as a frugivore.Now let's take someone indigenous to Japan, or even Central Europe, such people apparently have between 12-16 copies of AMY-1A in their respective genomes. Does this make them a Starchivore? Less adapted to eating fruit, more adapted to eating starch, or both?I think their are fruitarians of every ethnicity today, if I'm not mistaken, right? That cannot be dismissed easily, if it is so.So there is a possibility after all that those with super high AMY-1A counts are simply "able" to live on mostly starch, but have not lost their ability to do so with fruit.Now since fructose does not need to be broken down onto anything before entering the Krebs cycle, I believe no enzyme is needed, but we need some form of counter-part to AMY-1A here to examine.Which brings in the topic of SCLA5, it is the gene for encoding a transporter that fructose needs in order to enter a cell (the non-insulin regulated GLUT5 protein). I wonder how many copies of this SCLA5 each of the two respective ethnic backgrounds mentioned above would have? Unfortunately I haven't found any easy info on this SCLA5 gene on he web within today's timeframe. But I'll keep this updated into the future, and if anyone here has more knowledge please correct and or add to what Ive said here.

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  • Hi Koby,

    Thanks for posting this. It's very interesting! I always appreciate learning and you taught me something I didn't know! :)

  • http://m.jbc.org/content/284/8/5056.full I'll keep posting the more I track down.
    JBC : Journal of Biological Chemistry
  • Ok, thanks! It's fun to learn about what is going on In the body.
  • @Nataliia

    Correction SCLA5 should be "SLC2A5"

    I could be wrong on allot of these facts, but you can see where I learned most of this through this link "if" you follow its citations: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amylase

    Some of it is also from some newer text books I stole, I'll give more refferences later.

    I think I remember learning that some of the Japanese had AMY1-A counts of up to 16, but I could be misremembering.
    Amylase
    An amylase () is an enzyme that catalyses the hydrolysis of starch (Latin amylum) into sugars. Amylase is present in the saliva of humans and some ot…
  • Hello Koby,
    Thanks for all this information. I have also pondered whether people from different ancestral backgrounds have adapted to different lifestyle needs than others. If they did I think that it would be slight variations in order to live optimally, but every human is 99% the same so the high carb low fat vegan lifestyle would work for everyone.
    I am not educated enough on this subject to be able to converse with you, but could you please give me the links to the info you have found? I am interested in biology.
    The subject raises additonal questions for me, like: do pale northern people need less sunlight than is considered healthy? I like to get at least 20 minutes, skin mostly exposed, in sun capable of giving me a sunburn. I am white with some native american, and i have light olive toned skin. My husband, however, is pale with red hair and blue eyes, and he cant get more than 5 minutes at a time in intense sun or he will burn. So maybe avoiding the sun is healthy for him?
    Thanks for your thoughtful discussion.
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