--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Wrangham cites several studies indicating…" description: "\"Wrangham cites several studies indicating that in fact humans don't do well on raw food: they can't maintain their body weight, and half of the women o..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/michael-pollan-408_bigs_wrangham-cites-several-studies-indicatin_1685446.jpg" --- # Wrangham cites several studies indicating that in fact… ![“Wrangham cites several studies indicating that in fact humans don't do well on raw food: they can't maintain their body weight, and half of the women on a raw-food regimen stop menstruating. Devotees of raw food rely heavily on juicers and blenders, because otherwise they would have to spend as…” quote by Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/michael-pollan-408_bigs_wrangham-cites-several-studies-indicatin_1685446.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/michael-pollan-408_bigs_wrangham-cites-several-studies-indicatin_1685446.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/644/michael-pollan-408_bigs_wrangham-cites-several-studies-indicatin_1685446.jpg) > “Wrangham cites several studies indicating that in fact humans don't do well on raw food: they can't maintain their body weight, and half of the women on a raw-food regimen stop menstruating. Devotees of raw food rely heavily on juicers and blenders, because otherwise they would have to spend as much time chewing as the chimps do. It is difficult, if not impossible, to extract sufficient energy from unprocessed plant matter to power a body with such a big, hungry brain.” [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Humans cannot sustain health on a strictly raw plant diet because it lacks sufficient calories and nutrients for a large brain. **In simple terms:** Raw diets lack enough energy for modern humans. Key Takeaway Consider balanced nutrition over strict raw rules. Themes nutrition science human biology dietary health Mood cautious analytical Type informative critical When to use this quote - weight management - women's health - diet planning - culinary practice Key Concepts energy balance evolutionary constraints food processing Questions to Reflect On - Can you meet your energy needs without cooking? - What alternatives provide similar benefits? A Different Perspective Raw diets may be sustainable for short periods but not long‑term health. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Blenders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blenders/) [Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body/) [Body weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/body-weight/) [Brain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brain/) [Chewing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chewing/) [Chewing Chimps](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chewing-chimps-1000024/) [Citing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/citing/) [Devotee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/devotee/) [Difficult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/difficult/) [Energy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/energy/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Food Rely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food-rely-1000023/) [Half](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/half/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Hungry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hungry/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Maintain Body](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/maintain-body-1000025/) [Matter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/matter/) [Plant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant/) [Raw food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/raw-food/) [Rely](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rely/) [Study](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/study/) [Sufficient](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sufficient/) [Weight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight/) [Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wells/) [Women Raw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/women-raw-1000022/) ## Related quotes > [To me, my brand is luxury, it's art, it's women, it's raw, it's urban.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theophilus-london/to-me-my-brand-is-luxury-it-s-art-it-s-women-it-s-raw-it-s-urban/) [Theophilus London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theophilus-london/) > [You can't afford to get sick, and you can't depend on the present health care system to keep you well. It's up to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-weil/you-can-t-afford-to-get-sick-and-you-can-t-depend-on-the-present/) [Andrew Weil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-weil/) > [In the sport of football, everybody knows it's a high-collision game and you've got to be able to just maintain your whole body throughout…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sony-michel/in-the-sport-of-football-everybody-knows-it-s-a-high-collision-game/) [Sony Michel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sony-michel/) > [Raw foodists are kind of paddling upstream against evolution. The only reason they can do it, and they don't all keel over, is that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/raw-foodists-are-kind-of-paddling-upstream-against-evolution-the-only/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [I'm trying to photosynthesize like a plant. I'm off eating. Although I am making a lot of banana daiquiries in my room in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-page/i-m-trying-to-photosynthesize-like-a-plant-i-m-off-eating-although-i/) [Jimmy Page](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-page/) > [When you can't draw chameleons and you can't draw blenders, it's a bad idea to write strips where chameleons become blenders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/when-you-can-t-draw-chameleons-and-you-can-t-draw-blenders-it-s-a-bad/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [Science fiction is like a blender - you can put in any historical experience and take influences from everything you see, read or experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joss-whedon/science-fiction-is-like-a-blender-you-can-put-in-any-historical/) [Joss Whedon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joss-whedon/) > [Quarkbeasts, for all their fearsome looks, are obedient to a fault. They are nine-tenths velociraptor and kitchen blender and one-tenth Labrador. It was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jasper-fforde/quarkbeasts-for-all-their-fearsome-looks-are-obedient-to-a-fault-they/) [Jasper Fforde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jasper-fforde/) > [Kids are great in that they keep you on your toes. They're like a puzzle... in a blender, haha. You have to take the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raheem-jarbo/kids-are-great-in-that-they-keep-you-on-your-toes-they-re-like-a/) [Raheem Jarbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raheem-jarbo/) > [I'm a mess right now I can't eat can't sleep Bills are piling high ain't worked in three weeks Ain't bathed can't shave cause…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-hamilton/i-m-a-mess-right-now-i-can-t-eat-can-t-sleep-bills-are-piling-high/) [Anthony Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-hamilton/) > [What's impossible not to notice, though - it's all around us - is the diminution of American prose: How pedestrian it has become. Pick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cynthia-ozick/what-s-impossible-not-to-notice-though-it-s-all-around-us-is-the/) [Cynthia Ozick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cynthia-ozick/) > [When I'm 18, I can finally order that paid programming stuff on TV. Like it always says, 'Must be 18 or older to call,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-mahone/when-i-m-18-i-can-finally-order-that-paid-programming-stuff-on-tv/) [Austin Mahone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-mahone/) > [“\* Get one of those marvellous pink rabbit hand blenders. Like the ones I've seen on the late-night shopping channel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bridget-golightly/get-one-of-those-marvellous-pink-rabbit-hand-blenders-like-the-ones-i/) [Bridget Golightly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bridget-golightly/) > [Getting older is a lot of fun. Right up there with chewing glass or putting your hand in a blender.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/getting-older-is-a-lot-of-fun-right-up-there-with-chewing-glass-or/) [Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/) > [I'm not really caught up with celebrity women. I think a regular girl that goes to school or works at a Complex or Spin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wale/i-m-not-really-caught-up-with-celebrity-women-i-think-a-regular-girl/) [Wale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wale/) ## More by Michael Pollan > [“In the same way that the picturesque designers were always careful to include some reminder of our mortality in their gardens -- a ruin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-the-same-way-that-the-picturesque-designers-were-always-careful-to/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [My hope is that if people have the knowledge, and if they actually see where their food comes from and have access to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/my-hope-is-that-if-people-have-the-knowledge-and-if-they-actually-see/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [The problem is that we let special-occasion food become everyday food. That goes for soda and french fries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/the-problem-is-that-we-let-special-occasion-food-become-everyday-food/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Every peasant cuisine has incredible ingenious tricks for getting a lot of nutrition out of a small amount of ingredients. There are people who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/every-peasant-cuisine-has-incredible-ingenious-tricks-for-getting-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“In ancient Greece, the word for “cook,” “butcher,” and “priest” was the same—mageiros—and the word shares an etymological root with “magic.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-ancient-greece-the-word-for-cook-butcher-and-priest-was-the-same/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [In the end I'm still a writer. I'm still a journalist, and my first responsibility is to my readers. That's where I have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/in-the-end-i-m-still-a-writer-i-m-still-a-journalist-and-my-first/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Seeds have the power to preserve species, to enhance cultural as well as genetic diversity, to counter economic monopoly and to check the advance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/seeds-have-the-power-to-preserve-species-to-enhance-cultural-as-well/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“The bubble logic driving tulipomania has since acquired a name: “the greater fool theory.” Although by any conventional measure it is folly to pay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/the-bubble-logic-driving-tulipomania-has-since-acquired-a-name-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Of the seven deadly sins, surely it is pride that most afflicts the gardener.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/of-the-seven-deadly-sins-surely-it-is-pride-that-most-afflicts-the/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Growing corn, which from a biological perspective had always been a process of capturing sunlight to turn into food, has in no small measure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/growing-corn-which-from-a-biological-perspective-had-always-been-a/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [Eat with consciousness. When you eat with consciousness, and you know what you're eating, and you eat it in full appreciation of what it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/eat-with-consciousness-when-you-eat-with-consciousness-and-you-know/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [This is part of human nature, the desire to change consciousness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/this-is-part-of-human-nature-the-desire-to-change-consciousness/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“...whenever I hear people say clean food is expensive, I tell them it's actually the cheapest food you can buy. That always gets their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/whenever-i-hear-people-say-clean-food-is-expensive-i-tell-them-it-s/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“Imagine if we had a food system that actually produced wholesome food. Imagine if it produced that food in a way that restored the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/imagine-if-we-had-a-food-system-that-actually-produced-wholesome-food/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) > [“CONSULT YOUR GUT.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-pollan/consult-your-gut/) [Michael Pollan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) [Explore all 584 Michael Pollan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-pollan/) ## More Bigs quotes > [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/) [Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [I'm a true believer in prayer, a big believer in prayer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-jackson/i-m-a-true-believer-in-prayer-a-big-believer-in-prayer/) [Janet Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-jackson/) > [The biggest change for me as a mom was realizing I needed to put someone else before me. Now the hardest part about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-alexis/the-biggest-change-for-me-as-a-mom-was-realizing-i-needed-to-put/) [Kim Alexis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-alexis/) > [I'm a big fan of all the Boston guys that are acting - Matt Damon , Ben Affleck, Mark Wahlberg - they made a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-wormald/i-m-a-big-fan-of-all-the-boston-guys-that-are-acting-matt-damon-ben/) [Kenny Wormald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-wormald/) > [The only regret I have in my career, is my managers wanted a big payday, and I wanted four or five more fights before…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gerry-cooney/the-only-regret-i-have-in-my-career-is-my-managers-wanted-a-big/) [Gerry Cooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gerry-cooney/) > [It goes to show you how we in the press so often miss the big stories that are right under our noses. There is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/it-goes-to-show-you-how-we-in-the-press-so-often-miss-the-big-stories/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [Okay, so I'll admit I'm curious. Big deal. We both know what that leads to. Dead cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-elizabeth-phillips/okay-so-i-ll-admit-i-m-curious-big-deal-we-both-know-what-that-leads/) [Susan Elizabeth Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-elizabeth-phillips/) > [I don't want this to be a distraction. This has been distracting enough. I'm not going to rehash this going forward. I'm sure other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayson-werth/i-don-t-want-this-to-be-a-distraction-this-has-been-distracting/) [Jayson Werth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayson-werth/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [It’s a small thing to help one animal, but to that one animal it’s a big thing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-baur/it-s-a-small-thing-to-help-one-animal-but-to-that-one-animal-it-s-a/) [Gene Baur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-baur/) > [Since I was a little child, my nose - I think it's too big.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/celine-dion/since-i-was-a-little-child-my-nose-i-think-it-s-too-big/) [Celine Dion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/celine-dion/) > [People forget that there is a big difference between coercion and persuasion. The idea that evangelism is coercive is nonsense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/people-forget-that-there-is-a-big-difference-between-coercion-and/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I turn a lot of stuff down - big, big movies, the kind I wouldn't want to go to the cinema to see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-fox/i-turn-a-lot-of-stuff-down-big-big-movies-the-kind-i-wouldn-t-want-to/) [Matthew Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-fox/) > [I got in trouble my whole life for having a big mouth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-tyler/i-got-in-trouble-my-whole-life-for-having-a-big-mouth/) [Steven Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-tyler/) [Browse all 15,539 Bigs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Wrangham cites several studies indicating that in fact humans don't do well on raw food: they can't maintain their body weight, and half of the women on a raw-food regimen stop menstruating. 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