Environmental &

Evolutionary Health

Fall 2022

George M. Diggs, Jr.
Co-Director, Program in Public Health
Austin College, Sherman, Texas
& Research Associate, Botanical Research Institute of Texas (BRIT)


Environmental & Evolutionary Health Class Schedule Fall 2022
___________________________________________________________________________________________

Day

Date

Class Topic

Reading Assignment

Aug

24

Class Introduction (Procedures; Schedule; Textbook; Readings; Discussions; Research Paper & Presentation); Science as a Way of Knowing; Overview/Big Picture of Envirionmental & Evolutionary Health including concepts of Novel Environments, Evolutionary Mismatch, & Epigenetics

 

 

26

Introduction to Environmental Health

See Moodle - Environmental Health 1

  29 Environmental Health Implications; Discussion  

 

31

Introduction to Evolution

Nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution - See Moodle;
Introduction to the Origin of Species (Charles Darwin) (1page); Text (Hunter-Gatherer Within) Chapter 1

Sept 2 Introduction to Evolution (continued)  
  5 Human Evolution Text Chapters 2 and 3;
Food For Thought: Meat-Based Diet Made Us Smarter
  7 Why We Get Sick, Introduction to Evolutionary Health/Medicine Text Appendix 2 (4 pages); Evolution and the Origins of Disease; Text Chapters 4, 5, & 6
  9

Why We Get Sick, continued

The Hygiene Hypothesis (Old viewpoint; 1page); Cleaning up the Hygiene Hypothesis (now the Old Friends Hypothesis);
Changing dietary trends and the obesity epidemic - See Moodle; Origins of Dental Crowding and Malocclusions: An Anthropological Perspective

 

12

Why We Get Sick; conitnued; discussion

 

 

14

Video & Discussion: Ghost in Your Genes

Super brief explanation of Epigenetics; Epigenetics 101;

 

16

Genes, Epigenetics, and Health

Epigenetics in Action 1- See Moodle; Epigenetics in Action 2 - See Moodle; Epigenetics in Action 3 - See Moodle

 

19

Genes, Epigenetics, and Health continued; discussion; review


  21 EXAM 1  
  23 Toxicology and Health See Library - Environmental Health 6; Text Chapter 11; Estrogen in the Environment (Historical); Women, Disease & Environmental Estrogens; Sperm Count in Western Men Has Dropped; Code Breaker - See Moodle
  26 Toxicology and Health (continued)  
  28 Pesticides, Biocides, Pest Control, and Health (cont.) See Moodle - Environmental Health Chapter 18; Article on chlorpyriphos (dangerous pesticide) (also available on Moodle)

 

30

Water and Health

See Moodle - Environmental Health 16

Oct

3

Air Pollution (including indoor) and Health

In India, Air So Dirty Your Head Hurts (also available on Moodle); see Moodle -Environmental Health 13

 

5

Climate Change and Health

See Moodle - Environmental Health 12

  7 NO CLASS - Fall Break  
  10 Catch up/Discussion  

 

12

GUEST LECTURE

 

 

14

NO CLASS - work individually on RESEARCH SUMMARY topics

 

 

17

Occupational Health

See Moodle -Environmental Health 4

 

19

Occupational Health, real world examples; RESEARCH SUMMARY Title, Etc. Due

See Moodle -Environmental Health 8

 

21

Occupational Health, continued; discussion

See Moodle -Environmental Health 21

 

24

Food in the Evolutionary Contex (this material will be on Exam 3)

The Celiac Surge - See Moodle; Running on Empty - See Moodle; George Diggs TEDx Talk (13 minutes); George Diggs YouTube video (~45 minutes)

  26 EXAM 2  

 

28

Detailed look at the modern diet ("SAD" - Standard American Diet) and the "Natural Human Diet"

Text Chapter 10; Is Sugar Killing Us? - See Moodle; Sugar Industry Long Downplayed Potential Harms; Sugar and Cancer

 

31

Video & Discussion: "The Perfect Human Diet" (if technically possible) or "My Big Fat Diett"

 

Nov

2

"Diets"/Discussion

Text Chapter 8

 

4

“World’s Worst Foods”; "Myths"

A spoonful of sugar; The Science of Fat-Loss: Why a Calorie Isn’t Always a Calorie
Text Chapter 13 & Text Appendix 4

  7 "Why Science Sometimes Gets It Wrong"; Discussion Text Appendix 1

 

9

Hunger & Its Controls/Discussion; RESEARCH SUMMARY DUE

Text Chapter 7, 9; Sarah Hallberg TED YouTube; A reversal on carbs....; Carbs against Cardio....; Why Fat People Don't Lose Weight(1 page)

  11 Movie: "Cereal Killers" (if technically possilbe); Native peoples & human variation Chapter 12; Text Appendix 3; You Can Prevent Alzheimer's; Interview of author of Wheat Belly

 

14

"Diet: Summary of “Recommendations" or Science Based Natural Eating"; "Sugar -- The elephant in the kitchen"; Wheat Belly and Grain Brain; Robert Lustig Ted Talk Video; Discussion

Text Chapter 14 & Appendix 5; Paleolithic diet is so easy, cavemen actually did it; Are We Getting Nutrition All Wrong? (1 page); Need for Protein Makes Monkeys and Human Overeat. (1 page)

 

16

Environment, Evolution & Human Health --- "Non-Diet" Basic Recommendations (sleep, exercise, stress, vitamins, etc.)/Discussion; RESEARCH PRESENTATION POWERPOINT DUE (Note: student presentations will be sent to me in PowerPoint format, including audio, rather than presented in class---I'll be giving detailed instructions)

Exercise May Enhance the Effects of Brain Training; How Exercise May Help the Brain Grow Stronger; Exercise and bus drivers in London --- Moodle

 

18

Student presentations

Student presentations
  21 - 25 Thanksgiving Break  
  28 Student presentations  
  30 Student presentations  
Dec 2 Student presentations  

 

8

Final Exam Thursday, Dec 8, 12:00 - 2:00 pm

 

For further information about this course, please contact:

Dr. George Diggs, Professor
Department of Biology
Austin College
900 N. Grand Ave.
Sherman, TX 75090
903-813-2246
Fax: 903-813-3199
gdiggs@austincollege.edu


All text and images on this page copyright 2022, George M. Diggs, Jr.