How did humans evolve larger and more sophisticated brains?In general, evolution depends on a special combination of circumstances: part genetics, part time, and part environment. In the case of human brain evolution, the main environmental influence was adaptation to a 'shore-based' diet, which provided the world's richest source of nutrition, as well as a sedentary lifestyle that promoted fat deposition. Such a diet included shellfish, fish, marsh plants, frogs, bird's eggs, etc. Humans and, and more importantly, hominid babies started to get fat, a crucial distinction that led to the development of larger brains and to the evolution of modern humans. A larger brain is expensive to maintain and this increasing demand for energy results in, succinctly, survival of the fattest.Contents:The Human Brain: Unique Yet Vulnerable:Human Evolution: A Brief OverviewThe Human Brain: Evolution of Larger Size and PlasticityDefining Characteristics: Vulnerability and High Energy RequirementFatness in Human Babies: Insurance for the Developing BrainNutrition: The Key to Normal Human Brain DevelopmentIodine: The Primary Brain Selective NutrientIron, Copper, Zinc and Selenium: The Other Brain Selective MineralsDocosahexaenoic Acid: The Brain Selective Fatty AcidThe Shore-Based Scenario:Genes, Brain Function and Human Brain EvolutionBringing the Environment and Diet into PlayThe Shore-Based Scenario: Why Survival Misses the PointEarlier VersionsThe EvidenceHow Would It Work?Survival of the FattestReadership: General, and those with an interest in origins of humans especially human intelligence (the big brain).