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What We Can Learn from the Diet of Monkeys and Apes in Their Natural Habitats About Human Nutritional Needs
Anatomically and physiologically, monkeys, and to a much greater degree, the great apes are humans' closest relatives. In order to determine what the nutritional requirements are for humans if health is to be maintained, it is scientifically sound to scrutinize the diets of primates to discover what they eat and require for good health. This type of scientific investigation is valid because primates were not only human progenitors but also because many of the living primate species of today are closer to our remote ancestors than we are. By scientifically studying the diets of contemporary primates and fossil remains of long-extinct primates, it can throw some light on what the diet of humans and their remote ancestors has been for millions of years. From such data it can be deduced what is required for a healthy diet of present day humans.