--- title: Members of This Tribe Avoided Disease by Eating Human Brains description: A new study shows some members of a tribe that ate human brains have developed genetic resistance to brain diseases. canonical: https://time.com/3918209/tribe-human-brains-disease/ author: Tessa Berenson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-11T19:57:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:05:11.139Z article:section: Health og:title: Members of This Tribe Are Resistant to Disease After Eating Human Brains og:description: It protected some people from forms of dementia og:url: https://time.com/3918209/tribe-human-brains-disease/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Members of This Tribe Are Resistant to Disease After Eating Human Brains twitter:description: It protected some people from forms of dementia twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Members of This Tribe Are Resistant to Disease After Eating Human Brains > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=71dc502a-31d7-434f-a02a-e404e324fd95&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: How $1,000 Could Help Your Health [Watch (HLS stream): How $1,000 Could Help Your Health](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EILRa37f.m3u8) (2:01)  _Published 2014-08-22. From acupuncture to yoga, $1,000 can go a long way to improving your health._  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jun 11, 2015 7:57 PM UTC  by [Tessa Berenson](https://time.com/author/tessa-berenson/)  ## Tessa Berenson Jun 11, 2015 7:57 PM UTC It turns out eating human brains can kill you. But it could also save you from brain disease. The Fore, a tribe in Papua New Guinea, used to eat the dead at funerals, [the Washington _Post_ reports](http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/11/how-a-history-of-eating-human-brains-protected-this-tribe-from-brain-disease/); the men would eat the flesh, and the women and children would eat the brains. But about 2% of the population was dying each year from a disease caused by a molecule in the brain, so in the 1950s the cannibalism was outlawed. However, a [new study](http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature14510.html) published in _Nature_ has isolated what is perhaps a positive side effect of human brain consumption: some Fore have developed a gene that protects them from prions, a form of protein that is related to brain diseases including mad cow and forms of dementia. The authors of the study say that learning more about this gene could contribute to greater understanding of degenerative brain diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. ## Transcript [00:05] [ MUSIC ] $ 1, 000 can really put you on the road to [00:07] good health, or at least to better health. A lot of [00:11] workers say that they're really stressed, unless [00:13] productive. But half of workers say that stress makes [00:17] them less productive at work. And there are a lot of [00:20] studies that show that people who are more stressed [00:23] have higher medical bills. And that makes sense. If you [00:26] are stressed you may miss more work. You may go, go [00:28] to doctor more often. So if you can invest $ 1000, you [00:31] can really improve your health and lower your own [00:34] costs. Yoga is a great way to reduce stress. It helps [00:37] you with deep breathing, relaxation exercises. And a [00:40] mindfulness that can really reduce your tension. Yoga [00:44] classes cost about $ 15 to $ 20 each, at, that would [00:47] get you doing downward dog about twice a week for [00:50] six months. Acupuncture is another great way to [00:53] reduce stress. It may be covered by your health [00:55] insurance, so check that first. If not, acupuncture [00:58] sessions cost about $ 16 to $ 120. Modern exercise [01:03] has been proven as a great way to reduce stress. To [01:06] incorporate it on a regular basis in your busy life, [01:10] consider riding your bike to and from work. Or, taking [01:14] a bike ride when you get home from work in the [01:15] evening. Now, a good bike can cost you $ 1000. But [01:19] think of it as a long- term investment, a good bike will [01:22] last you many. If you have 10 thousand dollars, there's [01:25] a lot you can do to invest in your health. A personal [01:28] trainer, may give you the motivation you need to [01:31] exercise, that you might not be able to do on your [01:33] own. That costs you about 50 dollars a session, which [01:37] could give you about 100 sessions, that you could [01:40] spread out over two years. Another great way to. T [01:43] find someone to motivate you is to consult a [01:45] nutritionist. A first- time session with a nutitionist will [01:47] cost about $ 150. But, if you wanna do follow- up [01:51] sessions, to create say a health plan to see how you're [01:54] doing, that'll cost you about $ 100. See if your health [01:57] insurance may cover that, as well. 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