Nutrition science is a highly fractionated, contentious field with rapidly changing viewpoints on both minor and major issues impacting on public health. With an evolutionary perspective as its basis, this exciting book provides a framework by which the discipline can finally be coherently explored.
By looking at what we know of human evolution and disease in relation to the diets that humans enjoy now and prehistorically, the book allows the reader to begin to truly understand the link between diet and disease in the Western world and move towards a greater knowledge of what can be defined as the optimal human diet.
- Written by a leading expert
- Covers all major diseases, including cancer, heart disease, obesity, stroke and dementia
- Details the benefits and risks associated with the Palaeolithic diet
- Draws conclusions on key topics including sustainable nutrition and the question of healthy eating
This important book provides an exciting and useful insight into this fascinating subject area and will be of great interest to nutritionists, dietitians and other members of the health professions. Evolutionary biologists and anthropologists will also find much of interest within the book. All university and research establishments where nutritional sciences, medicine, food science and biological sciences are studied and taught should have copies of this title.
Author(s): Staffan Lindeberg
Publisher: Wiley
Year: 2010
Language: English
Pages: 370
Food and Western Disease......Page 3
Contents......Page 5
Foreword......Page 9
Preface......Page 13
1.1 Why do we get sick?......Page 17
1.2 We are changing at pace with the continental drift......Page 19
1.3 Are we adapted for milk and bread?......Page 21
2.1 The perspective of academic medicine......Page 24
2.2 The concept of normality......Page 27
2.3 Genetics......Page 28
2.4 Dietary guidelines......Page 29
Problems and limitations in nutritional research......Page 30
Old and new concepts of healthy diets......Page 37
3.1 Available food......Page 46
3.2 Nutritional composition......Page 50
Minerals, trace elements......Page 51
Common salt......Page 52
Vitamins......Page 53
Protein content......Page 56
Protein quality......Page 57
Fat content......Page 58
Polyunsaturated fat......Page 61
Cholesterol content......Page 64
Carbohydrate quality......Page 65
Energy density......Page 67
Phytochemicals......Page 68
4 Modern diseases......Page 72
Incidence studies......Page 73
The Kitava study, Trobriand Islands......Page 74
Relevant dietary factors......Page 79
Tobacco smoking......Page 99
4.2 Stroke......Page 100
Incidence studies......Page 101
Relevant dietary factors......Page 105
4.3 Atherosclerosis......Page 106
Prevalence studies......Page 108
Appearance in animals......Page 109
Regression studies......Page 110
Relevant dietary factors......Page 111
4.4 Type 2 diabetes......Page 117
Prevalence studies......Page 118
Preventive/causative dietary factors......Page 120
Diet in established type 2 diabetes......Page 127
Prevalence studies......Page 131
Potential consequences......Page 135
Relevant dietary factors......Page 142
William Banting......Page 147
Prevalence studies......Page 149
Attempts to explain......Page 151
Associated abnormalities......Page 155
Relevant dietary factors......Page 168
4.7 Hypertension (high blood pressure)......Page 172
Prevalence studies......Page 173
Effects of urbanisation......Page 175
Relevant dietary factors......Page 177
4.8 Dyslipidaemia (blood lipid disorders)......Page 182
Prevalence studies......Page 183
Effects of urbanisation......Page 186
Risks with dyslipidaemia......Page 190
Relevant dietary factors......Page 192
4.9 Heart failure......Page 194
Prevalence studies......Page 195
Primary prevention......Page 196
Secondary prevention......Page 197
Prevalence studies......Page 199
Relevant dietary factors......Page 200
Prevalence studies......Page 201
Prehistoric skeletal remains......Page 202
Relevant dietary factors......Page 203
Future research......Page 207
4.12 Osteoporosis......Page 208
Prevalence studies......Page 209
Prehistoric skeletal remains......Page 210
Relevant dietary factors......Page 212
Rickets in medical literature......Page 220
Relevant dietary factors......Page 221
Prehistoric......Page 224
Relevant dietary factors......Page 225
Relevant mechanisms......Page 226
Relevant diseases......Page 228
Palaeolithic elimination diet......Page 231
5.1 Haemochromatosis......Page 232
5.2 Iodine deficiency......Page 233
Warfarin-induced bleeding......Page 235
6.1 Evolutionary medicine instead of vegetarianism?......Page 237
6.3 Insulin resistance is more than abdominal obesity and diabetes......Page 238
6.6 Effects of an ancestral diet......Page 239
6.7 The ancestral diet: a new concept......Page 240
Grains......Page 241
Beans......Page 242
Lean meat......Page 243
Nuts......Page 244
7.4 Compromises......Page 245
Glossary
......Page 247
References
......Page 266
Index (see also Glossary)
......Page 361
