The Center for American Progress reports:
African Americans, a group plagued by significantly high rates of obesity, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, and other physical ailments. A recent study suggests the answer may lie in the diets of their counterparts across the Atlantic Ocean in the rural parts of the Motherland.
In a study conducted at the University of Pittsburgh, 20 African Americans and 20 South Africans switched diets for two weeks. In this time, the Africans consumed traditional American food--meat and cheese high in fat content--while African Americans took on a traditional African diet--high in fiber and low in fat, with plenty of vegetables, beans, and cornmeal, with little meat.
After the exchange, researchers performed colonoscopies on both groups and found that those in the African diet group increased the production of butyrate, a fatty acid proven to protect against colon cancer. Members of the American diet group, on the other hand, developed changes in their gut that scientists say precede the development of cancerous cells.
[...]"we used biomarkers and looked at the proliferation rate that has been tied to cancer," Dr. Stephen J. O'Keefe, the lead researcher, told ThinkProgress. "We were astounded by the gravity and the magnitude of the changes [which] happened within two weeks."
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Sunday May 17 2015, @06:01PM
That is true, but let's concede that the levels of physical activity of the average person in our grandparents' time was much higher than now. My grandparents ate hearty meals without regard for low-carb, low-fat, or any of the other dietary prescriptions they give us today, but they also did much more physical labor, including farm work and using manual tools than we do now. Cubicle farms were unknown in their time, and even being a typist required a lot more caloric expenditure than typing on a computer does now (have you ever tried to type on one of those old mechanical typewriters?). Longshoremen didn't have forklifts and powered dollies, only muscle power.
I think we can safely say that we don't want to go back to the mechanics of their time purely for the sake of calorie burning; it's good that we can electro-mechanically multiply our productive efforts. And that we're on the verge of even more widespread productivity through widespread robotics and other physical augmentation means we'll probably need to burn even fewer calories. So it makes sense that we should not eat the same diets our grandparents did, and ought to adjust what we do now in healthier directions.
But, there are some indications that is happening on its own anyway. McDonald's sales continue to slide, which they themselves have attributed to consumers' tastes moving toward healthier options. Also, the consumption of super foods like raspberries, kale, flax, chia, whole grains, and so on continues to skyrocket. Organic, local, artisanal foods are still niche, but are making gains.
Personally, I am returning to growing my own produce because it tastes so much better than even the stuff you buy at Whole Foods, because I can pick it exactly when it's ripe.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: 2) by frojack on Sunday May 17 2015, @07:54PM
artisanal foods !!!
Never mistake a passing fad for an improvement.
And lets not forget to look at just a few more things than your personal hit list of nutrition trends ... [google.com]
.
.
.
Go ahead, click on it, its a useful interactive tool.
No, you are mistaken. I've always had this sig.