Cordain, 2005 Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century

[Altostrata]

This is a highly cited paper that shows how the modern diet contributes to chronic diseases supporting low-carbohydrate and "neolithic" diets. It also indicates why supplements such as magnesium, folate, and vitamin B12 might help people suffering nervous system dysregulation.

 

Am J Clin Nutr. 2005 Feb;81(2):341-54.

Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st century.

Cordain L, Eaton SB, Sebastian A, Mann N, Lindeberg S, Watkins BA, O'Keefe JH, Brand-Miller J.

Source

 

Department of Health and Exercise Science, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523, USA. cordain at cahs.colostate.edu

 

Abstract at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15699220 Full text at http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/81/2/341.full

 

There is growing awareness that the profound changes in the environment (eg, in diet and other lifestyle conditions) that began with the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry approximately 10000 y ago occurred too recently on an evolutionary time scale for the human genome to adjust. In conjunction with this discordance between our ancient, genetically determined biology and the nutritional, cultural, and activity patterns of contemporary Western populations, many of the so-called diseases of civilization have emerged. In particular, food staples and food-processing procedures introduced during the Neolithic and Industrial Periods have fundamentally altered 7 crucial nutritional characteristics of ancestral hominin diets: 1) glycemic load, 2) fatty acid composition, 3) macronutrient composition, 4) micronutrient density, 5) acid-base balance, 6) sodium-potassium ratio, and 7) fiber content. The evolutionary collision of our ancient genome with the nutritional qualities of recently introduced foods may underlie many of the chronic diseases of Western civilization.

 

 

 

From the paper:

 

[Skyler]

Thanks for this Alto, this is a great review, with loads of good information all in one place. To the right of the article there is an option that let me go to a .pdf format, and from there I was able to save the article to the computer. Add in the video and I should be good to go!

 

Having changed my diet radically to drop 60 lbs, I've learned one can eat far less AND better at the same time. I'm probably getting three times the nutrients at less than half the cals. (I was depressed, something that did not help... still the difference is huge). Virtually no processed foods, high on micro nutrients, seeds, plant foods, etc. I feel soooo much better and challenge anyone to leave the supermarket with NO packaged food!

 

Skyler

[Altostrata]

Also see http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/3704-dr-loren-cordain-on-the-modern-diet-and-chronic-disease/