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

[Guest guest]

" In the United States and most Western countries,

diet-related chronic diseases represent the single

largest cause of morbidity and mortality. These

diseases are epidemic in contemporary Westernized

populations and typically afflict 50–65% of the adult

population, yet they are rare or nonexistent in

hunter-gatherers and other less Westernized people.

Although both scientists and lay people alike may

frequently identify a single dietary element as the

cause of chronic disease (eg, saturated fat causes

heart disease and salt causes high blood pressure),

evidence gleaned over the past 3 decades now indicates

that virtually all so-called diseases of civilization

have multifactorial dietary elements that underlie

their etiology, along with other environmental agents

and genetic susceptibility. Coronary heart disease,

for instance, does not arise simply from excessive

saturated fat in the diet but rather from a complex

interaction of multiple nutritional factors directly

linked to the excessive consumption of novel Neolithic

and Industrial era foods (dairy products, cereals,

refined cereals, refined sugars, refined vegetable

oils, fatty meats, salt, and combinations of these

foods). These foods, in turn, adversely influence

proximate nutritional factors, which universally

underlie or exacerbate virtually all chronic diseases

of civilization: 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. However,

the ultimate factor underlying diseases of

civilization is the collision of our ancient genome

with the new conditions of life in affluent nations,

including the nutritional qualities of recently

introduced foods. "

http://www.ajcn.org/cgi/content/full/81/2/341

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