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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.
Source: “Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health
implications for the 21st century” (by Loren Cordain, S Boyd Eaton,
Anthony Sebastian, Neil Mann, et al)
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