CATEGORY: diets/paleo
TECHNICAL: **
SUMMARY:
This document is another that illustrates the incredible
importance of avoiding man-made processed foods. It is the
basis for some of the things I have told many of ya'll about.
It points out, early on, one thing that I have begun to notice
as of late. If you look at photos of people taken in the
first half of this century (or earlier), you'll most likely
notice that people tended to get lighter/smaller and lose weight
as they aged. Today, however, it is a common fact that people
will gain weight as they age..
One of the most interesting things about this note is
the discussion of the Kitava study. Keep in mind that these
people smoke all of their lives practically but, yet, do not
suffer from CVD nearly as much as we do here in the US. In
fact, the article reports them as "lean" even though a significant
portion of their diet is "coconut" which is the most saturated
(natural) fat source there is. As some of you know, I advocate
the consumtion of coconut (if you can tolerate it) because
it does boost metabolism.
This most ironic thing is the last paragraph which
describes a "western-ized" Kitava individual. After exposure
to the western diet, he too started to experience the same
difficulties plaguing America today. So you see, there's nothing
"genetic" about CVD, diabetes, obesity, etc..

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On the Benefits of Ancient Diets

The fact that man is an OMNIVOROUS HUNTER-GATHERER is sometimes taken
as an argument that western foods would be without adverse health effects.
But then an important point is missed: For a typical Westerner at least
70% of calories are provided by foods that were practically unavailable
during human evolution, namely dairy products, oils, margarine, refined
sugar and cereals. These typical western foods are low in minerals,
vitamins and soluble fibre but high in fat and salt. There is much
evidence indicating that some of these dietary factors are important
causes of common western disorders like CORONARY HEART DISEASE, STROKE and
DIABETES which furthermore appear absent or rare in populations pursuing a
traditional subsistence lifestyle.

Every traditional population so far studied has, after adopting the
western lifestyle, developed a more or less typical western morbidity
pattern where cardiovascular diseases play the dominant role.

Fully developed ATHEROSCLEROSIS of the coronary vessels of the heart
is part of normal ageing in westernized populations but has not been
demonstrated in other free-living mammals. Every studied case of mature
atherosclerosis in animals (laboratory animals, domestic swine etc) has
been proceeded by a diet which is not eaten by the animal in its natural
context. Among lifestyle interventions it is only dietary changes that has
been shown to lead to regression of atherosclerosis.

It is apparently only in westernized humans that ageing is
accompanied by increased WEIGHT and BLOOD PRESSURE as well as several
other alterations.

CANCER rates may have been low due to a high intake of fruits and
vegetables which apparently prevent some common forms of cancer in western
populations.

Expectedly, hunter-gatherers would furthermore be protected from
OSTEOPOROSIS, another modern epidemic, since their lifestyle implies lots
of walking, much sunlight and plenty of vegetables fairly rich in calcium
that was highly available due to the low cereal intake. The low sodium
intake would probably minimize renal losses of calcium. Some data indicate
higher bone mass in ancient human skeletons, although osteoporotic
fractures are commonly found in archeological Eskimo skeletons.

As for children, the possible absence of RICKETS in preagricultural
skeletons, its apparent increase during medieval urbanization and its
epidemic explosion during industrialism can hardly be explained only in
terms of decreasing exposure to sunlight. An additional possible cause is
an increasing inhibition of calcium absorption by phytate from cereals
which took increasingly greater part during the Middle Ages, and since old
methods of reducing the phytate content such as dampening and
heat-treatment may have been lost during the emergence of large-scale
cereal processing.

IN CONCLUSION, atherosclerosis, cardiovascular disease, diabetes,
osteoporosis, rickets and other common western diseases can probably to a
large extent be prevented by diets resembling those of hunter-gatherers.

THE KITAVA STUDY

Against the above background we have made a survey on cardiovascular
disease incidence and related risk factors among 2300 subsistence
horticulturists in the tropical island of Kitava, Trobriand Islands, Papua
New Guinea. Semi-structured interviews concerning disease patterns were
performed among 213 Kitavans aged 20-96 years. Age estimations were based
on known historic events as reference.

Our most important findings so far published are that sudden cardiac
death, stroke and exertion-related chest pain were non-existent or
extremely rare in Kitavans. Infections, accidents, complications of
pregnancy and senescence were the most common causes of death. All adults
had low diastolic blood pressure (all below 90 mm Hg) and were very lean
(weight decreased after age 30), while serum cholesterol was somewhat less
favourable, probably due to a high intake of saturated fat from coconut.

Tubers, fruit, fish and coconut were dietary staples in Kitava. The
intake of western food and alcohol was negligible. Saturated fat intake
from coconut was high (mainly lauric and myristic acid), and the estimated
proportions of energy derived from total, saturated, monounsaturated and
polyunsaturated fatty acids were 21, 17, 2 and 2% of dietary energy (en%)
compared with 37, 16, 16 and 5 en% in Sweden. The intake of n-3 PUFA,
soluble fibre, minerals and vitamins was high, while salt intake
approximated 40-50 mmol/24h, as compared to 100-250 in the West.

The level of physical activity was roughly estimated at 1.7 multiples
of the basal metabolic rate, which is slightly higher than the levels of
sedentary western populations. Eighty per cent of both sexes were daily
smokers, supporting the concept that smoking alone is not sufficient to
cause cardiovascular disease. Our survey methods preclude any speculation
as to the role of psychosocial factors.

The only available migrant was a 44 year-old urbanized businessman
who had grown up on Kitava and who came for a visit during our survey. He
differed markedly from all other adults regardless of sex: he had the
highest diastolic blood pressure (92 mm Hg), the highest body mass index
(28 kg/m2) and the highest waist to hip ratio (1.1), indicating that
Kitavans are not genetically protected from hypertension or abdominal
obesity.

IN CONCLUSION, the virtual absence of cardiovascular disease in
Kitava further emphasizes the potential of its prevention. Among the
analysed cardiovascular risk factors, leanness and low diastolic blood
pressure appeared to be the most important modifiable ones in this
population. Our findings are supported by clinical experience by three
medical doctors working in the Trobriand Islands since the 1960s.

1. Lindeberg S. Apparent absence of cerebrocardiovascular disease in
Melanesians. Risk factors and nutritional considerations - the Kitava
Study [M.D. Ph.D.]. University of Lund, 1994.

2. Lindeberg S, Lundh B. Apparent absence of stroke and ischaemic heart
disease in a traditional Melanesian island: a clinical study in Kitava. J
Intern Med 1993; 233: 269-75.

3. Lindeberg S, Nilsson-Ehle P, Terént A, Vessby B, Scherstén B.
Cardiovascular risk factors in a Melanesian population apparently free
from stroke and ischaemic heart disease - the Kitava study. J Intern Med
1994; 236: 331-40.

4. Lindeberg S, Vessby B. Fatty acid composition of cholesterol esters and
serum tocopherols in Melanesians apparently free from cardiovascular
disease - the Kitava study. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 1995; 5: 45-53.

5. Lindeberg S, Nilsson-Ehle P, Vessby B. Lipoprotein composition and
serum cholesterol ester fatty acids in non-westernized Melanesians. Lipids
1996; 31: 153-8.

6. Lindeberg, Berntorp E, Carlsson R, Eliasson M, Marckmann P. Haemostatic
variables in Pacific Islanders apparently free from stroke and ischaemic
heart disease - The Kitava Study. Thromb Haemost 1997; 77: 94-8.

7. Lindeberg S, Berntorp E, Nilsson-Ehle P, Terént A and Vessby B. Age
relations of cardiovascular risk factors in a traditional Melanesian
society: the Kitava Study. AJCN 1997;66:845-52.

8. Srikumar TS, Källgård A, Lindeberg S, Öckerman PA, Åkesson B.Trace
element concentration in hair of subjects from two South Pacific islands,
Atafu (Tokelau) and Kitava (Papua New Guinea). J Trace Elem Electrolytes
Health Dis 1994; 8: 21-6.

:cool: TJ :cool: