Keto Info Week 1/19

[spEEdfrEEk]

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: