[metmom]

I've heard before that the Western diet is a real problem for Native American, Hispanic and Black groups. When they stick to their native ancestral diet, they don't have this problem.

[Brian Allen]

<< I've heard before that the Western diet is a real problem for Native American, Hispanic and Black groups. >>

Assimilation cures all ills.

[djf]

PBS had a show about that, it focused on Native Americans living in the desert southwest.

Due to the desert conditions, times of plenty are pretty rare. So when high-carb, high-fat food items are available, they totally load up on them - then go back for seconds.

There seems to be some genetic dispositions to be very, very efficient at the storing of calories.

Interesting show.

[Pontiac]

When they stick to their native ancestral diet, they don't have this problem.

The modern Western diet is not normal to any ethnic group.

Never before in history has a diet as rich in calories been available to the common man.

Never before has the poor had a problem with obesity.

What two hundred years ago were strictly diseases of the wealth are now inflicted on the poor by a plague of cheap food.

[caveat emptor]

I've heard before that the Western diet is a real problem for Native American, Hispanic and Black groups. When they stick to their native ancestral diet, they don't have this problem.

A dentist/anthropologist named Weston A. Price wrote "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" in mid-20th-century based on research he did in various parts of the world. He studied paired groups of people, closely related ethnically.One of the groups would live close to easy access to commercially manufactured foods, while the other would be isolated in some way so that had to rely on more traditional foods, including that grown by themselves.

Most were relatively primitive people, but also included an isolated, Roman Catholic Swiss farming community and their non-isolated nearby relatives who had easy access to "white bread" type foods.

He found extreme differences in dental arches, skull and skeletal structures as well as susceptibility to many diseases including diabetes and tuberculosis, though it was not known at the time that tuberculosis is contagious. His research methods may not have satisfied those of today, but were very convincing, more so in fact than today's sometimes very small reported differences.

The book is available at Amazon, and there is a website dedicated to his work. The website IMO has gone overboard, though I doubt any of their food choices would be unhealthy.




Left: [Fijians] The development of the facial bones determines the size and shape of the palate and the size of the nasal passages. Note the strength of the neck of the men above and the well-proportioned faces of the girls below. Such faces are usually associated with properly proportioned bodies. Tooth decay is rare in these mouths so long as they use an adequate selection of native foods.

[Old Professer]

Acorns, roots and sour grass?

[baa39]

But can you do that on food stamps?

[neverdem]

thanks, bfl

[TruthSetsUFree]

The Western diet is a problem for all of us, IMO. Food allergies are rampant and increasing, diabetes is also increasing in the U.S., not to mention the prevalence of heart disease and strokes.

[CholeraJoe]

When they stick to their native ancestral diet, they don't have this problem.

Where are the Plains Indians going to find buffalo? Which other humans should the Maori eat?