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djnemo65 · 12-02-2008, 09:37 PM

Yeah, what's interesting is that the American diet has grown largely out of modern expediency. However, while things like fast food, processed food, and cheap availability of meat are all signs of affluence and technological advancement, they also lead to myriad health risks. Humans have evolved to eat traditional diets, which were historically balanced nutritionally by availability of resources. Heavy on produce and breads, light on meats. That's why a traditional diet - Italian, Japanese, Greek, Korean, take your pick - is so much healthier than the hodgepodge of big meats and take-out us Americans are used to. We have evolved to be best served by that kind of balance.

This is reflected in things like the incidence of diabetes and heart-disease in the aforementioned countries versus ours. Also interesting is that people who emigrate from those countries are immediately at risk for things like diabetes at a rate equal to those born in America, basically like the day they arrive. Moreover, as globalism and westernization brings KFC to countries like China they are starting to encounter the same problems there.

I heard a scientist make an interesting argument, suggesting that in a few thousand years humans will evolve to the point where eating McDonalds might actually be optimally nutritional. However, in lieu of that, one interested in prolonging their life should think about some radical dietary changes.

12-02-2008, 09:37 PM	#18
djnemo65 Playmaker Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 2,836	Re: Serving Sizes Yeah, what's interesting is that the American diet has grown largely out of modern expediency. However, while things like fast food, processed food, and cheap availability of meat are all signs of affluence and technological advancement, they also lead to myriad health risks. Humans have evolved to eat traditional diets, which were historically balanced nutritionally by availability of resources. Heavy on produce and breads, light on meats. That's why a traditional diet - Italian, Japanese, Greek, Korean, take your pick - is so much healthier than the hodgepodge of big meats and take-out us Americans are used to. We have evolved to be best served by that kind of balance. This is reflected in things like the incidence of diabetes and heart-disease in the aforementioned countries versus ours. Also interesting is that people who emigrate from those countries are immediately at risk for things like diabetes at a rate equal to those born in America, basically like the day they arrive. Moreover, as globalism and westernization brings KFC to countries like China they are starting to encounter the same problems there. I heard a scientist make an interesting argument, suggesting that in a few thousand years humans will evolve to the point where eating McDonalds might actually be optimally nutritional. However, in lieu of that, one interested in prolonging their life should think about some radical dietary changes.