A One Diet Approach To All
In today’s era of globalised media; where consumerism is nurtured; we see the emergence of a modern global diet that encourages self-indulgence. In the past century Western countries have made considerable developments and advances in the fields of science, technology and medicine, which automatically made them an authority within these fields. In addition; when social media and marketing strategies glamorised the western diet, the rest of the world rushed to adopt it. This has led to a global modern diet. A modern diet is characterised by empty calories and dietary deficiencies and these cause an array of illnesses. The essay will discuss a few of these starting off with dental problems.
Historically the first agricultural communities were coordinated around what could be grown in their locality. The food collectors and societies in general were very much in tune to the nature around them. They knew their habitat so well that they learned to domesticate plants and animals. The development of such agricultural skills eventually led to the emergence of small farming communities. An important, perhaps even the key factor in the development of human creativity, discovery and understanding was a strong adherence to one’s traditions. It was widely accepted that if your forefathers had certain ways of living then these methods were the correct way even if one did not understand the reasoning behind it. However; with the emergence of a globalised diet, man began to rebel against his own traditions and this rebellion would be a major contributor to the ill health of modern-day societies.
To define what a global diet is, we must first examine which food intake has increased and what type has decreased. We see a drastic change since World War 2, in which there has been an 80% increase in the consumption of soft drinks, 70% increase for pastries and 85% for potato chips[i]. Meanwhile there has been a decline in the consumption of dairy by 21%, 23% for vegetables, and 25% for fruits. The major ingredients of the rising poor-quality foods are fats and sugars. It is estimated that the diet of the average person is now between 60 and 70% fat and sugar[ii]. Such a diet would not be able to cater for other needed nutrients. Instead, such foods would require the addition of flavourings, colourings and conditioners to make them appealing as well as preservatives to prevent deterioration and to increase shelf life. Indeed; there are over 2000 such additives used by the food industry and it is estimated the average person eats around five pounds of chemicals a year![iii] We can thus conclude that the majority of people’s food intake consists of processed foods which are far removed from their natural state.
In the 1920s and 1930s Dr. Weston Price; a dentist; became interested in the relationship between nutrition and tooth decay. To investigate this further he travelled to towns where the modern industrial civilisation had not yet reached, these were towns that were still rooted in their traditional foods. One such community he studied was that of the Loetschental valley, which consisted of 2000 people who were isolated from the rest of the rapidly developing Switzerland. This town had no doctors nor dentists as they had little use of them. The valley was known to build the finest physiques in all of Europe[iv]. The diet of people from this valley consisted of bread made from their own home-grown rye which was taken with the fresh milk of their own goats or cows or the cheese made from it. Dr Price tested the samples of these foods and found them to be much higher in vitamins and minerals than the average commercial products in America and Europe and even of other parts of Switzerland. One of the possible explanations of this is the melting glacial snows which brought rich minerals to the soil.
However; this may not be significant as Dr Price found varying results in a neighbouring valley. He conducted dental surveys of the Loetschental people and found that for one in every three children examined one cavity was found. In comparison in a neighbouring valley, Dr Price found virtually every child had on average 6 to 7 decayed teeth each. Both valleys were similar in their way of life and surroundings. However; in the second valley, the modern diet containing specifically refined flours and sugars had made its way into the diet of the inhabitants. Similar results were found in many other communities including the Eskimos, the Native Americans, and in tribes in Africa and Australia. The results echoed again and again that the modern diet was directly linked to tooth decay and deformities in the facial bones. These deformities were correlated with lower IQs, personality disturbances and increased incidences of generative diseases such as tuberculosis. Dr Price further noted an increase in birth defects when parents adopted a modern diet before the birth of their children. In comparison children born before the diet changed had no birth defects. The diet changes included not just refined grains and sugars, but also processed foods that are not available in their natural form such as canned foods. Furthermore; as will be discussed later, the refining of the grain cannot be isolated as the only cause of deterioration of health. The quality of the grain and how it is cultivated also plays an important role.
Traditionally food was seen as medicine and nourishment, as a necessity to maintain health and to treat various illnesses. This is demonstrated beautifully in the old Ayurvedic proverb: When diet is wrong, medicine is of no use, when diet is correct medicine is of no need. And so, we see in all ancient traditions the emphasis was on the individual growing food and consumed in their communities; whereas in the modern global diet, we see the emphasis shift to foods being processed and marketed. One such example is that of sugar and its falling reputation in dietary contribution. It is now seen as one of the main culprits in causing ill health. However; sugar in itself may not actually cause disharmony. It is rather the refining of the sugar that makes it harmful. It can be seen that the modern diet has a lot of these sugars being delivered as hidden sugars e.g. processed meat contains 3% of its weight in added sugars while processed vegetables contain 13% of added sucrose[v].
Why are these additional processed sugars bad for you? To answer this, we need to understand the chemistry of nutrition. When processed sugar is taken into the body, it satiates the need for carbohydrates and eliminates hunger. Therefore, the need for other nutrients goes unmet, as processed sugar contains no vitamins, minerals, fat or fibre. So nutritionally speaking, when one eats processed sugars, one incurs a debt. Although you have met the need for carbohydrates, the body owes itself a corresponding number of vitamins, minerals, fat, protein and fibre. Metabolism of sugar is possible only with all the accessory vitamins, minerals, proteins and fat which are involved in its combustion. Therefore, as one consumes an increased amount of refined sugar over a prolonged time, the reservoirs of stored minerals, vitamins and proteins start to become depleted.
By contrast; in a wholesome diet, where one component has not been separated from another, consuming sugar rich foods are not harmful to one’s health. This becomes evident by studying the cane workers in Africa. Wilson (1978) documents that cane workers who chewed four stalks of sugar cane a day had better than average teeth. He further notes that amongst the cane cutters, diabetes was unheard of despite consuming large amounts of sugar cane. In comparison there is a high correlation between deaths from diabetes and consumption of refined sugars.[vi] This in essence illustrates that the traditional diet of eating wholesome foods as close to their natural form as possible is vital in maintaining and regaining health.
Moreover; ancient tradition also indicates how ingredients should be prepared and consumed. One such example is that of corn, a grain that came from North and South America. The native American tribes had a particular way of preparing corn. Firstly, beans and peas were grown alongside corn so they could climb its stalk and so they benefitted from its nutritionally diverse diet rich. The Indian farmers then used the corn when it had matured and dried. They pounded it into a meal, or they soaked it until it was soft and then cooked the wholegrains by boiling in a solution of ashes. This method increased the availability of vitamin B3 and added many minerals that came from the plants which had been burnt. This dish was known as ‘hominy’. Because corn had a greater yield it quickly spread to Europe, Africa and Asia. However, in these areas it was not a native crop and people were not aware of how it should be prepared. Yet It grew popular and often became the sole component of a diet. Disharmony and ill health grew, and an illness named Pellagra became prominent in societies where corn had become a staple. [vii] This was attributed to the fact that the corn was not being prepared properly and people were farming only one crop; whereas the Native Americans were farming multi crops simultaneously that would complement each other agriculturally and nutritionally.
Perhaps one assumption that may appear from this is that if one had a balanced diet filled with nutrients that were consumed daily, one would remain in optimum health. As such the modern diet could therefore cater for the world in general and so the importance be placed on what is easily grown and then this should be transported around the world. This has happened in the case of wheat which has been replacing other grains such as rye and barley. Again seen with watermelons being available in supermarkets in winter; and further with potatoes from Israel being sold in British supermarkets whilst British potatoes are transported to be sold in other countries. As long as one gets the nutrients one needs does it really matter what one eats or where it comes from?
In reality; the case for locally grown food and an in-season diet is stronger than the case for a global diet where foods are transported all over the world. Fruits and vegetables begin to lose their nutrients within 24 hours of being picked, so fresher produce is more nutritious. Furthermore; ripe fresh produce has more nutrients. In addition, locally grown foods are picked at peak ripeness, when they are denser in nutrients. On the other hand; a modern market necessitates that fresh produce is picked while unripe (with lesser nutrients) so it can travel thousands of miles, be refrigerated in trucks, stand in transit and go to wholesalers before eventually ending up on the shelf. The produce will spend a further few days on the shelf or in the consumer’s fridge before being eaten. All the while valuable nutrients are slowly diminishing.
In addition; locally grown foods are tailored for a person’s growth as they contain a range of microorganisms that are beneficial for individuals living in a particular area. This is witnessed by analysing locally fermented foods such as miso and shoyu (soy sauce) of Japan and China. These are produced by a long process during which the soybean mash is left to grow local strains of bacteria and other micro-organisms. Traditionally the fermenting material is kept for many months and sometimes even years at a fairly constant temperature in the homes of those who use it. In this way the various microorganisms that are part of the ecological system in which is it produced are cultivated in the fermented product. It reflects the microflora of those who grow it and in return it recreates a microflora compatible with the ecology they are part of. Indeed, having a healthy bacterial flora lowers the risk of certain diseases such as cancer of the colon[viii]. Where miso and other fermented products are commercially made, they lack the unique suitability to one’s own physiology and environment.
According to certain traditions, locally grown foods that are in season are God’s way of telling you what your body needs to consume. From an Unani perspective everything is linked together. To be able to explain this further the foundations of Unani medicine should be explored.
According to the Unani framework, seasons have a temperament, so e.g. spring is hot and moist, as it grows life, seeds bloom, animals come out of hibernation. It is a season of growth and new life. However, autumn is cold and dry. The leaves are drying, food is becoming scarce. Animals are getting ready to hibernate from the cold. Now if one has a cooling food like watermelon in the cold autumn where understandably diseases like colds and flu are on the rise, surely one would put his temperament out of balance. Autumn is a time where one’s body in its natural state would crave for warming foods like soups and stews. And nature’s understanding of this; it would produce warming root vegetables that would help bring heat to your body and keep the cold out.
In conclusion, a global diet where one has no consideration for local, seasonal produce; one that has been processed and refined, stripped of its natural state would wreak havoc in the body. Consequently, and evidently; studies show a 500% increase in medical care bills from 1960 to 1976 being used for ‘modern’ day illnesses like cancer, arteriosclerosis and diabetes.[ix] Moreover; food was a sacred family tradition that grounded each family member. Meals were prepared with love, care and consideration of each family member’s physical, nutritional and emotional needs. Meals were chosen and prepared accordingly to nourish and heal. They were eaten together to strengthen oneself and to strengthen one’s family. Surely such a meal would nurture optimum physical and psychological health.
References
[i] Lerza, C. & Jacobson, M (1975) Food for people, Not for Profit. New York: Ballantine Books
[ii] Ballentine, R (1978) Diet & Nutrition A holistic approach. Himalayan Institute Press: Honesdale Pennsylvania
[iii] Jacobson, M (1972) Eater’s Digest. Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Co
[iv] Price, W. (1972) Nutrition and Physical Degeneration. La Mesa, CA: Price-Pottenger Foundation
[v] Life Sciences Research Office (1976) Federal of American Society for Experimental Biolog: Evaluation of the Health Aspects of Sucrose as a Food Ingredient. Springfield, VA: National Technology Information Service. US Department of Commerce.
[vi] Wilson, Ewen (1978) Director of Economics and Statistics. American Meat Institute Washington DC
[vii] Roe, D.A. (1973) A Plague of Corn. Ithaca, Ny: Cornell University Press
[viii] Moore, W. & holderman, L (1975) Discussion of current bacteriological investigations of the relationships between intestinal flora, diet and colon cancer. Cancer Research 35: 3418-3420
[ix] Summary Report of the National Commission on the cost of medical care (1977) Max Parrott, Chairman AMA
