The Massas is an ethnic group in Northern Cameroon that subsists mostly on plain sorghum loaves and porridge, along with a small amount of milk, fish and vegetables (1, 2). They have a peculiar tradition called Guru Walla that is only undertaken by men (2, 1):
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Showing posts with label native diet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label native diet. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Food Reward: a Dominant Factor in Obesity, Part V
Non-industrial diets from a food reward perspective
In 21st century affluent nations, we have unprecedented control over what food crosses our lips. We can buy nearly any fruit or vegetable in any season, and a massive processed food industry has sprung up to satisfy (or manufacture) our every craving. Most people can afford exotic spices and herbs from around the world-- consider that only a hundred years ago, black pepper was a luxury item. But our degree of control goes even deeper: over the last century, kitchen technology such as electric/gas stoves, refrigerators, microwaves and a variety of other now-indispensable devices have changed the way we prepare food at home (Megan J. Elias. Food in the United States, 1890-1945).
To help calibrate our thinking about the role of food reward (and food palatability) in human evolutionary history, I offer a few brief descriptions of contemporary hunter-gatherer and non-industrial agriculturalist diets. What did they eat, and how did they prepare it?
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In 21st century affluent nations, we have unprecedented control over what food crosses our lips. We can buy nearly any fruit or vegetable in any season, and a massive processed food industry has sprung up to satisfy (or manufacture) our every craving. Most people can afford exotic spices and herbs from around the world-- consider that only a hundred years ago, black pepper was a luxury item. But our degree of control goes even deeper: over the last century, kitchen technology such as electric/gas stoves, refrigerators, microwaves and a variety of other now-indispensable devices have changed the way we prepare food at home (Megan J. Elias. Food in the United States, 1890-1945).
To help calibrate our thinking about the role of food reward (and food palatability) in human evolutionary history, I offer a few brief descriptions of contemporary hunter-gatherer and non-industrial agriculturalist diets. What did they eat, and how did they prepare it?
Read more »
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Healthy Skeptic Podcast
Chris Kresser has just posted our recent interview/discussion on his blog The Healthy Skeptic. You can listen to it on Chris's blog here. The discussion mostly centered around body fat and food reward. I also answered a few reader questions. Here are some highlights:
- How does the food reward system work? Why did it evolve?
- Why do certain flavors we don’t initially like become appealing over time?
- How does industrially processed food affect the food reward system?
- What’s the most effective diet used to make rats obese in a research setting? What does this tell us about human diet and weight regulation?
- Do we know why highly rewarding food increases the set point in some people but not in others?
- How does the food reward theory explain the effectiveness of popular fat loss diets?
- Does the food reward theory tell us anything about why traditional cultures are generally lean?
- What does cooking temperature have to do with health?
- Reader question: How does one lose fat?
- Reader question: What do I (Stephan) eat?
- Reader question: Why do many people gain fat with age, especially postmenopausal women?
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