Evolutionaire geneeskunde U bent wat u eet, maar u moet weer worden wat u at 1
01 Jan 2005-
TL;DR: In this paper, we realiseren ons onvoldoende dat we een product zijn van de natuur, en niet ons genoom per se, is de belangrijkste oorzaak van de huidige chronische (degeneratieve) ziekten.
Abstract: Darwin beschouwde de leefomstandigheden als de belangrijkste drijvende kracht achter de evolutie. Organismen voorzien de natuur van een grote genetische diversiteit en de natuur maakt hieruit een keuze. Ons genoom is gedurende de evolutie dus bij uitstek aangepast aan de omgeving, waaronder klimaat, voeding en pathogenen. Homo sapiens is ongeveer 160.000 jaar oud en ons genoom muteert met een snelheid van ongeveer 0,5% per miljoen jaar. Door de snelle verandering van onze omgeving in de afgelopen 100 jaar hebben we een conflict veroorzaakt tussen ons nog in het paleolithisch tijdperk (2,5*10 6 tot 10 4 jaar geleden) verkerend genoom en deze omgeving. Dit conflict, en niet ons genoom per se, is de belangrijkste oorzaak van de huidige chronische (degeneratieve) ziekten, waaronder diabetes mellitus, hart en vaatziekten, bepaalde vormen van kanker en enkele psychiatrische ziekten. Inzake de voeding begon dit conflict ongeveer 10.000 jaar geleden bij de overgang van ons bestaan als jager-verzamelaars naar een agrarische samenleving die gepaard ging met een hoge consumptie van koolhydraten. Het conflict is geescaleerd vanaf de industriele revolutie, en in een stroomversnelling geraakt vanaf het begin van de vorige eeuw, onder andere door een hoge inname van verzadigd vet en van mono- en disacchariden, een lage inname van vis en een ongunstige balans tussen energie inname en fysieke activiteit. We realiseren ons onvoldoende dat we een product zijn van de natuur. Nabootsing van de paleolithische leefomstandigheden naar moderne inzichten is van belang voor zowel primaire als secundaire preventie. Educatie vanaf de schoolleeftijd, (meer) aandacht voor voeding/leefstijl in de studies geneeskunde en farmacie, en een verplichte productinformatie die (veel) verder gaat dan de huidige summiere aanduidingen kunnen een gunstige rol spelen bij de beslechting van het conflict.
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TL;DR: This review focuses on lifestyle changes, especially dietary habits, that are at the basis of chronic systemic low grade inflammation, insulin resistance and Western diseases, and the disturbance of the authors' inflammatory/anti-inflammatory balance is illustrated by dietary fatty acids and antioxidants.
Abstract: In this review, we focus on lifestyle changes, especially dietary habits, that are at the basis of chronic systemic low grade inflammation, insulin resistance and Western diseases. Our sensitivity to develop insulin resistance traces back to our rapid brain growth in the past 2.5 million years. An inflammatory reaction jeopardizes the high glucose needs of our brain, causing various adaptations, including insulin resistance, functional reallocation of energy-rich nutrients and changing serum lipoprotein composition. The latter aims at redistribution of lipids, modulation of the immune reaction, and active inhibition of reverse cholesterol transport for damage repair. With the advent of the agricultural and industrial revolutions, we have introduced numerous false inflammatory triggers in our lifestyle, driving us to a state of chronic systemic low grade inflammation that eventually leads to typically Western diseases via an evolutionary conserved interaction between our immune system and metabolism. The underlying triggers are an abnormal dietary composition and microbial flora, insufficient physical activity and sleep, chronic stress and environmental pollution. The disturbance of our inflammatory/anti-inflammatory balance is illustrated by dietary fatty acids and antioxidants. The current decrease in years without chronic disease is rather due to "nurture" than "nature," since less than 5% of the typically Western diseases are primary attributable to genetic factors. Resolution of the conflict between environment and our ancient genome might be the only effective manner for "healthy aging," and to achieve this we might have to return to the lifestyle of the Paleolithic era as translated to the 21st century culture.
177 citations
Cites background from "Evolutionaire geneeskunde U bent wa..."
...The ultimate aim of this survival strategy is, however, deeply anchored in our evolution, during which our brain has grown tremendously....
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TL;DR: A study of the effects of food supplements on aggression, rule-breaking, and psychopathology among young Dutch prisoners found the results to be promising, but no significant improvements were found in a number of other outcome measures.
Abstract: In an earlier study, improvement of dietary status with food supplements led to a reduction in antisocial behavior among prisoners. Based on these earlier findings, a study of the effects of food supplements on aggression, rule-breaking, and psychopathology was conducted among young Dutch prisoners. Two hundred and twenty-one young adult prisoners (mean age=21.0, range 18-25 years) received nutritional supplements containing vitamins, minerals, and essential fatty acids or placebos, over a period of 1-3 months. As in the earlier (British) study, reported incidents were significantly reduced (P=.017, one-tailed) in the active condition (n=115), as compared with placebo (n=106). Other assessments, however, revealed no significant reductions in aggressiveness or psychiatric symptoms. As the incidents reported concerned aggressive and rule-breaking behavior as observed by the prison staff, the results are considered to be promising. However, as no significant improvements were found in a number of other (self-reported) outcome measures, the results should be interpreted with caution.
121 citations
Cites background from "Evolutionaire geneeskunde U bent wa..."
...Epidemiological research, for instance, shows that major changes in dietary patterns over time have taken place, especially in industrialized world during the last century [Cordain et al., 2005; Crawford et al., 1999; Muskiet, 2005; Simopoulos, 1999]....
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TL;DR: The evidence for the long-reigning hypothesis of human evolution on the arid savanna is weighed against the hypothesis that man evolved in the proximity of water and the composition and merits of so-called 'Palaeolithic diets' are evaluated.
Abstract: Evolutionary medicine acknowledges that many chronic degenerative diseases result from conflicts between our rapidly changing environment, our dietary habits included, and our genome, which has remained virtually unchanged since the Palaeolithic era Reconstruction of the diet before the Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions is therefore indicated, but hampered by the ongoing debate on our ancestors' ecological niche Arguments and their counterarguments regarding evolutionary medicine are updated and the evidence for the long-reigning hypothesis of human evolution on the arid savanna is weighed against the hypothesis that man evolved in the proximity of water Evidence from various disciplines is discussed, including the study of palaeo-environments, comparative anatomy, biogeochemistry, archaeology, anthropology, (patho)physiology and epidemiology Although our ancestors had much lower life expectancies, the current evidence does neither support the misconception that during the Palaeolithic there were no elderly nor that they had poor health Rather than rejecting the possibility of 'healthy ageing', the default assumption should be that healthy ageing posed an evolutionary advantage for human survival There is ample evidence that our ancestors lived in a land-water ecosystem and extracted a substantial part of their diets from both terrestrial and aquatic resources Rather than rejecting this possibility by lack of evidence, the default assumption should be that hominins, living in coastal ecosystems with catchable aquatic resources, consumed these resources Finally, the composition and merits of so-called 'Palaeolithic diets', based on different hominin niche-reconstructions, are evaluated The benefits of these diets illustrate that it is time to incorporate this knowledge into dietary recommendations
42 citations
TL;DR: It will be argued that, in order to disentangle some of the ambiguities involved, it has to broaden the temporal horizon of the debate, and clarify the concept of nature that emerged in the context of the “Common Human Pattern”.
Abstract: Debates on the role of biotechnology in food production are beset with notorious ambiguities. This already applies to the term “biotechnology” itself. Does it refer to the use and modification of living organisms in general, or rather to a specific set of technologies developed quite recently in the form of bioengineering and genetic modification? No less ambiguous are discussions concerning the question to what extent biotechnology must be regarded as “unnatural.” In this article it will be argued that, in order to disentangle some of the ambiguities involved, we have to broaden the temporal horizon of the debate. Ideas about biotechniques and naturalness have evolved in various socio-historical contexts and their historical origins will determine to a considerable extent their actual meaning and use in contemporary deliberations. For this purpose, a comprehensive timetable is developed, beginning with the Neolithic revolution ~10,000 years ago (resulting in the emergence of agriculture and the Common Human Pattern) up to the biotech revolution as it has evolved from the 1970s onwards—sometimes referred to as a second “Genesis.” The concept of nature that emerged in the context of the “Common Human Pattern” differs considerably from traditional philosophical concepts of nature (such as coined by Aristotle), as well as from the scientific view of nature conveyed by the contemporary life sciences. A clarification of these different historical backdrops will allow us to understand and elucidate the conceptual ambiguities that are at work in contemporary debates on biotechnology and the place of human beings in nature.
29 citations
Cites background from "Evolutionaire geneeskunde U bent wa..."
...The ‘‘estrangement’’ between Neolithic diets and Palaeolithic genomes has been causing an impressive series of so-called ‘‘cultural’’ health problems, ranging from obesity and diabetes to cardiovascular disease (notably Coronary artery disease or CAD) and colon cancer (Eaton and Konner 1983; Cordain 2002; Cordain and Eaton 2005; Muskiet 2005)....
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...…and Palaeolithic genomes has been causing an impressive series of so-called ‘‘cultural health problems, ranging from obesity and diabetes to cardiovascular disease (notably Coronary artery disease or CAD) and colon cancer (Eaton and Konner 1983; Cordain 2002; Cordain and Eaton 2005; Muskiet 2005)....
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TL;DR: The role of genomics is explored with the help of two examples, namely the renaissance of Paleolithic diets and of Pleistocene parks, to argue that an understanding of the world in ecocentric terms requires new partnerships and mutually beneficial forms of collaboration and convergence between life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.
Abstract: Views of ourselves in relationship to the rest of the biosphere are changing. Theocentric and anthropocentric perspectives are giving way to more ecocentric views on the history, present, and future of humankind. Novel sciences, such as genomics, have deepened and broadened our understanding of the process of anthropogenesis, the coming into being of humans. Genomics suggests that early human history must be regarded as a complex narrative of evolving ecosystems, in which human evolution both influenced and was influenced by the evolution of companion species. During the agricultural revolution, human beings designed small-scale artificial ecosystems or evolutionary "Arks," in which networks of plants, animals, and microorganisms coevolved. Currently, our attitude towards this process seems subject to a paradoxical reversal. The boundaries of the Ark have dramatically broadened, and genomics is not only being used to increase our understanding of our ecological past, but may also help us to conserve, reconstruct, or even revivify species and ecosystems to whose degradation or (near) extinction we have contributed. This article explores the role of genomics in the elaboration of a more ecocentric view of ourselves with the help of two examples, namely the renaissance of Paleolithic diets and of Pleistocene parks. It argues that an understanding of the world in ecocentric terms requires new partnerships and mutually beneficial forms of collaboration and convergence between life sciences, social sciences, and the humanities.
7 citations
Cites background from "Evolutionaire geneeskunde U bent wa..."
...New insights in combination with novel technologies may lead to a ‘renaissance of Paleolithic food’ (Muskiet 2005;Zittermann 2003)....
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References
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TL;DR: It is predictable from the present evidence that exploitation of this food resource would have provided the advantage in multi-generational brain development which would have made possible the advent of H. sapiens.
Abstract: The polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) composition of the mammalian central nervous system is almost wholly composed of two long-chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (LC-PUFA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (AA). PUFA are dietarily essential, thus normal infant/neonatal brain, intellectual growth and development cannot be accomplished if they are deficient during pregnancy and lactation. Uniquely in the human species, the fetal brain consumes 70% of the energy delivered to it by mother. DHA and AA are needed to construct placental and fetal tissues for cell membrane growth, structure and function. Contemporary evidence shows that the maternal circulation is depleted of AA and DHA during fetal growth. Sustaining normal adult human brain function also requires LC-PUFA.Homo sapiens is unlikely to have evolved a large, complex, metabolically expensive brain in an environment which did not provide abundant dietary LC-PUFA. Conversion of 18-carbon PUFA from vegetation to AA and DHA is considered quantitatively insufficient due to a combination of high rates of PUFA oxidation for energy, inefficient and rate limited enzymatic conversion and substrate recycling. The littoral marine and lacustrine food chains provide consistently greater amounts of pre-formed LC-PUFA than the terrestrial food chain. Dietary levels of DHA are 2.5-100 fold higher for equivalent weights of marine fish or shellfish vs. lean or fat terrestrial meats. Mammalian brain tissue and bird egg yolks, especially from marine birds, are the richest terrestrial sources of LC-PUFA. However, land animal adipose fats have been linked to vascular disease and mental ill-health, whereas marine lipids have been demonstrated to be protective. At South African Capesites, large shell middens and fish remains are associated with evidence for some of the earliest modern humans. Cape sites dating from 100 to 18 kya cluster within 200 km of the present coast. Evidence of early H. sapiens is also found around the Rift Valley lakes and up the Nile Corridor into the Middle East; in some cases there is an association with the use of littoral resources. Exploitation of river, estuarine, stranded and spawning fish, shellfish and sea bird nestlings and eggs by Homo could have provided essential dietary LC-PUFA for men, women, and children without requiring organized hunting/fishing, or sophisticated social behavior. It is however, predictable from the present evidence that exploitation of this food resource would have provided the advantage in multi-generational brain development which would have made possible the advent of H. sapiens. Restriction to land based foods as postulated by the savannah and other hypotheses would have led to degeneration of the brain and vascular system as happened without exception in all other land based apes and mammals as they evolved larger bodies.
285 citations
TL;DR: High-protein diets have recently been proposed as a “new” strategy for successful weight loss, but there are no long-term scientific studies to support their overall efficacy and safety and individuals who follow these diets are at risk for compromised vitamin and mineral intake.
Abstract: High-protein diets have recently been proposed as a “new” strategy for successful weight loss. However, variations of these diets have been popular since the 1960s. High-protein diets typically offer wide latitude in protein food choices, are restrictive in other food choices (mainly carbohydrates), and provide structured eating plans. They also often promote misconceptions about carbohydrates, insulin resistance, ketosis, and fat burning as mechanisms of action for weight loss. Although these diets may not be harmful for most healthy people for a short period of time, there are no long-term scientific studies to support their overall efficacy and safety. These diets are generally associated with higher intakes of total fat, saturated fat, and cholesterol because the protein is provided mainly by animal sources. In high-protein diets, weight loss is initially high due to fluid loss related to reduced carbohydrate intake, overall caloric restriction, and ketosis-induced appetite suppression. Beneficial effects on blood lipids and insulin resistance are due to the weight loss, not to the change in caloric composition. Promoters of high-protein diets promise successful results by encouraging high-protein food choices that are usually restricted in other diets, thus providing initial palatability, an attractive alternative to other weight-reduction diets that have not worked for a variety of reasons for most individuals. High-protein diets are not recommended because they restrict healthful foods that provide essential nutrients and do not provide the variety of foods needed to adequately meet nutritional needs. Individuals who follow these diets are therefore at risk for compromised vitamin and mineral intake, as well as potential cardiac, renal, bone, and liver abnormalities overall.
276 citations
TL;DR: It is suggested that the evolution of the large human brain depended on a rich source of DHA from the land/water interface and suggests the alternative that the transition from the archaic to modern humans took place at the land-water interface.
Abstract: The African savanna ecosystem of the large mammals and primates was associated with a dramatic decline in relative brain capacity associated with little docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which is required for brain structures and growth. The biochemistry implies that the expansion of the human brain required a plentiful source of preformed DHA. The richest source of DHA is the marine food chain, while the savanna environment offers very little of it. Consequently Homo sapiens could not have evolved on the savannas. Recent fossil evidence indicates that the lacustrine and marine food chain was being extensively exploited at the time cerebral expansion took place and suggests the alternative that the transition from the archaic to modern humans took place at the land/water interface. Contemporary data on tropical lakeshore dwellers reaffirm the above view with nutritional support for the vascular system, the development of which would have been a prerequisite for cerebral expansion. Both arachidonic acid and DHA would have been freely available from such habitats providing the double stimulus of preformed acyl components for the developing blood vessels and brain. The n-3 docosapentaenoic acid precursor (n-3 DPA) was the major n-3-metabolite in the savanna mammals. Despite this abundance, neither it nor the corresponding n-6 DPA was used for the photoreceptor nor the synapse. A substantial difference between DHA and other fatty acids is required to explain this high specificity. Studies on fluidity and other mechanical features of cell membranes did not reveal a difference of such magnitude between even alpha-linolenic acid and DHA sufficient to explain the exclusive use of DHA. We suggest that the evolution of the large human brain depended on a rich source of DHA from the land/water interface. We review a number of proposals for the possible influence of DHA on physical properties of the brain that are essential for its function.
275 citations
TL;DR: Indicators of intrauterine and childhood undernutrition are associated with an increased lifetime risk of schizophrenia, whereas other factors exhibited attenuated effects.
Abstract: Background: Nutritional factors in early life may contribute to the neurodevelopmental deficit in schizophrenia. This study explores the influence of maternal body size, size at birth, and childhood growth on future risk for schizophrenia. Subjects and Methods: This population-based cohort study comprised births at Helsinki University Central Hospital in Helsinki, Finland, from 1924 to 1933. Prospective data from birth and school health records of 7086 individuals were collected and linked to the Finnish Hospital Discharge Register. Results: Schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder had been diagnosed in 114 individuals. A lower latepregnancy maternal body mass index (BMI) increased the risk (odds ratio [OR], 1.09 per kilogram/meter 2 ; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.02-1.17) for schizophrenia among the offspring. The risk of schizophrenia increased with low birth weight (OR, 1.48 per kilogram; 95% CI, 1.032.13), shortness at birth (OR, 1.12 per centimeter; 95% CI, 1.03-1.22), and low placental weight (OR, 1.22 per 100 g; 95% CI, 1.04-1.43). Schizophrenia cases were thinner than comparison subjects from 7 to 15 years of age. In a joint model comprising late-pregnancy maternal BMI, body size at birth, and childhood BMI, childhood BMI was an independent predictor of schizophrenia, whereas other factors exhibited attenuated effects. Conclusion: Indicators of intrauterine and childhood undernutrition are associated with an increased lifetime risk of schizophrenia. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 2001;58:48-52
257 citations
TL;DR: It is clear that humanity has become dependent upon cereal grains for the majority of its food supply, and it is essential that the authors fully understand the nutritional implications of cereal grain consumption upon human health and well being.
Abstract: 'Here is bread, which strengthens man's heart, and therefore called the staff of life' Introduction The number of plant species which nourish humanity is remarkably limited. Most of the 195,000 species of flowering plants produce edible parts which could be utilized by man; however less than 0.1% or fewer than 300 species are used for food. Approximately 17 plant species provide 90% of mankind's food supply, of which cereal grains supply far and away the greatest percentage (tables 1, 2). From table 1, it can be shown that the world's four major cereal grains (wheat, maize, rice and barley) contribute more tonnage Table 1. The world's top 30 food crops (estimated edible dry matter) Million metric tons 1 Wheat 468 2 Maize 429 3 Rice 330 4 Barley 160 5 Soybean 88 6 20 Cordain to humanity's food supply than the next 26 crops combined. Eight cereal grains: wheat, maize, rice, barley, sorghum, oats, rye, and millet provide 56% of the food energy and 50% of the protein consumed on earth [1]. Three cereals: wheat, maize and rice together comprise at least 75% of the world's grain production (table 1). It is clear that humanity has become dependent upon cereal grains for the majority of its food supply. As Mangelsdorf [2] has pointed out, 'cereal grains literally stand between mankind and starvation'; therefore, it is essential that we fully understand the nutritional implications of cereal grain consumption upon human health and well being. Modern man has become so dependent upon eating cereal grains (grass seeds) that it has prompted at least one author [3] to say that we have become 'canaries'. However, this has not always been the case. For the vast majority of mankind's presence on this planet, he rarely if ever consumed cereal grains [4]. With the exception of the last 10,000 years following the agricultural 'revolution', humans have existed as non-cereal-eating hunter-gatherers since the emergence of Homo erectus 1.7 million years ago. Although the first anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) appeared in Africa ?90,000 years ago, humans prior to the mesolithic period (~15,000 years ago) like other primates rarely if ever utilized cereal grains [4]. Post-pleistocene (~10,000 years ago) hunter-gatherers occasionally consumed cereal grains; however these foods were apparently not major dietary components for most of the year [5]. It is apparent that there is little or no evolutionary precedent in our species for grass seed consumption …
257 citations