Cancer and Other Diseases
I found the studies on American Indians in chapter 5 very interesting. How when populations were exposed to “American diets" of sugar, white flour and white rice, diseases appeared. Prior to this diet, Indians did not have cancer or it was incredibly rare. I would think that Native Americans would have had higher rates or cancer because of other lifestyle factors such as smoking tobacco or exposure to the sun. Even cooking and smoking foods can causes cancer. This evidence could support the hypothesis that refined carbohydrates, starches and sugars are bad for your health, or could it just be that the doctors did not have adequate tools to identify cancer? Even if they did not have adequate equipment to identify cancer, the rate of other diseases greatly increased. For me, this evidence was very strong in convincing me to eat sugars, refined carbohydrates, and starches sparingly.
Comments
I was surprised at how specifically Taubes was able to claim that refined carbohydrates were dangerous. It's disconcerting to find out that the Western diet, something that we're all familiar with, can be so harmful. Where are our nutrition experts to warn us? From the way Taubes presents it, it doesn't seem like they are taking their responsibilities seriously.
Posted by: Eli W | April 13, 2009 5:30 PM
When he talked about the Pima Indians, it made me remember their homeland out in Phoenix area. One thing with them is that a lot of the land that they used to work on(had their fields and crops) had it's water supply cut off forcing them to move from the Gila river to the Salt river. Some were moved to the out skirts of Phoenix, in Scottsdale area. When they got that land, places started offering them rent money and some were tricked into selling. These portions are right off the interstate that gas stations, buildings, even Wal-mart pays them. Some receive money from the roads buildt on their land. This may seem good because they get money each month, but nobody taught them how to invest or build anything with their money. Then, they had to pay for other land that was not theirs that they resided on. Their whole way of life changed drastically and they are trying to catch up. A lot of them just resorted to alcohol and being obese. They were used to being hardworking and this whole change in their way of life effected how they are today. I have seen many in the hospitals with diabetes and other diseases. Many are regulars and the waiting line for them to be seen averages 6 hours day and night. That is about the minimun waiting time that I have always experienced.
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Posted by: projektowanie stron RzeszĂłw | November 7, 2011 2:57 AM