At 11.40 -0700 98-05-08, Art De Vany wrote:
>Obesity is a modern disease
>resulting from the CHO load which the modern diet imposes on a
>metabolism adapted to low CHO.
However, contemporary Trobriand Islanders in Kitava are very lean and
obesity is absent despite a carbohydrate intake which is higher than in
Western populations (approximately 70 per cent of calories). There is food
in abundance and no starvation. Low serum insulin levels (extremely well
predicted from their body mass index) which decrease with age suggest
rarity or absence of insulin resistance (Lindeberg et al, submitted).
Possibly, the quality rather than the quantity of carbohydrates is
important; carbohydrate-rich foods with a low glycemic index and a high
nutrient density (per energy unit), such as Kitavan tubers and fruit, may
be preferable to cereals and sugar (and potatoes?).
Similar diets were sometimes available during human evolution. Whether they
are well tolerated by westerners with overweight and insulin resistance
remains to be tested.
1. Lindeberg S. Apparent absence of cerebrocardiovascular disease in
Melanesians. Risk factors and nutritional considerations - the Kitava Study
[M.D. Ph.D.]. University of Lund, 1994.
2. Lindeberg S, Lundh B. Apparent absence of stroke and ischaemic heart
disease in a traditional Melanesian island: a clinical study in Kitava. J
Intern Med 1993; 233: 269-75.
3. Lindeberg S, Nilsson-Ehle P, Terént A, Vessby B, Scherstén B.
Cardiovascular risk factors in a Melanesian population apparently free from
stroke and ischaemic heart disease - the Kitava study. J Intern Med 1994;
236: 331-40.
4. Lindeberg S, Vessby B. Fatty acid composition of cholesterol esters and
serum tocopherols in Melanesians apparently free from cardiovascular
disease - the Kitava study. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis 1995; 5: 45-53.
5. Lindeberg S, Nilsson-Ehle P, Vessby B. Lipoprotein composition and serum
cholesterol ester fatty acids in non-westernized Melanesians. Lipids 1996;
31: 153-8.
6. Lindeberg, Berntorp E, Carlsson R, Eliasson M, Marckmann P. Haemostatic
variables in Pacific Islanders apparently free from stroke and ischaemic
heart disease - The Kitava Study. Thromb Haemost 1997; 77: 94-8.
7. Lindeberg S, Berntorp E, Nilsson-Ehle P, Terént A and Vessby B. Age
relations of cardiovascular risk factors in a traditional Melanesian
society: the Kitava Study. AJCN 1997;66:845-52.
8. Srikumar TS, Källgĺrd A, Lindeberg S, Öckerman PA, Ĺkesson B.Trace
element concentration in hair of subjects from two South Pacific islands,
Atafu (Tokelau) and Kitava (Papua New Guinea). J Trace Elem Electrolytes
Health Dis 1994; 8: 21-6.
Staffan Lindeberg, M.D. Ph.D.
Dept of Community Health Sciences, Lund University, Mailing address:
Primary Health Care Centre, Sjobo, S-22738 Sweden, +46 416 28140, Fax +46
416 18395 <[log in to unmask]>
http://www.panix.com/~paleodiet/lindeberg/
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