Internet Resources
- Eating a Western diet? It’s smart to get movingLifelong aerobic exercise could prevent vascular dysfunction in mice, even those who don’t eat well, CU Boulder research suggests.
- Salt: The Scapegoat for the Western DietThe fundamentals of the McDougall Program are simple yet often difficult to implement. Learn about the 12-Day McDougall Program - a life-saving medical program that empowers participants with the knowledge and practical steps needed to live a vibrant, long life.
- Step away from the burger: Why a ‘Western’ diet is bad for your healthThe developing world is seeing rapid urbanization, with more than half of the world’s population now living in cities and this figure expected to reach 70% by 2050.
Research & Reference
- Health effects of changes in the structure of dietary macronutrients intake in western societiesA Western-type diet, characterized by a significant share of highly processed and refined foods and high content of sugars, salt, fat and protein from red meat, has been recognized as an important factor contributing to the development of metabolic disorders and the obesity epidemic around the world. Excessive body fat causes metabolic pathologies, such as insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and cancer.
- Origins and evolution of the Western diet: health implications for the 21st centuryThere is growing awareness that the profound changes in the environment (eg, in diet and other lifestyle conditions) that began with the introduction of agriculture and animal husbandry ≈10000 y ago occurred too recently on an evolutionary time scale for the human genome to adjust.
- Western Diets: ScienceDirectA ScienceDirect landing page on the Western Diet.
Perspectives
Is the Western Diet Making the World Sick?
With globalization, the Western diet, and particularly the American diet, is rapidly overtaking local diets around the world. Due to a reliance on sugars and fats, this diet has created major health problems for previously healthy populations. Diabetes, obesity, and heart disease are just a few directly-related maladies. This anthology looks at the key facts and ideas underpinning this phenomenon. Experts weigh in on the effects and consequences of the Western diet.
The Queen of Fats
A nutritional whodunit that takes readers from Greenland to Africa to Israel, The Queen of Fats gives a fascinating account of how we have become deficient in a nutrient that is essential for good health: the fatty acids known as omega-3s. Writing with intelligence and passion, Susan Allport tells the story of these vital fats, which are abundant in greens and fish, among other foods. She describes how scientists came to understand the role of omega-3s in our diet, why commercial processing has removed them from the food we eat, and what the tremendous consequences have been for our health. In many Western countries, epidemics of inflammatory diseases and metabolic disorders have been traced to omega-3 deficiencies. The Queen of Fats provides information for every consumer who wants to reduce the risk of heart disease, cancer, arthritis, and obesity and to improve brain function and overall health. This important and compelling investigation into the discovery, science, and politics of omega-3s will transform our thinking about what we should be eating. * Includes steps you can take to add omega-3s to your diet * Shows why eating fish is not the only way, or even the best way, to increase omega-3s. * Provides a new way to understand the complex advice about the role and importance of fats in the body * Explains how and why the food industry has created a deadly imbalance of fats in our foods * Shows how omega-3s can be reintroduced to our diet through food enrichment and changes in the feeding of livestock
The Silent Killer
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High blood pressure is one of the world’s growing killers—especially in countries like China, where Western diets and a growing lack of exercise are beginning to take their toll. We travel to Beijing to join Professor Liu Lisheng and her team at Fuwai Hospital, where they are treating more and more people for high blood pressure. The program also visits Scotland, where high blood pressure has long been a huge public health issue.
Source: Films on Demand