Why Some Like It Hot: Foods, Genes, and Cultural Diversity

Science News, Feb 26, 2005

WHY SOME LIKE IT HOT: Foods, Genes, and Cultural Diversity GARY PAUL NABHAN

Lactose intolerance affects roughly half the world's population. About 200 million people have heritable food allergies. Celiac disease and diabetes are on the rise. Nabhan believes that all this is because people are eating foods that their bodies aren't genetically prepared to handle. AS he reports, genes that influence the effects of foods and beverages can help or hurt us. For instance, natives of Sardinia who eat fava beans are protected from malaria. The chili-rich diet of Mexicans helps them ward off the meat-spoiling microbes that are prevalent in tropical climates. Yet some other populations find these same foods inedible. Nabhan spells out "dynamic connections" between our culinary predilections and the diets of our ancestors. He focuses on islanders in Java, Bali, Crete, and Hawaii to demonstrate how native diets preserve people's health and non-native foods can cause obesity, diabetes, alcoholism, and other diseases. The author suggests that his readers could be healthier if they understood the diets that best suit their backgrounds. Island Pr, 2004, 233 p., hardcover, $24.00.