Find Articles in:
All
Business
Reference
Technology
News
Lifestyle

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.

COPYRIGHT 2005 Science Service, Inc.
COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group
 

BNET TalkbackShare your ideas and expertise on this topic

The following tags are supported in BNET comments:
<b></b> <i></i> <u></u> <pre></pre>

Leave a Reply

  1. You are currently a guest | Login?
advertisement
CIO SessionsVision Series on ZDNet

See and hear what CIOs the world over thinks about the business of technology and how it's changing the way we live and work.

Go
advertisement
  • Click Here
  • Click Here
advertisement

Content provided in partnership with Thompson Gale