So is changing to a Western diet a good thing?

In a recent article on this site, I wrote about Cheese, cheese and more cheese. The consumption of cheese is increasing worldwide, primarily as a result of increasing wealth in many countries and a desire by those with the money to eat more western diets, including cheese in increasing amounts.

This sudden increase in consumption of higher fat western diets seems to be having a negative effect on those who are partaking.

According to the findings in ‘Multigenerational Undernutrition and Diabetes’, a paper published in Cell Metabolism, it is projected that by 2030 more than 70 percent of worldwide Diabetes Type 2 will be in these developing countries.

The research was done by University of Sydney’s NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, the National Centre for Cell Science and the DYP Medical College, Pune, India.

For generations the people of these countries ate relatively low fat diets, which even bordered on undernourishment. With increasing wealth has come an increase in higher fat diets in a relatively short time. This study and others are indicating that their bodies have not caught up with the increase in kilojoules and so the people of these countries are putting on weight.

Although this in itself may not be a bad thing, it is the increase in resulting medial conditions and diseases that is becoming an issue.

It seems that if a person has ancestors who have eaten a traditional diet, and then that person starts eating a western based diet, their bodies are genetically not programmed to accept the changes and they become significantly more susceptible to obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

Associate Professor Hardikar, Australian Future Fellow (ARC) at the NHMRC Clinical Trials Centre, University of Sydney and one of the senior researchers, said; “Their adverse metabolic state was not reversed by two generations of nutrient recuperation through a normal diet. Instead this newly prosperous population favoured storage of the excess nutrients as fat leading to increased obesity, cardiovascular disease and metabolic risk for diabetes when compared to their ‘developed world’ counterparts.”

Rachelle Williams, The Green Food Safety Coach.