Ancestral diets and nutrition / Christopher Cumo

• VerfasserIn: Cumo, Christopher
• Place / Publishing House: Boca Raton ; London ; New York : CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2021
• Year of Publication: 2021
• Language: English
• Physical Description: xxxi, 488 Seiten; Illustrationen
• Notes: Enthält Literaturverzeichnis auf Seite 447-482

Ancestral Diets and Nutrition supplies dietary advice based on the study of prehuman and human populations worldwide over the last two million years. This thorough, accessible book uses prehistory and history as a laboratory for testing the health effects of various foods. It examines all food groups by drawing evidence from skeletons and their teeth, middens, and coprolites along with written records where they exist to determine peoples' health and diet. Fully illustrated and grounded in extensive research, this book enhances knowledge about diet, nutrition, and health. It appeals to practitioners in medicine, nutrition, anthropology, biology, chemistry, economics, and history, and those seeking a clear explanation of what humans have eaten across the ages and what we should eat now. Features: Sixteen chapters examine fat, sweeteners, grains, roots and tubers, fruits, vegetables, and animal and plant sources of protein. Integrates information about diet, nutrition, and health from ancient, medieval, modern and current sources, drawing from the natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities. Provides comprehensive coverage based on the study of several hundred sources and the provision of over 2,000 footnotes. Presents practical information to help shape readers' next meal through recommendations of what to eat and what to avoid

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Introduction and Method -- 1.1 The Status Quo -- 1.1.1 Problems amid Prosperity -- 1.1.2 Belief That Diet Is at the Root of Modern Ailments -- 1.1.3 Hunter-Gatherers as Models of Sound Nutrition and Health -- 1.1.4 The Search for Enlightened Dietary and Nutritional Advice -- 1.1.5 Dietary Types -- 1.1.6 Absence of Consensus; 1.2 An Alternative to the Status Quo: A Prehistorical and Historical Approach to Diet and Nutrition -- 1.2.1 Types and Interpretation of Evidence -- 1.2.2 Hypothesis Testing -- 1.2.3 Limitations of a Prehistorical and Historical Approach to Diet and Nutrition -- 1.2.4 Examination of the Past on Its Own Terms -- Notes -- Chapter 2 Components of Nutrition: Calories, Carbohydrates, Fat, Protein, Minerals, Vitamins, Phytochemicals, and Water -- 2.1 Macro- and Microlevel Consistency -- 2.1.1 Expectation and Imperative of Consistency; 2.1.2 Investigation of Scurvy as Example of Macro- and Microlevel Consistency -- 2.2 Food as Energy --

2.2.1 Physics and Chemistry of Energy -- 2.2.2 The Body Uses Chemical Energy -- 2.3 Carbohydrates -- 2.3.1 Sugars -- 2.3.2 Starch -- 2.3.3 Fiber -- 2.3.4 Glycemic Index -- 2.3.5 Glycogen -- 2.3.6 Other Functions of Carbohydrates -- 2.3.7 Carbohydrate Critics -- 2.4 Fat -- 2.4.1 Plants and Animals Store Energy Differently -- 2.4.2 Lipids, Fat, and Oil -- 2.4.3 Saturated Fat -- 2.4.4 Unsaturated Fat -- 2.4.5 Lipids and Organic Solvents -- 2.4.6 Fat: The Energy Densest Macronutrient; 2.4.7 Uses of Fat besides Energy -- 2.4.8 Cholesterol and Its Regulation -- 2.4.9 Essential Fatty Acids -- 2.4.10 Fatty Foods -- 2.5 Protein -- 2.5.1 Importance of Protein -- 2.5.2 Recommended Protein Intake -- 2.5.3 Protein Quantity versus Quality -- 2.5.4 Protein Sources -- 2.5.5 Inequalities and Protein Intake -- 2.5.6 Protein's Roles in the Body -- 2.6 Minerals -- 2.6.1 Need for Minerals -- 2.6.2 Characteristics of Minerals -- 2.6.3 Sodium, Chlorine, and Table Salt --

2.6.4 Minerals Interact with Other Nutrients -- 2.6.5 Sources of Minerals -- 2.7 Vitamins; 2.7.1 Inadequacy of Carbohydrates, Fat, Protein, and Minerals Alone -- 2.7.2 Fat-Soluble Vitamins -- 2.7.3 Water-Soluble Vitamins -- 2.7.4 Vitamin Deficiency Diseases -- 2.8 Phytochemicals -- 2.9 Water -- Notes -- Chapter 3 Changing Circumstances and Diets -- 3.1 Autotrophs -- 3.2 Heterotrophs -- 3.2.1 Disadvantages -- 3.2.2 Classification of Heterotrophs -- 3.3 Human Adaptations for Omnivory and Eclecticism -- 3.4 Dietary Breadth -- 3.4.1 The Role of Choice in Dietary Breadth -- 3.4.2 The Role of Preferences in Dietary Breadth -- 3.4.3 The Role of Inequalities in Dietary Breadth