Food, Genes, and Culture: Eating Right for Your Origins
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About this ebook
Vegan, low fat, low carb, slow carb: Every diet seems to promise a one-size-fits-all solution to health. But they ignore the diversity of human genes and how they interact with what we eat.
In Food, Genes, and Culture, renowned ethnobotanist Gary Nabhan shows why the perfect diet for one person could be disastrous for another. If your ancestors were herders in Northern Europe, milk might well provide you with important nutrients, whereas if you’re Native American, you have a higher likelihood of lactose intolerance. If your roots lie in the Greek islands, the acclaimed Mediterranean diet might save your heart; if not, all that olive oil could just give you stomach cramps.
Nabhan traces food traditions around the world, from Bali to Mexico, uncovering the links between ancestry and individual responses to food. The implications go well beyond personal taste. Today’s widespread mismatch between diet and genes is leading to serious health conditions, including a dramatic growth over the last 50 years in auto-immune and inflammatory diseases.
Readers will not only learn why diabetes is running rampant among indigenous peoples and heart disease has risen among those of northern European descent, but may find the path to their own perfect diet.
Gary Paul Nabhan
Gary Paul Nabhan is an Ecumenical Franciscan Brother, MacArthur "genius" award winner, and ethnobotanist of Arab-American descent. His food and farming books include Food from the Radical Center, Where Our Food Comes From, and the forthcoming Jesus for Farmers and Fishers.
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Reviews for Food, Genes, and Culture
5 ratings2 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An informative book.
Depending where you originated, what you eat may affect your bodies and health in different ways.
Surprising facts, well written and easy to understand.
I was given a digital copy of this book by the publisher Island Press via Netgalley in return for an honest unbiased review. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I number of years ago I had researched diets and not too long ago I did again because of my problem with high blood pressure starting at a young age. I always wondered if it could be genetic based when learning about certain health problems in college nutrition classes.I never could find any research. As I was reading this book I again decided to do a quick search.This time I did find a possible link due to my dutch Mennonite heritage. The recent research on genes and foods is really impressive and this book really gives a great insight to some of the connections known for quite a long time and recent findings. I really recommend this book for anyone interested in finding a diet that is connected to your genes and culture more closely than the Plato or other hunter gather type of diet plans found at this time. This book was an exciting find for me.