These 2 anthropologists from the University of California – Santa Barbara offer us here an original overview of the impact of food on health and well-being. By revealing to us all the benefits of the way of life of one of the Amerindian ethnic groups of the Amazon, the Chimane, they point out all the dangers of our way of life, including the "Western" diet. They also note: “the Chimane take an average of 17,000 steps per day vs. 5,100 for the Americans”.
From a heart health perspective, the Chimanes are indeed a model group: not only no heart disease, minimal hypertension, healthy cholesterol levels but also a very low prevalence of obesity and type 2 diabetes. More surprisingly, these factors persist with age. These Californian scientists therefore looked at the role of food in the cardiovascular health of the Chimane, on the evolution of this population group, which is increasingly exposed to globalization and to the products associated with our more Western way of life. .
Thomas Kraft and Michael Gurven of the University of Santa Barbara, anthropologists, supported by the US National Institutes of Health (NIH), thus conducted the first systematic study on the diet of the Chimane. They compared these eating habits to those of the Moseten, a neighboring population group speaking a similar language and ancestry, but whose eating habits and lifestyle are more influenced by the outside world. The Chimane's eating habits have also been compared to the Western diet or, specifically, what "modern" Americans eat as well as diets known to be associated with good heart health ( DASH, among others).
Chimane vs Moseten vs Western diet: a first comparison between two similar groups but more or less exposed to the "modern" lifestyle obtained by survey of 1,299 Chimane and 229 Moseten reveals that:
- the high-calorie Chimane diet (2,433 to 2,738 kcal/day) is characterized by a high carbohydrate and protein intake and a reduced dietary fat intake (64%, 21% and 15% respectively);
- the Chimane do not eat a wide variety of foods compared to the American diet or the average Moseten diet;
- nearly two-thirds of the Chimane's calorie intake comes from complex carbohydrates, particularly plantains and rice. 16% comes from more than 40 species of fish and 6% from wild game. Only 8% of the plan comes from the markets.
- Despite this low dietary diversity, no or very few micronutrient deficiencies are noted in the daily intake of the Chimane: calcium and some vitamins (D, E and K) are rather low, but the potassium, magnesium and selenium – nutrients linked to cardiovascular health – far exceed intakes of the same nutrients from a Western diet.
- Finally, their consumption of dietary fiber is almost double that of a typical Western diet or the Moseten diet.
What foreseeable evolution?Over the 5 years of the study's follow-up, the researchers found a significant increase in total energy and carbohydrate intake among the Chimane, especially in villages near markets. Their consumption of food additives (lard, oil, sugar and salt) increases significantly. The Moseten, on the other hand, consume much more sugar and cooking oil than the Chimane. Evidence of the nutritional transition in Bolivia matches the upward trends in fat mass index and body mass among the Chimane, suggesting that the low prevalence of cardiovascular disease may not persist. It will be essential, say the researchers, to
In conclusion, a diet high in complex carbohydrates (therefore high in energy) may be associated with a low risk of cardiovascular disease, if combined with a physically active lifestyle. Moving away from a diet high in fiber and low in fat, salt and processed sugar poses a serious health risk to populations in transition. Their current diet is an example for us Westerners, but not only: the Chimane use their bodies to obtain food in their fields and in the forest. “ So you shouldn't eat regardless of what you do with your body. Being more physically active allows for a bit more flexibility in diet .”
Overall, these results confirm that no single diet protocol is the key to health. The question is much more complex. There is a wide variety of diets compatible with good cardiovascular health, it all depends on other lifestyle factors.
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