Journal of Evolution and Health (Ancestral Health Society Research)
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Lost Seasonality and Overconsumption of Plants: Risking Oxalate Toxicity
No full textIn many plants, oxalate crystals are present. These relatively large microcrystals have the potential to inflict mechanical injury. On the other hand, ionic, soluble, and nano-crystal forms of oxalate are readily absorbed. Bioaccumulation in humans is well documented. Crystals and ionic oxalate are associated with pain and both functional and chronic disorders.
Today’s many health challenges have led people to select foods purported to be healthier, many of which are high in oxalate. Modern dietary approaches have placed great emphasis on the health benefits of vegetables, nuts, and spices. Many of these are high oxalate foods that are now distributed through a global food system in which seasons have been erased, making harm from dietary oxalate more likely now than ever before. Lack of awareness of this potential creates fertile ground for continued increases in human suffering and public health problems
Jumping Out of the Nutrition System: Or, how I learned to stop worrying and love the Dietary Guidelines
No full textFeasibility of a Web-Based Cross-Over Paleolithic Diet Intervention in the General Population
No full textIntroduction: The primary aim was to investigate feasibility of a web-based cross-over Paleolithic diet intervention in the general population. The secondary aim was to calculate the sample size needed to reach a statistically significant difference in effect of a Paleolithic-like diet on psychological and somatic symptoms compared with the Dutch consensus diet.
Methods: 35 participants from the general population were recruited using social media. Participants filled-out an intake questionnaire to assess representativeness of the sample. Participants were instructed to consume both a Paleolithic-like diet and the Dutch consensus diet during four weeks, the order was randomly assigned. After each period, participants filled-out a questionnaire to assess compliance to the dietary instructions, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale to assess psychological symptoms and the Rosmalen Somatization Index to assess somatic symptoms.
Results: It took 42 days to recruit 35 participants, the drop-out rate was 20% and compliance to the diets was at least 68%. Participants were representative of the general Dutch population regarding age, BMI, marital and work status and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Participants showed greater reductions in psychological and somatic symptoms when consuming a Paleolithic-like diet compared to the Dutch consensus diet. Sample size calculations showed that at least 30 participants need to be recruited for statistical significance.
Conclusion: Conducting a web-based cross-over dietary intervention in the general population appeared feasible. Given the ease of increasing sample size in web-based studies, we recommend recruiting more participants than estimated when comparing a Paleolithic-like diet to the Dutch consensus diet
An evolutionary hypothesis to explain the role of deconditioning in low back pain prevalence in humans
No full textAbstract
The aim of the present piece is to present an evolutionary hypothesis relating to the role of deconditioning in the prevalence of low back pain (LBP) in humans. LBP is a multifactorial issue with many associated symptoms and potential causes. Prevalence is high in westernised populations and also rural and indigenous populations. Other diseases common in western populations, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer are almost absent in populations devoid of western influence who follow a traditional diet and lifestyle. It therefore seems counter-intuitive that LBP should also be high in traditional populations. The hypothesis that an evolutionarily determined factor might predispose LBP across a wide range of Homo sapiens populations seems plausible to examine. Fossil data from the infra-order Anthropoidea suggest adaptations in predominant habitual locomotion styles from 1) arboreal quadruped, to 2) semi-terrestrial quadruped, to 3) biped over the past ~20 million years. These adaptations were accompanied and permitted by anatomical evolutionary changes occurring in the lumbar spine and pelvis including development from 1) a long mobile lumbar vertebral column, laterally facing pelvis and large lumbar extensors to 2) a short lumbar vertebral column, posterior location of the transverse process, lengthening of the ilia, general reduction of the lumbar extensor musculature and increase in passive rigidity through entrapment and invagination and 3) to re-lengthening of the vertebral column, reduction in length and broadening of the ilia and sacrum. Comparative musculature anatomy between old world monkeys and modern humans suggests the presence of relatively smaller, and potentially weaker, lumbar extensor musculature in humans. Further, hip/trunk extensor musculature of short backed primates is well developed. Anatomically modern humans therefore may bear the compromise of relatively strong hip/trunk extensors and relatively weak lumbar extensors in combination with a long flexible lumbar spine. This may contribute to disuse atrophy of the lumbar extensors which may explain the consistent association of their deconditioning in LBP, and also predispose modern humans to the high prevalence of LBP presently observed