Although America was a rich country and 150 years ago, workers and their families consumed mostly bread, cheese and beer, and only occasionally a piece of meat appeared on their table. Almost for everyone, except for a few eccentric people, meat was the most coveted food, so middle and rich classes ate it in exorbitant quantities: often half a dozen meat dishes were served at dinner, along with alcohol and sweets. Fruits were considered exotic food (you could find an orange in a Christmas present), and vegetables and cereals – food of the poor.
Doctors of the XVIII century considered meat as the basis of a healthy diet and an important element for the treatment of diseases. High-quality meat was considered the best, poor quality meat was harmful, but no one objected to fat. Practically experts did not approve of lean meat, because everyone knew that healthy animals should be fat. Patients were instructed to eat more meat; Weakened patients who could not cope with solid food, drank the healthiest liquid: a broth made from fat beef. The weakest received broth with enema.
Today, a forty-year-old American, a European or a Japanese can enjoy the opportunity to live to 80 years and more, 150 years ago, he would have already approached the end of life. Among the poor nations, the situation is the same now. Medical science makes its modest contribution to the sensational increase in life expectancy – mainly through the immunization of children. An important role is played by the improvement of diet and sanitary engineering (provision of clean water, construction of sewerage systems and waste disposal facilities). Sanitary measures have reduced the threat of deadly infectious diseases of past centuries to a minimum, so that current doctors may not recognize them.
The huge increase in agricultural output along with the development of the technology of canning and transportation of food products have opened up access to much more varied food for people than before. But, like in many other areas of life, developed technology has turned out to be in some sense a dubious boon. Modern men enjoy the so-called “fast food” like hamburgers, not at all with food (“snickers”, etc.) and food leading to premature death, which many unknowingly make the main part of their food.
Food products have become so cheap that even the poorest segments of the population in developed countries do not starve. This is evidenced, among other things, by the growth of two diseases caused by excessive consumption of unsuitable food: obesity and tooth decay. These violations are now much more common among the poor than among wealthy people that Before the industrial revolution was not noted.
Improving nutrition in the literal sense of the word has rebuilt our body. Now we are 10-12 cm taller than people of average height of past centuries. Ancestors would be shocked by the appearance and sexual development of today’s teens, since in our time puberty occurs about three years earlier.
COMPLETE DIET
Attention to the diet is the most important and reasonable step towards better health. This is not only the consumption of food, vital for the growth, development and optimal functioning of the body of a man. Modern science indicates that proper nutrition provides protection against certain chronic diseases, in some cases leading to degeneration. Table 1 Food product Water Protein (protein) Fats Carbohydrates Minerals Almonds 5.1 21.0 54.0 16.0 2.2 Apples 85.0 0.4. 0.5 13.0 0.5 Artichokes 79.0 2.0 0.1 17.0 1.0 Avocado 70.0 2.2 20.0 6.0 1.0 Bananas 75.0 1.1 0.6 22.0 1.0 Blackcurrant 86.0 1.0 1.1 11.0 0.5 Butter 11.0 1.2 85.0 0.0 3.0 Cabbage for garden 90.0 1.9 0.2 5.0 1.0 Cheese 39.0 24.0 30.0 1.5 4.5 Cream 74.0 2.5 18.0 4.5 0.5 Dates 20.0 2.1 2.8 70.0 1.6 Eggs 73.0 12.0 12.0 0.5 1.1 Garlic 65.0 6.8 0.1 27.0 1.5 Grapes 78.0 1.3 1.2 19.0 0.6 Grapefruits 86.0 0.5 0.0 7.3 0.4 Nuts 3.7 15.0 67.0 11.0 2.4 Horseradish 77.0 2.7 0.3 16.0 1.5 Blueberries 78.0 0.8 0.6 17.0 1.0 Leeks 87.0 2.8 0.3 6.5 1.2 Lentils 12.0 25.0 2.0 53.0 3.5 Beans 68.0 7.1 0.7 22.0 1.7 Milk (taken off) 90.0 3.2 0.3 5.2 0.7 Millet 11.0 9.1 3.8 70.0 1.9 Mushrooms 89.0 2.6 0.3 6.1 0.7 Peaches 83.0 0.6 0.0 16.0 0.6 Oatmeal 7.3 16.0 7.2 68.0 1.9 Olives 30.0 5.2 51.0 10.0 2.3 Pears 4.0 0.6 0.5 14.0 1.4 Potatoes 75.0 2.1 0.2 21.0 1.1 Rye coarse bread 42.0 4.2 0.7 43.0 1.3 Rhubarb 94.0 0.6 0.7 3.6 0.7 Fig 13.0 7.8 0.9 76.0 1.0 Rye 16.0 11.0 1.8 67.0 1.8 Spinach 88.0 3.5 0.6 4.4 2.1 Strawberry, strawberry 88.0 1.0 0.6 77.0 0.8 Beans 84.0 3.9 0.2 8.3 1.2 Soybean 10.0 34.0 17.0 34.0 4.7 Tomatoes 94.0 0.9 0.2 3.7 1.0 Truffles (mushrooms) 77.0 7.7 0.5 6.6 1.9 Turnips 89.0 3.5 0.1 11.0 1.9 Cress salad 92.0 1.9 0.1 1.3 1.5 Watermelons 93.0 0.5 0.2 6.0 0.3 Wheat whole 36.0 8.9 1.8 52.0 1.5 Yams 72.0 1.8 0.2 23.0 0.9
Over the past two decades, we are thrown a lot of advice about the choice of diet. Countless new dietary guides have confused Americans who are used to taking care of their health.
It is not so hard to eat properly, as some think. If your daily diet contains a lower amount of fat and increased complex carbohydrates, you are on the right track. Do not make radical changes to your diet and do not abandon your favorite dishes. I will help you to choose the optimal diet, including all the nutrients necessary for active life.
NUTRITION AND ATHEROSCLEROSIS
Being the cause of heart failure, heart attacks and strokes, atherosclerosis is partly a consequence of malnutrition and completely prevented by diet. Since atherosclerosis tops the list of causes of death in the US and most developed countries, this is a very good opportunity. Among Americans, 40-50 years of death from cardiovascular disease accounts for 16% of the total number of deaths. For 50-60-year-olds this figure grows to 30%, in 70-85-year-olds it reaches 50%.
The fact that arteries affected by atherosclerosis lose elasticity is not the most important problem. Most know that the main violation is that the vessels are clogged. The material that narrows their optimal diameter is cholesterol, which begins to adhere to the walls at an early age. The study of this phenomenon began in the 1950s, when an autopsy of soldiers killed in Korea found an intensive deposition of cholesterol on the walls of the vessels of 18-25-year-old men.
Atherosclerosis affects all arteries, but large vessels have a certain capacity reserve, so the weak link is the small artery. When obstructions in the blood vessels limit the flow of blood to the coronary arteries, the lack of oxygen-borne oxygen causes cardiovascular diseases (chest pains, angina pectoris, heart failure, and if a part of the heart muscle is affected, a heart attack). Occlusion of a small artery in the brain provokes temporary neurological disorders (weakness, dizziness, confusion in the mind). If, due to constant blockage, a part of the brain is killed, a stroke follows, accompanied by paralysis.
Since 1960, the number of heart attacks in the United States has decreased by 30% and continues to decline. The frequency of strokes fell by half. Improvement of nutrition deserves a certain acknowledgment, although other actions (quitting smoking, playing sports) also played a role. However, both heart attacks and strokes remain the greatest risk factor for most men, although a proper diet can reduce it to zero. Probably, you already understood that we are talking about vegetable, fiber-containing food, which includes few fats and meat, for which dietitians have been advocating for decades. In order to avoid atherosclerosis, such a diet should be changed at a very early age, but it is never too late to start from scratch. It is proved that in a person who has dramatically improved his diet, the already formed layer of cholesterol dissolves.
Rational nutrition to some extent protect you from other diseases. Here are the facts that together with reflections will show you the right way.
NUTRITION AND MALIGNANT TUMORS
In non-smoking men, prostate, rectum and bladder cancer top the list of possible tumor sites.
Prostate cancer. If we focus on the fact that in 1993, 165,000 new cases were registered, this is the main male disease. This indicator has been growing quite slowly for several decades. Proper nutrition, apparently, is one of the preventive measures.
Cancer of the colon and rectum. It occurs 2 times less often than prostate cancer; In the last 40 years the incidence among the white population has decreased; And among the blacks increased, possibly due to a change in the level of fat intake. Obesity increases the risk of getting this type of cancer. Consumption of a large amount of fibrous food and the elimination of fats to a certain extent reduces this risk, probably due to acceleration of passage through the intestine of waste and carcinogenic substances or a change in the ratio of bacteria that live in the intestine.
Cancer of the bladder. Being a filtrate of all available organisms in liquids, urine is a concentrate of any toxins, therefore carcinogens of the environment are the main cause of bladder tumors. Moreover, since men account for 80% of the victims of this disease, specific, strictly male factors increase the danger. Men smoke more women, and smoking doubles the risk of a bladder tumor. They more often than women agree to work in chemical industries, and workers in the foundry, rubber, paint and leather goods industries are more prone to this type of cancer.
But no dietary factor increases the risk; About ten years ago, the newspaper was decorated with many stories about the harmful effects of coffee artificial sweeteners, but subsequent studies did not confirm the initial fears. Vitamins and minerals, which will be discussed further, can activate the protective functions of the body.
Pancreas cancer. This disease is less common than the three diseases mentioned above, the disease is one of the most unpleasant and almost certainly leads to death, taking the fifth place in the list of causes of death after lung, prostate, intestine and bladder cancer. Located in the depth of the abdominal cavity, the pancreas is hard to access for examination, and the disruption of its functions may not manifest itself in the early stages.
For most of the twentieth century, the incidence of pancreatic cancer has increased, but since 1970 it has held at a constant level, most likely due to the balance between the number of people quitting smoking (smoking doubles and even triples the risk), and the increasing number of older people. Men get this type of cancer almost 3 times more often than women. Most cases of the disease are observed in men over 60 years of age, 60% of them are black.
To reduce this risk, stop smoking and go on a low-fat diet.
Nutrition plays a big role in the prevention of cancer. Studies show that cruciferous plants (cabbage, colored, broccoli and Brussels) are best for this. Consumption of large quantities of onion (onion, green, garlic) significantly reduces the risk of stomach cancer. Chemical compounds that give these plants a specific smell, affect the reduction of cholesterol and have an anti-inflammatory effect. In the future, we will hear about them more than once.
Defenders of the natural way of life condemn the use of food additives in modern food production, and the process itself does not approve. If I could choose, I would eat exceptionally fresh food of organic origin, but, alas, none of the townspeople has such an opportunity, except for very rich people. Although modern supplements do not improve food, one should also be skeptical of supporters of a return to cooking and preserving foods using old technologies. Many traditional methods of cooking contribute to the development of cancer. Even in so developed countries like Japan, where they like salted, smoked and processed nitrites food, there is a very high incidence of tumors in the upper part of the digestive tract of the esophagus and stomach. It is better to use the achievements of modern chemistry.
It is proved that vitamins A, C, E, selenium are very reliable protection against malignant tumors (see below).
If proper nutrition can prevent atherosclerosis, then in cancer it is only one of the preventive measures. A balanced diet can reduce the risk of disease by 30-50%.