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Ancestral Diets and Nutrition

The Status Quo Problems amid Prosperity Belief That Diet Is at the Root of Modern Ailments Hunter-Gatherers as Models of Sound Nutrition and Health The Search for Enlightened Dietary and Nutritional Advice Dietary Types Absence of Consensus An Alternative to the Status Quo: A Prehistorical and Historical Approach to Diet and Nutrition Types and Interpretation of Evidence Hypothesis Testing Limitations of a Prehistorical and Historical Approach to Diet and Nutrition Examination of the Past on Its Own Terms Notes Components of Nutrition: Calories, Carbohydrates, Fat, Protein, Minerals, Vitamins, Phytochemicals, and Water Macro- and Microlevel Consistency Expectation and Imperative of Consistency Investigation of Scurvy as Example of Macro- and Microlevel Consistency Food as Energy Physics and Chemistry of Energy The Body Uses Chemical Energy Carbohydrates Sugars Starch Fiber Glycemic Index Glycogen Other Functions of Carbohydrates Carbohydrate Critics Fat Plants and Animals Store Energy Differently Lipids, Fat, and Oil Saturated Fat Unsaturated Fat Lipids and Organic Solvents Fat: The Energy Densest Macronutrient Uses of Fat besides Energy Cholesterol and Its Regulation Essential Fatty Acids Fatty Foods Protein Importance of Protein Recommended Protein Intake Protein Quantity versus Quality Protein Sources Inequalities and Protein Intake Protein’s Roles in the Body Minerals Need for Minerals Characteristics of Minerals Sodium, Chlorine, and Table Salt Minerals Interact with Other Nutrients Sources of Minerals Vitamins Inadequacy of Carbohydrates, Fat, Protein, and Minerals Alone Fat-Soluble Vitamins Water-Soluble Vitamins Vitamin Deficiency Diseases Phytochemicals Water Notes Changing Circumstances and Diets Autotrophs Heterotrophs Disadvantages Classification of Heterotrophs Human Adaptations for Omnivory and Eclecticism Dietary Breadth The Role of Choice in Dietary Breadth The Role of Preferences in Dietary Breadth The Role of Inequalities in Dietary Breadth The Role of Several Factors in Dietary Breadth Primate Origins, Evolution, and Diets Primate Characteristics The Necessity of Comparing Kindred Primates Degree of Relatedness and Definition of Species The Value of Comparison between Humans and Extinct Peoples and between Humans and Apes Early Primates and Their Diets Bipedalism and Food Acquisition Australopithecine and Paranthropus Origins, Evolution, and Diets Homo habilis and Homo rudolfensis: Origins, Evolution, and Diets Homo erectus, Globalism, and Diets Archaic H. sapiens: Origins, Evolution, and Diets Modern H. sapiens: Origins, Evolution, and Diets From Food Acquisition to Food Production The Debate over Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Agriculture and Animal Husbandry in Perspective Notes Meat Ubiquity of Meat Types of Meat Economics, Biology, Psychology, and History Origins of Meat Consumption Debate about Meat’s Healthfulness Context Meat in the Western Diet Meat and Longevity Meat and Lifestyle Meat in Ancient Egypt Egypt as Case Study Egypt’s Geography Egypt’s Settlement by Hunter-Gatherers Transition to Agriculture and Animal Husbandry Literary and Artistic Evidence of the Past Literary Evidence of Diets Mummies as Evidence of Diets Meat in North America North America’s Settlement North American Bison Humans on the Great Plains Health on the Great Plains Meat and Health in North America Meat in Twentieth-Century Paraguay Settlement of South America The Ache in Paraguay Ache Diets Ache Health Meat in Perspective Notes Fish and Shellfish Antiquity of Fish Fish Consumption among Primates and Early Humans Pre-Human Fish Consumption Role of Fish in Human Evolution Fishing and Humanity Fish and Shellfish Consumption in Modernity Geography and Economics of Consumption Nutrients in Fish Nutrients in Shellfish Aquaculture and Nutrients History and Opinions about Aquaculture Fish Consumption and Longevity Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and the Pacific Northwest Distribution of Fish in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and the Pacific Northwest Human Migrations into North America Role of Geography and Climate in Fishing in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and the Pacific Northwest Fishing Supplied Much More Food than Gathering Overhunting Increased Reliance on Fish Fish Species Central to Amerindian Diets Fish Targeted throughout the Year Health in Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and the Pacific Northwest Great Britain Geography and Settlement Centrality of Fishing in Earliest Times and Antiquity Fishing in the Middle Ages Consumption of Salted Fish Increasing Demand for Fish and Shellfish Dietary Trends Health in Britain Notes Poultry and Eggs Avian Evolution Birds and Eggs Entered Diets Pre-Homo sapiens’ Consumption of Birds and Eggs H. sapiens’ Early Consumption of Birds and Eggs Overconsumption and Extinction Dodo Passenger Pigeon Bird and Egg Consumption in the Americas World Consumption of Birds and Eggs Poultry as Nourishment Poultry as an Alternative to Beef and Pork Poultry’s Nutrient Density Poultry, Nutrients, and Anemia Eastern Hemisphere Chickens Ducks Poultry, Thailand, Vietnam, and Health Western Hemisphere Turkeys in Pre-Columbian North America Turkeys, Amerindians, and Health Notes Dairy Common Dairy Products Milk Cheese Butter and Ghee Ice Cream Yogurt Consumption over Nine Millennia Dairying’s Origins Dairying in Africa The Mediterranean and Europe The Middle Ages Europe after the Middle Ages The Caribbean and North America Asia Cheese and Health in Rural France French Cheesemaking Eighteenth-Century Poor Peasants Peasant Diets Inadequate Nourishment and Health Urbanization, Industrialization, Milk, and Health Raw Milk and Pathogens Pasteurization Milk as Wholesome Dairy’s Health Effects Scrutinized Dairy, Bones, and Teeth Western Diets and Calcium Calcium Recommendations Dairy and Heart Disease Dairy and Stature Recent Trends The Amish Amish Origins Dairying among Amish Amish Foods besides Dairy Demographic Interest in the Amish Amish Longevity Finland Settlement and Economy Finnish Health Notes Legumes Terminology and Description Calories, Nutrients, and Health Nutrient Density Peanuts’ Nutrients Phaseolus Beans’ Calories and Fat Soybeans’ Nutrients Legumes’ Non-Nutrients Legumes as Inexpensive Protein Legumes and Mortality Eastern Hemisphere Origins Pisum sativum Glycine max Western Hemisphere Origins Phaseolus vulgaris, P. lunatus, P. acutifolius, and P. coccineus ..Arachis hypogaea Legumes, Slaves, and Health Legumes in Slave Diets Slaves’ Health Comparisons between Slaves and Free People Notes Nuts Definition Prehistory and History Consumption and Nutrition Nuts as Energy Nuts as Nutrient Packages Chestnut Nutrients Acorns’ Tannins Comparison of Chestnuts and Acorns Chestnuts Origins and Antiquity Pedology and Geography Chestnuts in North America Chestnuts in Europe Chestnuts’ Problems Chestnuts and Health in France ACORNS Antiquity Acorns and Livestock Acorns in Eastern and Western Hemispheres Acorns and Health in California Notes Fat Fat as Dietary Component Speculation about the Amount of Fat in Preagricultural Diets Proponents of High Fat Intake Criticism of These Proponents’ Speculation The Controversy over Fat Intake Olive Oil Olive Oil versus Most Vegetable Oils Origins of Oleiculture Oleiculture in Egypt Oleiculture in Greece Oleiculture in the Roman Empire Oleiculture in the Middle Ages Defense of Olive Oil Criticism of Olive Oil’s Defense Olive Oil and Health in Roman Antiquity Olive Oil and Health in Crete Olives, Olive Oil, and Health in Egypt Olive Oil and Health in Modern Greece Olive Oil and Calories Olive Oil’s Nutrients Olive Oil and High Fat Diets Olive Oil and Omega 9 Fatty Acids Comparisons among Olive, Soybean, and Peanut Oils Notes Sweeteners: Honey, Sucrose, and High Fructose Corn Syrup Honey Honeybees Honey as Luxury Apiculture Honey’s Early Prevalence Honey, Nutrition, and Health SUCROSE Chemistry Biology of Craving Sugarcane Production and Prices Consumption, Nutrition, and Health High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)Origins Competition between HFCS and Sucrose Concerns about HFCS as Cause of Overweight and Obesity .Concerns about Many Causes of Overweight and Obesity besides HFCS HFCS, Overweight, and Obesity in the Netherlands HFCS, Overweight, and Obesity among Native Peoples Notes Grains Terminology Evolution of Gymnosperms Wheat Wheat and Barley in Southwestern Asia Wheat’s Dispersal Wheat Belly and Grain Brain Motorization Rather than Wheat as Cause of Obesity Contrast between Inactivity and Activity Diminution in Wheat Intake Broad Criticisms That Grains Undermine Health Gluten as Straw Man The Obesity Epidemic as Context Calories and Nutrients in Grains Wheat around the World Milling Rice Rice in Asia Rice in Africa and the Americas Rice, Milling, and Deficiency Diseases Corn Origins and Dispersal Corn in Amerindian Diets Corn and Amerindian Health Corn, Caribbean Slaves, and Health Corn in Europe Corn, China, and Population Increase Corn in Africa Corn and Pellagra Corn and Kwashiorkor Notes Roots and Tubers Definitions Dietary Dissonance Roots Sweet Potato Origins and Early Dispersal Sweet Potatoes, New Guinea, and Health Europe’s Encounter with Sweet Potatoes Sweet Potatoes’ Post-Columbian Dispersal Sweet Potatoes, Okinawa, and Health Sweet Potatoes North of Okinawa Divergent Opinions about Sweet Potatoes’ Nutriment Sweet Potatoes, Japan, and Large Populations Sweet Potatoes in North America Sweet Potatoes as World Food Cassava Origins and Early Uses Europe’s Encounter with Cassava Cassava in the Old World Tropics Cassava’s Inadequacies Tubers Potato Potatoes and Large Populations in Precontact South America Europe’s Encounter with the Potatoes Recognition of Potatoes’ Nutriment Potatoes Combated Scurvy Barriers to Potatoes’ Adoption Potatoes Enlarged Populations and Improved Health Potatoes Reduced Famines and Mortality Potatoes Nourished Europe as Had No Previous Food Yams Yams’ Domestication and Dispersal Yams’ Nutriment Yams, Yap Island, and Australia Notes Fruits Definition and Seed Dispersal Fruits and Primate Evolution Fruits’ Critics Fruits’ Ambiguousness Nutrients Dates Dates, Humanity, and Domestication Dates, Arabs, and Bedouins Arab and Bedouin Health Bananas Bananas and the Yanomami Yanomami Health Notes Vegetables Definition Imprecision and Confusion Attempts to Define Vegetables Nutrition and Health A Reputation as Healthful Vitamins and Minerals in Vegetables Recommendations for Vegetable Consumption Vegetables in Ancient Rome Vegetables as More Popular among Nutritionists than Public The Consensus Tested in Herculaneum Suitability as Case Study Sources of Evidence Diets Health Notes Diet and Civilization Diet, Nutrition, Health, and Slimness Factors That Govern Health Diet Depends on Context Notes Bibliography

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