today i received this e-mail from dave b., a member of my work group – and one of the smartest guys i know.
In New Scientist this week there is a review of a book by Spencer Wells, a well known anthropologist and geneticist entitled “Pandora’s Seed:
The unforeseen cost of civilization. The single bold headline on the page reads on the statement “Obesity and other chronic diseases are rooted in our post-agricultural diets, which became rich in simple carbohydrates.” The fact that the author of the review Henry Harpending, a professor of anthropology at the University of Utah, chose this single quotation to highlight the book indicates the degree to which carbohydrates are now widely accepted by science in general to be at the root of these health issues.
this part may be worth reading again: “Obesity and other chronic diseases are rooted in our post-agricultural diets, which became rich in simple carbohydrates.”
*
| “It’s so logical and so simple. Fat is the backup fuel system. The role it plays in the body is that when there’s no carbohydrate around, fat will become the primary energy fuel. That’s pretty well known.” | |
 Robert Atkins |
