Matching Items (3)
Description
Food system and health characteristics were evaluated across the last Waorani hunter-gatherer group in Amazonian Ecuador and a remote neighboring Kichwa indigenous subsistence agriculture community. Hunter-gatherer food systems like the Waorani foragers may not only be nutritionally, but also pharmaceutically beneficial because of high dietary intake of varied plant phytochemical compounds. A modern diet that reduces these dietary plant defense phytochemicals below levels typical in human evolutionary history may leave humans vulnerable to diseases that were controlled through a foraging diet. Few studies consider the health impact of the recent drastic reduction of plant phytochemical content in the modern global food system, which has eliminated essential components of food because they are not considered "nutrients". The antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory nature of the food system may not only regulate infectious pathogens and inflammatory disease, but also support beneficial microbes in human hosts, reducing vulnerability to chronic diseases. Waorani foragers seem immune to certain infections with very low rates of chronic disease. Does returning to certain characteristics of a foraging food system begin to restore the human body microbe balance and inflammatory response to evolutionary norms, and if so, what implication does this have for the treatment of disease? Several years of data on dietary and health differences across the foragers and the farmers was gathered. There were major differences in health outcomes across the board. In the Waorani forager group there were no signs of infection in serious wounds such as 3rd degree burns and spear wounds. The foragers had one-degree lower body temperature than the farmers. The Waorani had an absence of signs of chronic diseases including vision and blood pressure that did not change markedly with age while Kichwa farmers suffered from both chronic diseases and physiological indicators of aging. In the Waorani forager population, there was an absence of many common regional infectious diseases, from helminthes to staphylococcus. Study design helped control for confounders (exercise, environment, genetic factors, non-phytochemical dietary intake). This study provides evidence of the major role total phytochemical dietary intake plays in human health, often not considered by policymakers and nutritional and agricultural scientists.
ContributorsLondon, Douglas (Author) / Tsuda, Takeyuki (Thesis advisor) / Beezhold, Bonnie L (Committee member) / Hruschka, Daniel (Committee member) / Eder, James (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Healthy lifestyle behaviors including quality nutrition have been shown to successfully prevent chronic disease or minimize symptoms. However, many physicians lack the knowledge and skills to provide adequate nutrition counseling and education for their patients. A major component of this problem is that medical schools are not required to teach nutrition education. The purpose of this feasibility study was to compare the changes in the perceived importance of nutrition in the medical field in medical students before and after participating in a week-long interactive nutrition course in order to determine if a week-long course can positively influence students’ perceptions of nutrition. Ultimately by changing these perceptions, medical students may be able to better help patients prevent chronic disease. The participants were first year medical students at the Mayo Clinic School of Medicine (Scottsdale, AZ) who chose to participate in this medical school “Selective”. The study included a five-day curriculum of case-studies, lectures from specialized health professionals, and a cooking class led by a chef who trained in France. An anonymous pre- and post-study questionnaire with five-point Likert scale questions was used to measure changes in attitudes. The data suggest that students’ perceptions regarding the importance and relevance of nutrition in the medical shifted slightly more positive after attending this Selective, although these shifts in attitude were not statistically significant. Limitations of this study include a small sample size and selection bias, which may have decreased the potential of having significant results. Both of these factors also make the results of this study less generalizable to all medical students. This study supports the need for a larger experimental study of a similar design to verify that an interactive, evidence-based nutrition class and culinary experience increases medical students’ positive perceptions of nutrition in the medical field.
ContributorsBaum, Makenna (Author) / Johnston, Carol (Thesis advisor) / Levinson, Simin (Committee member) / Sears, Dorothy (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
On September 20, 2017, Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico, triggering widespread catastrophic damage to the island. Aside from the extensive physical devastation that Hurricane Maria wielded, it also exacerbated larger underlying economic instabilities and public health challenges that the island has faced. Among these were compromised access to safe, clean drinking water and nutritious foods. While studies have primarily focused on the mortality count, health and food-behaviors post-Hurricane Maria have been rarely investigated. Documenting what Puerto Ricans drank following the natural disaster is necessary to identify changes in their consumption patterns as well as to understand how weather-related shocks influence these changes. The aim of this study was to examine sociodemographic factors associated with the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and fruit juice among a sample of Puerto Rican adults after Hurricane Maria. The data analyzed for this thesis project was derived from a larger, multi-year, academic research project known as the Global Ethnohydrology Study (GES). An improved understanding of SSB and fruit juice consumption patterns can inform effective public health interventions to reduce consumption across the island. Collecting valid, descriptive post-Hurricane Maria data would greatly help identify areas of public health need in addition to promote further studies on the risk factors to chronic diseases within the island’s context by comparing the health status situation before and after Hurricane Maria (Mattei et al., 2018). Thus, gaining insight into Puerto Ricans’ beverage consumption patterns in relation to sociodemographic and behavioral factors serves as a promising line of research with potential to help public health officials mitigate post-disaster situations and take clinically relevant action.
ContributorsLedesma, Daniela (Author) / Brewis, Alexandra (Thesis director) / Wutich, Amber (Committee member) / Dean, W.P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / School of Human Evolution & Social Change (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2020-05