Question 1
Every day we spend a lot of time to find, prepare and eat food. For some people food is just a source of energy, for other people it is a pleasure and even an art. People pay a lot of attention to the nutrition facts today as well as to the origin of food and the method and place where the food was produced. In this regard scientist and dietologist have produced thousands of diets. One of them is reconstructing a dietary profile from our evolutionary past. Scientist believe that the place you and your ancestors were born can affect you digestion system and as a result determine your specific needs for nutrition. According to Juliann Schaeffer “up to 70% of Western dietary calories could come from foods that weren’t available to those living in the Paleolithic Era (think refined cereals, sugars, and vegetable oils)”. More than that our digestion system didn’t develop as much as technology did during last centuries. As food affects the way we feel and look it certainly affect our health. Nutrition can be a major reason for all the diseases that hit the population nowadays, like cancer and immune system diseases.
Today I have access to a numerous products from all over the world, starting from potatoes and salmon to nuts and beef and crocodile meet and many others. That all I can eat but better should I not , because my digestive system might not be very happy with all the ingredients I could find today. On the other hand in the Paleolithic my relatives could only eat what they managed to find in the woods ( berries, nuts, etc.) or catch in the river( fish), or hunt(ducks, dears, etc). There digestion system adapted it self to the possible food and it took a lot of time to find and start growing a new product. Today people eat almost everything we see, I mean if in Europe and USA cavy is a pet, in Mexico it’s a delicacy.
If you want to be healthy you should carefully choose your diet and pay attention to the amount of macro- and micronutrients you eat. Micronutrients are the vitamins and elements which help your body function, like “Manganese promotes bone formation and energy production, and helps your body metabolize the macronutrients, protein, carbohydrate and fat”. Macronutrients are fats, carbohydrates, and proteins, which give our body energy to move, think and carry out other essential functions.
The ratio of sodium and potassium has a strong connection with the blood pressure. My level of Sodium is 2273.96 mg and it is 151,6 % of the recommendation norm and my potassium level is 1595.90 which is 33.96%. I do not have any symptoms like nausea, dehydration, low blood pressure and others. But I strongly need to reduce the level of sodium and increase the level of potassium in my diet, so that I did not have all the symptoms in the near future.
I also have a low level of polyunsaturated fat- 4.05, and as a result high level of cholesterol – 1256.18. My saturated fat level is 11.69, which is low and good for my health, but still the level of cholesterol makes me fear my future.
Question 2
As a huge society member I live and eat as many people in my society do. It might seem easier at first sight to get food in our city, but in comparison to the lifestyle !Kung (Ju/’hoansi) it might be even more difficult way. Let me explain you why. As I live in a many million society, I first have to find my place in the system and find a place where I can work and get money for food. After I finally struggled to get my place I should also work hard to meet my boss expectations. If I managed to do my job I get my salary. Now there are different ways to actually get my salary: pay check, through bank account, cash. After I got my payment I had to pay taxes and I think should also mention that today the technologies make all the payment actions much easier than they were 30 years ago. After I finally got my money I can finally go to the shop, where I will not only pay money, but also my time, gas for the transportation to the store and when going home. All that is the main reason I don’t think that !Kung (Ju/’hoansi) have actually more complicated life getting the suitable resources. I certainly can get more healthy food as well as get fruit and vegetables any time of the year, I can buy meat, fish and milk products I need, while they can not.
I now live along so I have to share my salary as well as food only with myself. And this means that all the recourses I get I can use for myself only. But several years ago I had to share my resources with my other 3 people in my family. My mom, I and my father we were working and brining money and food to the table for four people including my brother, who didn’t work at that time. When I lived with my family I not only shared the recourses but also the expenses for house rent, internet connection, college fee and other necessary items. Now I have to do it on my own.
Actually the diet of the !Kung (Ju/’hoansi) is connected with the time of the year and the weather more than my diet, but I also have some changes in my diet plan when summer and fall come and I am able to go to the market and get healthy and fresh fruit and vegetables.
In my diet plan I have almost 40 % of fish, meat and seafood. 30 % go to grains, pasta ,bread and beans, 15% for diary products and the last 15% go to fruits and vegetables. My diet is more rich in comparison with !Kung (Ju/’hoansi) diet because I can get any fruit I like and I usually buy blueberries and tomatoes during the whole year. While !Kung (Ju/’hoansi) can only get those during the season or can not at all. More than that I also take vitamins and fish fat to improve my health and be sure that I get enough macro- and micronutrients, when !Kung (Ju/’hoansi) people might not even know that there are some recommendations that might improve your health.
Question 3
My day is a combination of sleeping, studying, I also have work out twice a week, having short and long walks. All that activities need my energy. On the other side we have Tukanoan women who are swidden horticulturalists and their day is a hard working day. Starting from the morning, when they have to get some water and prepare food and then to the whole day working in the fields as well as looking after their children. Everyday they spend almost to 3000 calories during the hard work in fields and their other activities. My day is on the other side is not so active . I usually spend from 2000 to 2500 calories per day.
Why is it so hard to work in fields? It is usually hot during daytime and their heart works faster pumping the blood through the veins, which need more energy then usual. Then you work with different agricultural tools which acquire strength and energy as well. You have to water the plants, which means bringing water and spreading it to the whole field. This all looks like a big daily work out for me
In my everyday life I have a lot of hours, when I seat in my armchair and study. This process certainly takes some energy, but its mostly energy for my brains, because at these times I am in a calm state. When I work out I usually loose the biggest amount of calories, because I can either go to the gym to loose from 300 to 400 calories, or go cycling which helps to get rid of even 1000 calories. That is extremely helpful after big family celebrations.
My daily MET without workout is 4, when I work out by going to the gym its 10, bicycle helps me to get 15points.
Tukanoan women probably would have 13 MET rate average through the whole day. Big activity and sometimes the lake of suitable amount of food lead to the healthy state, that they have. For them the food differs according to the season and the amount of food for the whole tribe strongly depends on the weather and the way food stores.
Living today’s live in a big city is certainly a challenge. You have to find yourself , find your way of life, way of eating, working out, spending time and energy. Let us be wise to choose the right way to healthy and long live, using the best experience of the people who live behind us and lived during the last centures.
References
Micronutrients: What They Are and Why They're Essential / Nutrition / Vitamins and Minerals. (n.d.). Retrieved March 04, 2016, from http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/vitamins-minerals/micronutrients-what-they-are-and-why-theyre-essential.html
Juliann Schaeffer; Evolutionary Eating - What We Can Learn From Our Primitive Past. (n.d.). Retrieved March 04, 2016, from http://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/040609p36.shtml
DietaryGuidelines. (n.d.). Retrieved March 04, 2016, from http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/dietaryguidelines
