Hungry Planet - Summary

I would like to add a few thoughts to the Hungry Planet series:

I did this series in order to understand certain eating patterns of different countries . However, it does not mean that everybody in that particular country adheres to these habits. There are many different ways of eating within the same country.

I like to study traditional diets and comparing them with modern eating habits. What I've learned is that people on their traditional diets have three things in common:

• The lack of refined carbohydrates and sugar in their diet.
• The presence of fat and protein from animal food.
• If the diet contains grain, it is unprocessed, containing much more nutrients than the processed flours of our modern world.

The proportions of food types do not really have a big impact on the incidence of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. The presence of sugar and refined carbohydrates are a much more important trigger of these diseases.

I also observed that people did not eat less meat and fat by choice, but by necessity. Once people have access to animal food, they eat more of it, and, of course, less carbohydrates. Richer people tend to by more meat.

These people also tend to "work out" a lot, not being able to enjoy the benefits of washing machines and other "robots". By today's modern standards, they expend much more calories by physical exercise, than people sitting in an office.

In conclusion, if somebody wants to better their health, I would advise them to go back to their own traditional diet. They can start by asking what their grandparents were eating when they were children and when processed foods were not available. I did the same and feel better than ever.

I would like to thank everybody for their messages, comments and contribution to this series.