Why Do we love sweet, fatty foodes?
By David Nicolson,

Nutrition's a problem isn’t it? We know they can be bad for us, make us overweight, tired and generally unhealthy. Even children as young as ten are developing adult onset diabetes and behavioral disorders, mostly caused by junk diets. Today’s unprecedented levels of obesity and cardiovascular disease are also closely linked to dietary factors, yet still we feel compelled to eat fatty, sugary foods and snacks. Why?

Well, before you tuck into all those Christmas goodies, spare a thought for your hungry prehistoric ancestors because that is where the answer lies. From them we have inherited the genes that make things such as mince pies, double cream, chocolates and biscuits so hard to resist.

Throughout many millions of years of human evolution, food tended to be scarce. The average cave dweller would rise every morning to face the weary task of scavenging the countryside for nourishment. There were no farms or livestock until 10,000 years ago, and that is but the blink of an eye in evolutionary terms. The tastes that are deeply embedded in us were formed when the menu of the day was berries, seeds, nuts, roots, fruits, vegetables, and the odd wild animal that the fittest of our forbears might have been quick enough to catch. Fish were rather more plentiful because it was relatively easy to weave together a few reeds and place them across a stream as a ‘net’.

In times when calories were scarce, those who had a sweet tooth and liked fat had a huge advantage over those who did not, because sweet, fatty foods provide the most calories and offered the best chance of surviving, breeding and passing on genes to the next generation. Those who preferred bitter, lean, low calorie foods would probably not survive much beyond puberty.

And so here we are now, trapped inside Stone Age bodies struggling to cope with the 21st century. We’re surrounded by supermarkets temptingly crammed with nutritionally barren foods cleverly designed to appeal to our ancient instincts by shrewd (some say ruthless) manufacturers. The instincts that once served us so well now seriously threaten our health. Many of us are overfed, but under nourished. Shopping for food is a complicated and risky business, perhaps one of mankind’s more dangerous activities!

A major role of a nutritionist is to escort people through the minefield of modern foods. Our bodies have evolved perfectly to thrive on the foods available in prehistory, but we are not equipped to deal with some of today’s products. However, with proper guidance most of us can achieve optimal health.

We like sweet things, so let us eat them—but we should choose mainly fruits instead of sweets and chocolates. We like fatty foods, so let us eat them—but go mainly for the healthy fats in oily fish such as mackerel, sardines, fresh tuna, nuts (walnuts are best) and seeds (pumpkin are best), rather than the saturated fats in sausages, red meats, burgers and fries.

If after your Christmas fun you’d like some nutritional advice to encourage and enable you to fulfill your New Year’s dietary resolutions, then call The Natural Practice. Good health is your right and natural state. Bad health is often avoidable by a few simple dietary steps, sometimes assisted with supplements. Our nutritionists may also help you overcome problems such as arthritis, food allergies, skin disorders, fatigue and a host of other common ailments. With a fully stocked pharmacy providing supplements of the highest quality, The Natural Practice offers a complete nutritional service under one roof, with medical oversight always on hand.

David Nicolson, runs clinics from our practices in Winchester, Basingstoke and Bournemouth. For further information please call 01962 856310 or visit our website on www.thenaturalpractice.com.