Changes In Human Diet Research Articles

Interventions to increase circularity and reduce environmental impacts in food systems.

Applying specific circularity interventions to the food system may have environmental benefits. Using an iterative linear food system optimisation model (FOODSOM), we assess howchanges in human diets, imports and exports, and the utilisation of waste streams impact land use and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG). After including these circularity principles, land use and GHG emissions were on average 40% and 68% lower than in the current food system, primarily driven by a reduction in production volumes and a shift towards feeding the domestic population. Shifting from the current diet to a circular diet decreased land use with 43% and GHG emissions with 52%. Allowing up to half of each nutrient in the human diet to be imported, while balancing imports with equal exports in terms of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, also decreased land use (up to 34%) and GHG emissions (up to 26%) compared to no imported food. Our findings show that circularity interventions should not be implemented mutually exclusively; by combining a circular diet with imported food and fully utilising waste streams, the lowest land use and GHG emissions can be realised.

Dietary Stories of One Household: Multi-proxy Study of Food Remains at Dominikonų St. 11 in Vilnius Between 15th-18th Century

This article presents research results from the archaeological excavation in the territory of Dominikonų St. 11 in Vilnius Old Town. In order to present as thorough dietary reconstructions of people who lived here as possible, four groups of evidence were combined together: archaeological artifacts, historical datasets, zooarchaeological research and archaeobotanical investigation. The analyzed materials are covering a wide chronological range (between 15th and 18th century) allowing us to observe the dietary changes in relation to architectural development, spatial distribution. This research shows changes in human diet across time from pre-Palace human diet consisting of grain and cattle meat to imported oysters, veal, game, and wines during the Palace period.

Amaranth proteins as potential source of bioactive peptides with enhanced inhibition of enzymatic markers linked with hypertension and diabetes

The health and environmental concerns are provoking changes in human diets and plant-based proteins are being considered as sustainable source of proteins compared to animal-derived proteins. In line with this, the current study investigated amaranth protein isolate (API) and hydrolysates (APHs) for in-vitro angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE), dipeptidyl peptidase-IV (DPP-IV), and α-glucosidase (AG) inhibitory activities. Amaranth protein hydrolysates (APHs) were generated by bromelain, chymotrypsin, and pronase E for 2, 4, and 6 h. All APHs, especially bromelain-4 h hydrolysate (B4) displayed enhanced ACE, DPP-IV, and AG inhibition compared to API and other APHs. About 116 peptides were identified in B4 by LC-MS-QToF and 17 peptides were predicted to be bioactive. Six of these peptides were predicted to possess high ACE inhibiting potential, while peptides FPFPPTLGY and FPFPR were found to bind to the highest number of active hotspots of DPP-IV and AG, respectively. Overall, this study demonstrated that APHs could be a potential source of antidiabetic and antihypertensive peptides for functional food formulation.

Human diet evolution in Patagonia was driven by the expansion of Lama guanicoe after megafaunal extinctions

The interaction between human populations and their prey is of great interest in ecological, anthropological and archaeological studies. In Patagonia, several works have revealed the importance of one particular species in the diet of prehistoric human populations, the guanaco (Lama guanicoe). Especially after the megafaunal extinctions and, specifically, after 8000 years ago, the great predominance of guanaco in the diet of the hunter-gatherer groups from Patagonia has been pointed out. Here, we use zooarchaeological and molecular data to study the relationship between the changes in human diet in Patagonia during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene and the evolutionary and demographic history of guanaco populations. The joint use of these evidences allows us to quantitatively explore and discuss the changes in the human diet in an ecological context. The obtained results suggest an increase in the consumption of guanaco by the humans associated with a geographic and demographic expansion of this camelid in Patagonia after 10,000 years ago. These changes in the guanaco populations and human diet are also correlated with the previously described demographic changes of hunter-gatherer groups from Patagonia, suggesting a strong relationship among these phenomena.

Carbon Label at a University Restaurant – Label Implementation and Evaluation

Changes in human diets hold significant greenhouse gas emissions mitigation potential. In this paper, we use a field experiment to analyze the effects of implementing a label with greenhouse gas emission information for each dish at a restaurant. The traffic-light colored label was implemented in a student catering facility with 300–600 servings every day, and covered all seven dishes on offer. Individual level sales data including an anonymous identification number, gender, and age was collected both during the label phase and during a five-week control phase prior to the introduction of the label. We found that sales of green labeled (low emission) meat dishes increased by 11.5% compared to the control phase, whereas sales of red labeled meat dishes were reduced by 4.8%. Although the label had an effect on consumer behavior, emissions decreased modestly by 3.6%. We did not find evidence for different reactions to the label based on gender or age.

Potential Impact of Dietary Choices on Phosphorus Recycling and Global Phosphorus Footprints: The Case of the Average Australian City.

Changes in human diets, population increases, farming practices, and globalized food chains have led to dramatic increases in the demand for phosphorus fertilizers. Long-term food security and water quality are, however, threatened by such increased phosphorus consumption, because the world’s main source, phosphate rock, is an increasingly scarce resource. At the same time, losses of phosphorus from farms and cities have caused widespread water pollution. As one of the major factors contributing to increased phosphorus demand, dietary choices can play a key role in changing our resource consumption pathway. Importantly, the effects of dietary choices on phosphorus management are twofold: First, dietary choices affect a person or region’s “phosphorus footprint” – the magnitude of mined phosphate required to meet food demand. Second, dietary choices affect the magnitude of phosphorus content in human excreta and hence the recycling- and pollution-potential of phosphorus in sanitation systems. When considering options and impacts of interventions at the city scale (e.g., potential for recycling), dietary changes may be undervalued as a solution toward phosphorus sustainability. For example, in an average Australian city, a vegetable-based diet could marginally increase phosphorus in human excreta (an 8% increase). However, such a shift could simultaneously dramatically decrease the mined phosphate required to meet the city resident’s annual food demand by 72%. Taking a multi-scalar perspective is therefore key to fully exploring dietary choices as one of the tools for sustainable phosphorus management.

Current approaches neglect possible agricultural cutback under large-scale organic farming. A comment to Ponisio et al.

Agricultural productivity is the key to global food security. Modern conventional farming has substantially increased food production, but at the expense of serious environmental harm [[1][1]]. By contrast, organic production is regarded as a suitable and more sustainable alternative owing to its

Variable responses of human and non-human primate gut microbiomes to a Western diet.

BackgroundThe human gut microbiota interacts closely with human diet and physiology. To better understand the mechanisms behind this relationship, gut microbiome research relies on complementing human studies with manipulations of animal models, including non-human primates. However, due to unique aspects of human diet and physiology, it is likely that host-gut microbe interactions operate differently in humans and non-human primates.ResultsHere, we show that the human microbiome reacts differently to a high-protein, high-fat Western diet than that of a model primate, the African green monkey, or vervet (Chlorocebus aethiops sabaeus). Specifically, humans exhibit increased relative abundance of Firmicutes and reduced relative abundance of Prevotella on a Western diet while vervets show the opposite pattern. Predictive metagenomics demonstrate an increased relative abundance of genes associated with carbohydrate metabolism in the microbiome of only humans consuming a Western diet.ConclusionsThese results suggest that the human gut microbiota has unique properties that are a result of changes in human diet and physiology across evolution or that may have contributed to the evolution of human physiology. Therefore, the role of animal models for understanding the relationship between the human gut microbiota and host metabolism must be re-focused.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40168-015-0120-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Comparative genomics: beyond the horizon of the next research grant.

With the development of agriculture and food processing techniques, humanity has recently challenged the rules of a billion-year-old experiment called evolution. In this experiment the availability of food in a particular niche has been one of the major driving forces to shape particular species. Comparative genomics is a new research discipline that investigates two or more genomes from different species in order to find specific genetic adaptations that explain a 'workable match' between genetic make-up and environmental constraints such as nutrition. Three recent examples in the literature illustrate how selection of particular genes can contribute to species-specific adaptations that allow them to recognise, secure and digest particular types of food and metabolise its ingredients. There is growing consensus that the recent changes in human diet and physical activity play an active role in the rapid growth of the prevalence of obesity and diabetes. The working hypothesis of the present article is that in the future a more advanced level of comparative genomics of the many natural workable matches of natural species will lead to a much better understanding of the dynamics and regulation of integrated metabolism. It is anticipated that this deeper understanding will lead to novel insights into the mechanism of human diabetes and new strategies for diabetes prevention and treatment. This is one of a series of commentaries under the banner '50 years forward', giving personal opinions on future perspectives in diabetes, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Diabetologia (1965-2015).

Periodontal Pathogens from Medieval Teeth: Same Old, Same Old

Analyses of DNA and proteins harvested from the dental calculus of four human skeletons in a 1,000-year-old graveyard and then subjected to protein and DNA sequencing as well as tandem mass spectrometry provide “a detailed picture of periodontal disease 1,000 years ago,” says Christina Warinner of the University of Oklahoma in Norman. “Periodontal disease is caused by the same bacteria today as in the past, despite major changes in human diet and hygiene. This [disease] is not something that emerged in the last 1,000 years.” Details appeared 23 February 2014 in Nature Genetics (doi:10.1038/ng.2906).

The importance of reduced meat and dairy consumption for meeting stringent climate change targets

For agriculture, there are three major options for mitigating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions: 1) productivity improvements, particularly in the livestock sector; 2) dedicated technical mitigation measures; and 3) human dietary changes. The aim of the paper is to estimate long-term agricultural GHG emissions, under different mitigation scenarios, and to relate them to the emissions space compatible with the 2 °C temperature target. Our estimates include emissions up to 2070 from agricultural soils, manure management, enteric fermentation and paddy rice fields, and are based on IPCC Tier 2 methodology. We find that baseline agricultural CO2-equivalent emissions (using Global Warming Potentials with a 100 year time horizon) will be approximately 13 Gton CO2eq/year in 2070, compared to 7.1 Gton CO2eq/year 2000. However, if faster growth in livestock productivity is combined with dedicated technical mitigation measures, emissions may be kept to 7.7 Gton CO2eq/year in 2070. If structural changes in human diets are included, emissions may be reduced further, to 3–5 Gton CO2eq/year in 2070. The total annual emissions for meeting the 2 °C target with a chance above 50 % is in the order of 13 Gton CO2eq/year or less in 2070, for all sectors combined. We conclude that reduced ruminant meat and dairy consumption will be indispensable for reaching the 2 °C target with a high probability, unless unprecedented advances in technology take place.

Resource Exploitation and Human Mobility: Trends in the Archaeofaunal and Isotopic Record from Central Western Argentina

Previous researches have examined the zooarchaeological record to understand changes in human diet in central western Argentina through time. This research has focused on variations in the relative abundance of large prey in archaeofaunal contexts. The observed changes were explained by a decrease in residential mobility, forced by both the intensification in the use of resources and the introduction of the first domesticated plants ca. 2000 years bp. In this paper, we revised archaeofaunal interpretations by taking into account zooarchaeological assemblages and human isotope records within the biogeographical distributions of prey in the region. Our results demonstrate that faunal diversity in zooarchaeological assemblages has a stronger correlation with the natural distribution of resources (especially with altitude) than with chronology, as was proposed previously. However, archaeofaunal information, including human isotopic data, suggests that a decrease in residential mobility, postulated in a previous paper, took place, modifying the expected diversity distribution throughout the landscape. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

The role of diet in phosphorus demand

Over the past 50 years, there have been major changes in human diets, including a global average increase in meat consumption and total calorie intake. We quantified how changes in annual per capita national average diets affected requirements for mined P between 1961 and 2007, starting with the per capita availability of a food crop or animal product and then determining the P needed to grow the product. The global per capita P footprint increased 38% over the 46 yr time period, but there was considerable variability among countries. Phosphorus footprints varied between 0.35 kg P capita−1 yr−1 (DPR Congo, 2007) and 7.64 kg P capita−1 yr−1 (Luxembourg, 2007). Temporal trends also differed among countries; for example, while China’s P footprint increased almost 400% between 1961 and 2007, the footprints of other countries, such as Canada, decreased. Meat consumption was the most important factor affecting P footprints; it accounted for 72% of the global average P footprint. Our results show that dietary shifts are an important component of the human amplification of the global P cycle. These dietary trends present an important challenge for sustainable P management.

Palaeodiet at Eton College Rowing Course, Buckinghamshire: isotopic changes in human diet in the Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age and Roman periods throughout the British Isles

Through isotopic investigations of directly dated human remains recovered from the Eton College Rowing Course, we examine changes in diet from the Neolithic to the Roman period. The human isotope signatures point to a diet based on C3 terrestrial resources. A significant correlation is visible between human δ13C values and time, but no such trend is observed in δ15N. The animal isotope data from Eton are unevenly distributed, making it difficult to determine if the human values mirror the animal values. To assess whether the results from Eton are typical, we compare our results to isotope data from other British sites dating from the Neolithic to the Roman period. Across this time period, we see a strong correlation between the mean δ15N of the humans and that of the main domesticated herbivores, with an offset of ∼4.5‰ between the two. Thus, the changes in the human isotope values are likely linked to changes in the isotopic signatures of the herbivores rather than changes in the protein composition of human diets. By contrast, no clear temporal relationship is observed between the mean δ13C of the humans and that of the main domesticated herbivores, with an offset of ∼1.4‰ between the two. There is, however, a weak correlation observed between the mean δ13C of the humans and that of the cattle, which may account for some of the variation in human δ13C values between sites. The absence of a strong correlation between mean human and animal δ13C suggests that the primary factor influencing human δ13C values between sites is dietary composition. The lack of co-variation between δ13C and δ15N is likely to reflect the different representation of dietary macronutrients. Given that the nitrogen results suggest that the animal protein consumption patterns are similar across sites, the human δ13C variation between sites is likely to reflect the plant portion of the diet.

Localising the nitrogen imprint of the Paris food supply: the potential of organic farming and changes in human diet

Abstract. The Seine watershed has long been the food-supplying hinterland of Paris, providing most of the animal and vegetal protein consumed in the city. Nowadays, the shift from manure-based to synthetic nitrogen fertilisation, has made possible a strong land specialisation of agriculture in the Seine watershed: it still provides most of the cereal consumed by the Paris agglomeration, but exports 80% of its huge cereal production. On the other hand the meat and milk supply originates mainly from regions in the North and West of France, specialised in animal farming and importing about 30% of their feed from South America. As it works today, this system is responsible for a severe nitrate contamination of surface and groundwater resources. Herein two scenarios of re-localising Paris's food supply are explored, based on organic farming and local provision of animal feed. We show that for the Seine watershed it is technically possible to design an agricultural system able to provide all the plant- and animal-based food required by the population, to deliver sub-root water meeting the drinking water standards and still to export a significant proportion of its production to areas less suitable for cereal cultivation. Decreasing the share of animal products in the human diet has a strong impact on the nitrogen imprint of urban food supply.

Exploring past and future changes in the ecological footprint for world regions

The Ecological Footprint (EF) has received considerable attention as a useful indicator in the context of sustainable development. So far, it has mostly been applied as a static indicator. Here, we have derived a set of long-term EF scenarios for 17 world regions using the IMAGE 2.2 implementation of the IPCCs SRES scenarios. The scenarios are used to discuss potential trends in EFs in different world regions but also to analyse underlying trends driving changes in the EF. The baseline scenarios show the EF for real land use only (not accounting for CO 2) to increase further in the next few decades in most world regions, being driven by population growth, changes in human diets towards more land-intensive products and overall increases in consumption levels. Future crop yield improvements and technology development will partly offset these trends, resulting in decreasing per capita EFs, but increasing total EFs. In the longer term, EF development may strongly diverge on the basis of assumptions made in the different baseline scenarios (from 5.4 Gha at present to 6.0–8.2 Gha in 2050 depending on the scenario). The aggregated EF following the definition of Wackernagel et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 99 (2002) 9266–9271) (including virtual land for CO 2) increases more strongly, from 12.6 to 20–31 Gha depending on the different scenarios. An alternative scenario was developed to explore whether optimistic assumptions for changes in consumption and production patterns could limit the increase of the global EF, which limited EF increase to 15 Gha in 2050. This scenario still allowed for population growth and strong economic development in low-income regions.

Seed preparation in the Mesolithic: the osteological evidence

Among the postglacial changes in human diet is the larger place for cereals that led on to full plant agriculture. Here, a specific trace is found in human osteology of the new kind of labour that the grinding of cereal seeds required.

Food and drug interactions.

A significant contribution could be made to patient care if nutritional biochemists, basic and clinical toxicologists, and pharmacologists in the various fields were to mount the studies needed to understand the nature of food-drug interactions. If only a small fraction of the 120 billion dollars per year spent for food or the 10 billion dollars expended for drugs were allocated for research in this area, advances might be made for the health of the nation. Changes in man's diet produce marked effects on drug metabolism. We know that changing a customary diet to one high in protein and low in carbohydrate increases the rates of metabolism of antipyrine and theophylline, and shifting to an isocaloric diet of low protein-high carbohydrate slows the rates of metabolism of these drugs. Presumably, high-protein-low carbohydrate diets in man resemble the animal studies with high protein diets that show enhanced hepatic drug metabolism. However, numerous studies emphasize the considerable individual variability to changes in human diets; some people have dramatic changes, whereas others exhibit little or no response. Similar individuality has been found in the response to enzyme induction by smoking. Numerous foods and food ingredients affect drug metabolism in human beings and apparently follow the same patterns as found in experimental animal studies with changes in the levels of cytochrome P-450 dependent monooxygenases in the liver and intestine. These changes presumably exert some protective action against environmental carcinogens, cocarcinogens, or promoters. Dietary modifications are brought about by use of weight-reducing diets, vegetarian diets, hospitalization, or post-operative regimens. These diets are often continued for long periods of time and it is likely they result in changes in the metabolism by the body of subsequently administered drugs or exposure to environmental chemicals. Methods are needed to measure inter-individual and inter-group differences in metabolism of foreign compounds in order to accurately assess dietary influences on drug metabolism and vice versa. Epidemiologic studies of rigorously selected human populations, coupled with the newer sensitive chemical analytical methods, will provide the necessary data base for these investigations.