I think it's a pretty reasonable article, until, they talk to the "experts" at the end.
Quote:
Dr Gavin Sandercock, reader in clinical physiology (cardiology) at the University of Essex, said: "This is an excellent study with unique findings.
"The Tsimane get 72% of their energy from carbohydrates.
"The fact that they have the best indicators of cardiovascular health ever reported is the exact opposite to many recent suggestions that carbohydrates are unhealthy."
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Context is everything. Evidence says you can make a diet healthier by lowering the carbohydrate content. Question is, which diet, for which people? Certainly the SAD, certainly insulin resistant/diabetic SAD eaters. Would you tell somebody whose child no longer has 50 seizures a day after initiating the ketogenic diet that carbohydrates don't cause seizures, if it turned out that the Tsimane have a lower than usual rate of seizures?
One thing not pointed out here--it's mentioned that 34 percent fat is eaten in the US. What's not mentioned is that purportedly to improve health, the mainstream recommendation for fat intake is 30 percent or less, there are studies looking at 30 percent fat as a "low fat" diet. When the usual fat intake is 34 percent, suggesting 30 percent fat is starry-eyed optimism at best. Just as with low carb, there are studies showing plausible therapeutic benefits at 10-15 percent fat intake. But it's a fairly stringent, and wildly unpopular diet.
And there is the exercise. 15000 steps a day is one thing for people who are motivated by the need to eat, and need to be be fairly active to do so. In our culture, being a highly motivated worker often means a lot of desk work. And there's the lack of smoking mentioned, as well is the increased rate of infection--the immune system is very much involved in heart disease, infection will affect development of immune function.
One advantage these people have is that somebody gave them coronary artery calcium scans. Traditional Masai ate a diet high in saturated fat, milk and meat, were famous for cardiovascular health--but a study in 1972 showed extensive atherosclerosis was common. But it was sort of atherosclerosis without heart disease--there was successful remodelling, uncompromised function. And few of the lesions found where calcified--which is to say, these people with very high saturated fat diets, little real heart disease, but extensive "atherosclerosis" would have gotten very low heartscan calcium scores.
https://thescienceofnutrition.files...n-the-masai.pdf