Staffan Lindeberg of Lund University in Sweden traveled to the tropical island of Kitava, Trobriand Islands, Papua New Guinea in 1989 and conducted interviews with native people there. In his published articles, he discusses how people who eat a Western diet suffer from such health problems as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer, while the Kitava people generally experience exceptional health throughout their long lives. The Kitava diet at the time of this research was similar to that of humans in their original habitats, according to Lindeberg.
Features
Lindeberg detailed the Kitava study in an article published in the March 1993 issue of the "Journal of Internal Medicine." He described the population as living a subsistence lifestyle without influence from Western dietary habits. He and his colleague interviewed 213 adults about the frequency of certain health disorders in the population over the years, using a semi-structured format. In addition, resting electrocardiograms were recorded in 171 individuals.
Effects
None of the Kitava people interviewed during the study knew of any cases that could be described as exertion-related angina, stroke or sudden death due to cardiovascular episodes, notes Lindeberg at PaleoDiet.com. The researchers concluded that such events were non-existent or extremely rare in these island natives. The most common causes of death were infections, accidents, pregnancy complications and aging. All the adults evaluated were lean and had low diastolic blood pressure.
Identification
Dietary staples in Kitava during Lindeberg's research included coconut, bananas, guava, mango, papaya, pineapple, watermelon, pumpkin, root vegetables such as sweet potatoes and taro, other vegetables and fish. The residents had a high intake of vitamins, minerals, omega-3 fatty acids, soluble fiber and saturated fat from coconut. They had practically no caloric intake from dairy products, sugar, cereals or alcohol. Salt consumption also was low.
Significance
The Kitava people were able to maintain excellent cardiovascular health despite a level of physical activity only slightly higher than that of sedentary Western populations, observed Lindeberg. In addition, 80 percent of these islanders were daily smokers. Lindeberg says this statistic supports the theory that smoking by itself is not enough to cause cardiovascular disease.
Contrast
A typical Western diet contains at least 70 percent of calories from foods that were nearly unavailable throughout most of human evolution, including refined foods, oils and dairy products, according to Lindeberg. These foods tend to be low in vitamins, minerals and fiber, and high in fat and salt. The Western diet is likely connected with the incidence of heart disease, stroke and diabetes in this population, explains Lindeberg.
