Crossing to a western diet shakes troops of tanzanian men

We have all heard that as Mediterranean, Japanese and other traditional diets can do wonders for our health, but what if the tables return?

In a brave new experiment, researchers asked Tanzanian men to exchange their fiber -rich diets for a Western -style regimen filled with dense calorie processed foods.

It took only two weeks for the shocking effects to appear on their bodies – and the consequences were delayed after returning to their normal ways of life.

For the study, researchers from Radboud University and KCMC University in Tanzania joined forces to investigate the effects of a dietary exchange on 77 healthy young people from rural and urban Tanzania.

Participants who ate traditional Kilimanjaro diet were instructed to move to a western diet, which included foods like beef, fried chicken, pizza, potato chips, white rice, pasta, eggs and very few fruits or vegetables.

The results were alarming: after only two weeks, the men gained an average of 5.7 pounds.

Their blood also showed an increase in inflammatory proteins, as well as metabolic changes associated with chronic conditions such as heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Worse still, their immune cells became less effective in combating dangerous pathogens, making them more vulnerable to infections.

Even after participants returned to their usual diets, some of the adverse effects continued for up to four weeks, stressing how short -term dietary changes can have sustained consequences, the study authors noted.

The study did not finish here. The researchers also tested what would happen if the participants who usually followed a Western diet switched to a traditional African.

These men followed a traditional Kilimanjaro diet for two weeks, which was filled with vegetables, fruits, legumes, brown rice, whole grains, roots and tubers, as well as fermented foods. Meat consumption, typically restricted to once or twice a week, mainly included cheap -range chicken and local fish.

Researchers observed the opposite effect on those who moved to the traditional African diet. These men suffered a decrease in inflammatory proteins and positive metabolic changes in their blood.

The findings come while Western eating habits are increasingly adopted throughout Africa, which coincide with an increase in chronic conditions driven by inflammation, such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer.

“African diet includes many vegetables, fruits, beans, whole grains and fermented foods,” said Dr. Quirijn de Mast, a specialist in internist and infectious disease at Radboud University. “Our study underlines the benefits of these traditional food products for inflammation and metabolic processes in the body.”

“At the same time, we show how harmful it can be an unhealthy Western diet,” he continued.

Curious to try a traditional African diet? Start here.

Radboud University shared a traditional Tanzanian recipe for Ugali (corn porridge) and Mchichha (spinach and peanut curry).

Ingredients (serves four):

• 500 grams of cornstarch
• 900 grams of chopped spinach
• 2 tbsp peanut butter
• 2 chopped tomatoes
• 1 chopped red onion
• 2-3 tablespoons of curry dust
• 1 glass of coconut milk
• Top of salt and a crack of fresh black pepper on the ground

Step 1: Do Ugali

1. Simmer 1 liter of water.
2. Add the cornstarch as stir.
3. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently, until it becomes strong. Add more water if necessary.

Step 2: Make Mchicha

1. Mix the peanut butter and coconut milk.
2. Heat a pan and fry the onion, tomatoes, salt and curry powder until the onions are soft.
3. Add spinach and heat briefly.
4. Add the coconut nut mixture and mix well.
5. Cook until heated and wrap with a pepper cleft.
6. Cook until heated and wrap with pepper.