Traditional diets are diets that have been historically eaten by particular populations around the World. These diets tends to have changed little over time and reflect the types of foods available in the local environments of the populations. Traditional diets tend to contain whole, unrefined and minimally processed foods that are high in nutrients and of relatively low energy density. In contrast the typical Western diet is a modern diet produced in developed countries that has only been consumed relatively recently, perhaps for a few decades or more. In contrast to traditional diets, the typical Western diet comprises of refined and processed foods with long shelf lives and relatively high energy densities that are often transported great distances from their place of origin. The typical Western diet is also high in sugar. Consumption of the the typical Western diet is associated with the development of typical Western diseases including obesity, whereas consumption of traditional diets are associated with protection from the same diseases.
Adherence to traditional diets therefore may confer health benefits, particularly against weight gain and obesity. Observational studies have been performed to investigate the associations between adherence to traditional diets and the rate of weight gain in populations. For example, in one study1, researchers analysed the diets of over 10,000 Spanish subjects and assessed the closeness of the individual’s diet to that of the traditional Mediterranean diet. Each subject was given a diet score that ranged from 0-3 for diets that were dissimilar to the Mediterranean diet, 4-6 for diets that showed moderate similarity to the Mediterranean diet, and 7 to 9 for those that showed a high similarity to the Mediterranean diet. The results of the study showed that subjects with the lowest score (0-3) had the highest risk of weight gain, whereas the subjects with the highest score (6-9) had the lowest risk of weight gain. This study supports the contention that the traditional Mediterranean diet is protective of weight gain.
The Mediterranean diet is protective of obesity because of the foods it contains. Obesogenic foods in the typical Western diet have been identified and amongst these foods include trans fat, refined starch and refined crystalline sugars, particularly sucrose. The Mediterranean diet does not contain these foods and therefore does not cause the same deleterious metabolic changes that are known to occur after consumption of the typical Western diet. In addition, the Mediterranean diet contains higher levels of essential nutrients and antioxidants that are required for protection from disease. The low content of essential nutrients in the typical Western diet leads to the formation of deficient and insufficient dietary states that are a direct cause of acute and chronic disease, respectively. The lack of antioxidants in the typical Western diet also increases susceptibility to insulin resistance and diseases of ageing. Switching from a typical Western diet to a traditional diet has been shown to reverse metabolic dysfunction and return health.
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