Promotion and Restoration of Health with the Amazing Mediterranean Diet versus an Increase in Childhood Pathology Due to the Disastrous Diet of ‘Western Civilisation’
‘Understand your honours that it is not so much that the traditional diet rooted in our homes has a miraculous character, as that the diet that modernity imposes on us is unhealthy and inadequate for the human intestines. Take off the blindfolds that flood your eyes and darken your intellect, due to entanglements and management of commercial companies, which subjugate good understanding with deception and a bewitching modern appearance’.Paraphrasing Don Quixote of La Mancha
- Hardly any time is devoted to nutritional training during medical school. leaving the food industry a free to train doctors in nutrition;
- There are no nutritionists in the health care system. Although there are many professionals, most are unemployed and/or without a sufficient platform in hospitals. The absence of nutritionists in specifically primary care is complete;
- In overcrowded paediatric and otorhinolaryngology (ENT) clinics, there is hardly any time to assess the quality of a child’s diet. Furthermore, most primary care paediatricians and ENTs do not have the means or research incentives to do so;
- Nutrition should be considered an important part of medicine and all child patients should have a ‘nutritional report’ (i.e., their doctor knowing what they are eating and their adherence to the Standard Diet) as opposed to only ordering analyses, imaging tests and specialised referrals due to a lack of time;
- As a modified diet could be an important part of the solution to many childhood diseases [12], the application of drugs and surgical interventions, without first having tried alternative dietary options, does not seem reasonable;
- The worrying abandonment of breastfeeding and commercialisation of complementary feeding should receive significant attention. Most children have abandoned breastfeeding and the traditional diet by the age of one, followed by the incorporation of the ‘Western Civilisation’ Diet (Table 3).
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References
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Traditional Mediterranean Diet | Western Civilisation Diet |
---|---|
Breastfeeding | Adapted milk |
Varied, seasonal fruit | Jars of baby food and canned fruits |
Vegetables (including leafy vegetables) | Jars of baby food, canned vegetables, and leafy vegetables |
Pulses and non-processed nuts | Processed legumes and nuts |
Minimally processed and fermented (in the traditional way) whole grains | Refined, processed cereals with industrial fermenting agents |
Fermented milk (mainly from goats and sheep) | Processed dairy (mainly from cows) |
Occasional lean meat (in small quantities) | High consumption of red and processed meats |
Minimally processed, perishable, fresh, and local foods | Non-perishable processed and ultra-processed foods |
Homemade food | Pre-cooked food |
Limits on products with added chemicals | Presence of chemical agents (suspected of negative interactions) |
Number of Children/Year | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Recurrent colds with bacterial complications | 46 | 36 | 19 | 18 | 16 | 6 | 5 | 4 |
Recurrent acute otitis media | 27 | 12 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 2 |
Recurrent acute rhinosinusitis | 40 | 24 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Otitis media with effusion | 24 | 16 | 10 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
Persistent nasal obstruction | 27 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
Recurrent wheezing or childhood asthma | 41 | 25 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 12 | 9 | 9 |
Overweight and obesity | 19 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 3 |
Total number of children | 244 | 138 | 94 | 87 | 72 | 37 | 31 | 24 |
Adapted and Processed Cow’s Milk |
---|
Processed cereal or porridge |
Fruits from jars, industrial juices, and fruit concentrates |
Vegetables from jars, dehydrated vegetables, and/or added to pasta |
Industrial pastries, cookies, and breakfast cereals |
Excessive consumption of animal origin foods |
Excessive consumption of processed dairy |
Excessive consumption of red meats and processed meat products |
Excessive consumption of pre-cooked, ready-to-serve foods |
Excessive consumption of sugary and fizzy drinks |
Scarcity in water consumption |
Shortage of fresh and fermentative foods (such as fruit and vegetables) |
Shortage of whole grains and natural ferments |
Shortage of legumes and nuts |
Shortage of homemade or home-cooked food |
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Calatayud-Sáez, F.M. Promotion and Restoration of Health with the Amazing Mediterranean Diet versus an Increase in Childhood Pathology Due to the Disastrous Diet of ‘Western Civilisation’. Sinusitis 2022, 6, 26-31. https://doi.org/10.3390/sinusitis6020004
Calatayud-Sáez FM. Promotion and Restoration of Health with the Amazing Mediterranean Diet versus an Increase in Childhood Pathology Due to the Disastrous Diet of ‘Western Civilisation’. Sinusitis. 2022; 6(2):26-31. https://doi.org/10.3390/sinusitis6020004
Chicago/Turabian StyleCalatayud-Sáez, Fernando M. 2022. "Promotion and Restoration of Health with the Amazing Mediterranean Diet versus an Increase in Childhood Pathology Due to the Disastrous Diet of ‘Western Civilisation’" Sinusitis 6, no. 2: 26-31. https://doi.org/10.3390/sinusitis6020004