Diseases of civilization, why they are called so, what is their cause, the main directions of prevention

Diseases of civilization (also known as lifestyle diseases) are diseases associated with disorders of the mechanisms of adaptation to unfavorable factors of the anthropogenically changed environment in the context of scientific and technological progress, industrialization and urbanization.

The characteristic diseases of civilization include pathologies of the cardiovascular, nervous, immunological, digestive, and endocrine systems. Of these, cardiovascular, oncological, pulmonary diseases and diabetes mellitus have firmly taken the leading place among the causes of death, disability and temporary disability.

The causes of the diseases of civilization are the constant and ever-increasing pollution of the environment, the reduction of the area of natural biogeocenoses, agglomeration in cities, the increase in stress effects on the human population, the decrease in physical activity, the introduction of modern technologies for growing, storing, preparing food raw materials and food products (growth stimulants, flavor enhancers, stabilizers). These changes have affected the diet and eating habits of humans in particular significantly.

The diet of a modern inhabitant of the so-called civilized countries of the world contains a large amount of fat, monounsaturated and saturated fatty acids, and table salt. The food of the inhabitants, who have been little touched by modern civilization, is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, mineral salts, isoprenoids (lipid precursors), vitamins A and C, and dietary fiber.

Over the past two hundred years, there has been a decrease in human resistance to the occurrence of various acute and chronic diseases, one of the reasons is a change in eating behavior - an increase in the consumption of refined products (sugar, vegetable and butter, strong alcoholic beverages).

Refining foodstuffs, removing the so-called ballast substances, man has made a strategic mistake and over the past many decades has created products with easily digestible carbohydrates, devoid of many vitamins, vegetable fibers and other food components that are extremely necessary for health and immunity.

Since the lifestyle of a modern person is characterized by low mobility, the excess number of calories obtained as a result of the consumption of refined products leads to the risks of pancreatic diseases, increased insulin release, reduced formation of glycogen in cells, metabolic disorders, deposition of excess fat, the development of diseases of the circulatory system and diabetes mellitus.

The next feature of the change in the diet of a modern person is a sharp decrease in the intake of lactic acid bacteria into the body with food.

At present, the inhabitants of developed countries consume millions or more times less of these microorganisms than their ancient predecessors. Our ancestors used only natural methods of preservation to preserve food: drying or natural fermentation due to lactic acid and other microorganisms that randomly get into plant and animal food from the environment. As a result of fermentation, many products were enriched with lactic acid bacteria, fungi and products of their metabolism (volatile fatty acids, peptides, polyamines, vitamins, antibiotic-like substances), which, once in the digestive tract, made a significant contribution to maintaining their health.

The introduction of heat treatment of food products has led to a reduction in the absolute content of lactic acid microorganisms entering the human body. As a result, the time of formation of normal microflora has increased dramatically, its qualitative and quantitative composition has changed. This was also facilitated by the widespread use of antibiotics in the 20th century.

An important feature of modern nutrition is also a change in the composition and ratio of the components used in food, which are involved in providing the body with plastic and regulatory compounds.

Eating mainly vegetable food (roots, nuts, fruits, greens, mushrooms, berries, fruits), less often fish and meat, led to the formation of a diet less rich in protein, but containing a significantly higher amount of mineral salts, dietary fiber, antioxidants.

Currently, the average person consumes 10-20 times more sodium salts and four times more saturated fatty acids.

The ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids in foods used in the last century was 2:1. In the modern Eskimos, the ratio is 1.7:1, while in the indigenous population of Japan, the ratio is close to 12:1.

Normally, the ratio between omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids should be approximately 1:4. The ideal ratio is 1:1.

Omega-3, being a natural antioxidant, is necessary for the normal functioning of almost all cells of human organs and tissues. When omega-6 fats are not balanced by the body's necessary amount of omega-3 fats, health problems can occur.

Increased blood clotting is a risk factor for thrombosis, and contributes to the development of serious diseases such as heart attack and stroke, but once the ratio of omega-3 to omega-6 reaches the standard level, the risk of heart disease decreases.

Excessive consumption of fatty foods also largely determines the risks of overweight, diseases of the circulatory system (atherosclerosis), disorders of fat metabolism, and liver function. Transisomers of fatty acids formed during hydrogenation of liquid vegetable oils should be discussed separately.

It is transisomers that have a significant impact on the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, their content in fat-and-oil products is an indicator of safety and is strictly regulated.

It is hydrogenated fat that has become the basis of the fast food industry and the engine of its rapid development. Studies have shown that trans fats behave differently than "regular" fats, not only in the pan, but also in the body.

Once in the phospholipids of cell membranes, they affect the work of protein molecules, disrupting signaling, for example, when hormones interact with receptors, since receptors are transmembrane proteins. Phospholipids are also raw materials for the synthesis of molecules of the immune system, the presence of fatty acids in them in the trans-conformation leads to a violation of the biochemistry of inflammatory processes.

Transisomers lead to a decrease in the sensitivity of pancreatic cells to insulin - type 2 diabetes, chronic inflammatory processes, obesity develop.

Thus, if we offer the body defective transisomers instead of the normal building material, defective biological structures are formed, which begin to fail.

A significant decrease in the amount of food ingredients necessary for humans is noted during cooking.

By taming fire and then developing other methods of thermal, physical and chemical processing of food, man has significantly reduced its biological value, destroyed those of its key components that are extremely necessary for the normal functioning of the body.

So, in the process of cleaning, the grain loses its important nutritional elements located in the grain shell - vitamins, antioxidants, amino acids.

If we consider all the stages of preparation of edible oils and fat, we can see that from the collection of seeds and grains, their drying, cleaning, crushing, heating, extraction, separation, cleaning, odor elimination, the final product is deprived of key nutritional components to one degree or another as a result of self-oxidation, hydrolysis, isomerization, loss of tocopherols.

As an example of the dependence of the value of food on raw materials for human health, data on the composition of unsaturated fatty acids in sunflower oil can be considered. When obtaining oil from sunflower seeds taken on the 10th day, the ratio of omega-6/omega-3 in the finished product is 3:8, when using the collected seeds on the 30th day, this ratio reaches 12:1, and on the 90th day from flowering - 24:1.

Our ancestors predominantly ate fruits and vegetables long before they were ripe. Fruits and vegetables have a powerful anti-mutagenic and anti-cancer effect, due to the presence of more flavonoids and glutathione in them. Colored vegetables and fruits are especially rich in antioxidants. This has led to the recommendation that every adult should consume five to eight different fresh vegetables and fruits daily.

In the process of cooking, a significant amount (from 5 to 80%) of plant anti-mutagenic substances is destroyed.

90% of fish oil, which is rich in omega-3 acids, undergoes hydrogenation during the preparation process, which removes these natural antioxidants.

Based on technological expediency, to the detriment of health benefits, the sowing and cultivation of those plants and animals, the products of which are better stored, but are deprived of food components that are so necessary for the human body, are expanded. For example, priority is given to plants whose oil contains more fats, which belong to the class of omega-6 instead of omega-3, since the latter oxidize quickly and significantly reduce the shelf life of the food product.

As a result of human activities, agricultural land is impoverished and lacks nutrients. As a consequence, many edible plants have reduced levels of vital compounds. As a result, if at the beginning of the 20th century 100 g of spinach contained 157 mg of iron, then in 1968 the amount of this trace element in this plant fell to 27 mg, in 1979 - to 12 mg, and now it is less than 2 mg. Currently, even eating 1 kg of apples will not meet the daily need for this mineral.

In humans, the divalent magnesium ion is the activator of many key vital chemical reactions. Studies have established the fact that the molecular composition of hemoglobin and chlorophyll differs by only one atom (instead of iron, chlorophyll contains magnesium), so this substance is considered a vital element for the normal functioning of the human body.

Magnesium in the human body is 0.027-0.04% (21-28 g) with an average of 24 grams. In the group of bioelements, magnesium closes the number of macroelements and occupies a transitional position with microelements. Given that magnesium is the coordination center of the chlorophyll molecule, the main foods containing magnesium are green plants. Most of this substance is found in vegetables such as parsley, celery greens, leeks, and young beet leaves.

Dill, broccoli, spinach, collard greens, cauliflower leaves, turnip leaves, radish leaves, Italian cabbage, Chinese cabbage, green asparagus beans, arugula, sugar snap peas, watercress, Brussels sprouts, zucchini, cucumbers contain slightly less chlorophyll.

Grasses are also a source of green dye in the diet, including dandelion, plantain, nettle, wheat grass and barley grass (i.e. green barley), alfalfa.

Among the fruits in this category are green apples, kiwis, and melons.

Chlorella and spirulina are also sources of chlorophyll.

 An unhealthy diet or nutrition of inferior products creates conditions for the emergence of addiction diseases (consumption of alcohol, tobacco, beer, drugs). Plasma magnesium levels below 0.80 mmol/L correspond to a statistically significant increase in the risk of numerous pathologies, such as connective tissue disorders, cardiovascular pathology, and metabolic disorders. A vicious circle ensues: on the one hand, magnesium deficiency contributes to the onset of addiction diseases; On the other hand, alcohol consumption, smoking, and drugs lead to increased excretion of magnesium from the body.

At present, due to changes in the social structure of the population, a significant part of the population lives in industrial centers and, having ceased to participate in the direct production of food, is practically deprived of natural fresh agricultural food.

As a result of the intensification of industrial production with the use of fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, the resulting food products began to be significantly, dozens of times, inferior in the content of vital nutrients to those products that were produced using traditional technologies.

Prophylaxis

1. The most important role in the prevention of diseases and the prevention of diseases of civilization is played by monitoring the state of health, regular preventive medical examinations and medical examinations.

2. Nutritional factor in the preservation and promotion of health, prevention of "diseases of civilization"

At present, there is an understanding of the need to replace the concept of rational nutrition with the concept of optimal healthy nutrition. The paradigm of the idea of satisfying hunger and food security is changing the paradigm of considering food as the most important factor in maintaining and improving health, reducing the risks of diseases. Nutrition should be formed on the basis of the key principles of a healthy diet, taking into account the actual energy expenditure, the size of the basal metabolism, and age. This is especially important in childhood.

Basic principles of healthy eating that should be taken into account when forming a menu:

1) ensuring the variety of the menu (no repetition of dishes during the day and two adjacent calendar days);

2) correspondence of energy value to energy expenditure, chemical composition of dishes to physiological needs of the body in macro- and micronutrients;

3) the use of dishes in the menu, the recipes of which provide for the use of gentle methods of culinary processing;

4) the use of foods with a reduced content of saturated fats, simple sugars, table salt in the menu; as well as products containing dietary fiber; products enriched with vitamins, trace elements, bifido- and lactobacilli and biologically active additives;

5) optimal diet;

6) availability of the necessary equipment and other conditions for the preparation of dishes, menus, storage of food products;

7) absence of products in the menu, in the manufacturing technology of which flavor enhancers, dyes, prohibited preservatives were used; products that are forbidden for consumption; as well as products with violations of storage conditions and expired shelf life, products received without labels and (or) without accompanying documents confirming food safety.

3. It is known that moderate physical activity accompanies health, it improves well-being, reduces blood pressure and body weight, strengthens the heart muscle and the musculoskeletal system, increases the adaptive capabilities of the cardiovascular and nervous systems, including those to various kinds of psycho-emotional influences. In addition, physical activity has a positive effect on carbohydrate (lowers blood sugar), fat (reduces cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood and increases the concentration of antiatherogenic lipoproteins that prevent the development of atherosclerosis) and hormonal metabolism.

4. Giving up bad habits significantly improves the quality of life, improves the psycho-emotional background, reduces the risk of developing many diseases, increases the performance and activity of a person.