News From The Scientific Department
By Suzanne Havala, M.S., R.D.
An excellent science symposium, Diet and Disease, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the Franklin Institute on January 15, 1993. The symposium honored Dr. Denis Burkitt, who was given the Bower Award and prize for Achievement in Science. Dr. Burkitt is best known for his discovery of a virus-cancer linkage in a childhood disease that became known as Burkitt's lymphoma, as well as his pioneering work in the area of dietary fiber and chronic disease.
One point that Dr. Burkitt discussed was that in societies, as affluence increases, so does the rate of chronic disease. Dr. Burkitt used some dietary contrasts to illustrate the differences between rich and poor cultures. The table below shows some basic differences between the diets of Paleolithic humans, people currently living in developing nations, and modern Westerners. (Dr. Burkitt also noted that humans still have "Stone Age bodies.")
| Paleolithic | Developing Nations | Modern / Western | |
| Starch (% of calories) | 60 | 60 | 20 |
| Sugar (% of calories) | Minimal | Minimal | 20 |
| Protein (% of calories) | 20 | 15 | 15 |
| Fat (% of calories) | 20 (Mostly unsaturated) | 15 (Mostly unsaturated) | 45* (Mostly saturated) |
| Fiber (% of calories) | 50-100 g/d | 50-100 g/d | <20 g/d |
| Energy density (% of calories) | Dilute | Dilute | Concentrated |
*This figure is Burkitt's estimate; others estimate average fat intake to be at 37%.
In addition to a lecture given by Dr. Burkitt, there were several other presentations given by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, Dr. C. Everett Koop (former Surgeon General), Dr. William Castelli, Dr. Henry Blackburn, and others.
One more note: I "cornered" Dr. Koop in the coatroom and asked him a question I had long wanted to pose to him. It took over thirty years after the Surgeon General advised people that smoking endangers their health before the masses really began avoiding cigarettes. My question: "Is it going to take as long for people to change their diets as it took for them to quit smoking?" Dr. Koop's answer was an emphatic, "NO." However, he then went on to say that the issue of the American diet is more complicated than the issue of tobacco abuse. The tobacco industry was a single target that was relatively easy to identify and attack. In his opinion, it is harder to pinpoint the dietary "culprits." It should also be noted that there are many different industry groups that stand to lose if Americans change their way of eating, although Dr. Koop did not think that political or economic issues were the problem.
OTHER ACTIVITIES
Jerome Marcus, M.D., spoke about vegetarian diets to students at Bryn Mawr College
and Penn State... Reed Mangels, Ph.D., R.D., contributed to a feature article called
"Vegetarian Diets," which appeared in the Maryland State Department of Education
Food & Nutrition Bulletin. Mary Clifford, R.D., was interviewed on the Gary
Null radio show out of New York City. Suzanne Havala, M.S., R.D., spoke at the
University of Connecticut Animal Biotechnology conference, representing the
vegetarian viewpoint. Vegetarian Journals were distributed to
participants.
