The Table of our Ancestors
Fixing Sri Lanka’s Carb Problem
On the one hand, all humans have similar dietary needs. A healthy diet should contain macronutrients (Carbohydrates, Fats, Proteins, and Fiber), micronutrients (Vitamins and Minerals), fluids (water), and in combination, provide enough calorific energy.
On the other hand, within these similarities, there are differences. For example, there are significant regional differences in how humans consume milk.
Lactose intolerance is high in East Asia and low in much of Northern Europe. Evolution probably played a role here. In regions where milk was a crucial part of the diet, humans who could process it quickly had a survival advantage — those who didn’t died out. In regions where milk was less critical, digesting it was unnecessary and, hence, an evolutionary burden that evolved out.
Hence, to some extent, what we should eat is what we’ve evolved to eat. In other words, it’s probably a good idea to eat what our ancestors ate and avoid what they didn’t. In general, that is. There might be a few particular cases where we need to disobey this rule.
If you are a Sri Lankan, the odds are that 500 years ago, your ancestors were farmers. Farmers who burned 5,000 or more (kilo) calories per day. With such a high-energy life-style, they needed to consume a lot of carbs. Nutritionists today recommend that the adult male consume about 2,000 calories per day; 55% of our calories in carbohydrates, about 25% in fats and the remaining 20% in protein.
In contrast, our farmer ancestor probably needed to consume an additional 3,000 calories, mostly in carbs. As a result, their ratio of carbs-fats-proteins was perhaps more like 80%-10%-10%.
Sadly, many Sri Lankans probably still eat like our ancestors. While the idea of “eating at our ancestors’ table” might be good in general, it is bad that too many Sri Lankans are eating too many carbs. This imbalance is usually at the cost of protein, of which many Sri Lankan meals are deficient. The abundance of carbs also leads to alarmingly high rates of diabetes and related maladies.
What’s the solution? Several things might help:
- Education. Even many Sri Lankans who can afford more protein don’t eat enough. More robust education on nutrition will help.
- Cheaper and Greener Protein. For many people, protein means animal protein (i.e. Fish, Meat and Eggs), which is expensive and increasingly environmentally destructive. More affordable and greener alternatives like soya, TVP and tofu should be promoted more.
- State programs. The state already intervenes in several nutrition programs, e.g. meals for school children. These programs could push for higher consumption of cheaper/greener protein.
- Light touch regulation. Additional nutritional information like nutrition labels is increasingly common in Sri Lanka. More information and regulation around encouraging lower sugar and refined carb consumption and higher protein consumption would help.
What else? Please comment with your own ideas and thoughts.
