How can food contribute to better health?

Jean Seignalet dedicated his lifes work to the question.

Jean Seignalet (1936-2003) was a French surgeon and immunologist who spent a good part of his working life studying the interconnection between food and health. Although controversial among his peers, his rather extreme recommendations still highlight how important our diet is to our health.

French surgeon and immunology researcher Jean Seignalet was one

person who dedicated his working life to exploring the links

between the human lifestyle and health, focussing in particular on

diet. His work was controversial within the scientific community,

but he nonetheless drew attention to the important issue of how we

can be the actors of our own well-being.

Going back to the diet of hunter-gatherers

Jean Seignalet was born in 1936 and first became known as a

surgeon and immunologist: specifically, he worked on

compatibility-related issues for organ donation. He used to publish

articles in the most serious scientific journals, where his work would

be reviewed and approved by his peers. In the 1980s, after becoming

seriously ill, Seignalet started to look into the relationship between

food and health in more detail.

He soon came to the conclusion that the human lifestyle has evolved

much faster than our organisms, and that the modern diet is

generally unsuitable for the needs and processes of our bodies and,

long-term, can trigger or favour the appearance of certain diseases.

He thus came up with a specific diet, called hypotoxic, intended to resemble as closely as possible that of the hunter-gatherers of the

Palaeolithic Age (200,000 to 12,000 B.C.). The diet is strict, as it

excludes all foods cooked at high temperatures and gluten for

instance. The consumption of organic foodstuffs and unrefined oils

is encouraged. As Seignalet was first and foremost a doctor, his diet

aimed to help patients recover from diseases, some of which were

considered incurable.

A complex legacy

In a book called LAlimentation ou la troisime mdecine (Food, or the Third Medicine), he recounted the results he witnessed with his

patients, which no scientific journal agreed to publish. His work on

diet and health was never acknowledged by the scientific

community, and he insisted that he did not set out to cure diseases

with the hypotoxic diet, but rather to help prevent their apparition

and support the recovery process. This controversial figure died in

2003, leaving behind him a community of enthusiastic adepts of his

diet who live by it every day. Even though his specific

recommendations were never validated by his peers, in a context of

increasing diet-related issues (such as the spread of obesity in the

developed and in the developing world), Seignalets work resonates with the idea that we can, to a certain extent, be our own healths best helper.

Dr. Jean Seignalet Ancestral Diet

What conditions is this diet best for?

The author of the Seignalet Diet blog, which is the only information

available in English on Dr. Jean Seignalets diet thus far, notes that Dr. Seignalet originally developed the diet for rheumatoid arthritis,

ankylosing spondylitis and Behcet disease. Good results from the

diet moved him to eventually expand into treating all autoimmune

disorders and even other diseases of unknown cause.

What are the main tenets of the diet?

The basic premise of the diet is that modern foods are

chromosomally/genetically different from ancestral foods, and the

human gastrointestinal tract has not had time to adapt to these

changes. Dr. Seignalet also believed that cooking at high

temperatures can modify the protein structure of foods, which can

lead to autoimmunity as well as alteration of the gastrointestinal

flora (bacteria that colonize the GI tract and play a large role in

immunity and gastrointestinal function). Dr. Seignalet believed that

these modified proteins may not be fully digested, which can change

the bacterial flora from a fermentation flora (physiologically

preferred) to a putreficaiton flora (not physiologically preferred).

Bacteria, which work to putrefy proteins, create toxic by-products,

which can cause many imbalances and lead to disease. The

philosophy of the diet involves eating non-modified foods, which

can be completely digested and assimilated, or used properly by the

body.

Foods given up/Foods eaten frequently:

Cereals and grains Wheat and its products (see exceptions below), oats, corn, barley,

rye, kamut, millet, bulgur, couscous, farro (even though it is

marketed as an ancestral grain) are not allowed. Buckwheat, quinoa,

rice, wheat starch and corn starch are allowed, for the damaging

proteins do not exist in the starch anymore. Soaking and sprouting

of allowed grains is preferred.

Dairy All animal-source dairy are avoided.

Meat Raw meat is preferred, such as in the form of carpaccio or steak

tartare. Gently cooked meat is allowed. Raw deli meats such as

parma ham, sausages and salami are allowed. Cooked deli meats

(like cooked ham, turkey, chicken, roastbeef) are not allowed.

True foie gras is allowed and its fat is considered healthy, although

many people choose to avoid foie gras for ethical reasons. Pate is

typically not allowed, as it contains both milk and flour.

Fish Just as with meat and eggs, the recommendation is, the less cooked

the better. The author notes that lightly steamed fish is not as

dangerous as cooked meat. Shellfish and oysters are allowed, preferably raw.

Eggs Best raw or poached, never hard-boiled. The reviewer notes that

soft-boiled would be preferential to hard-boiled.

Fruits and Vegetables All are allowed and recommended in large quantities. Pulses and

legumes are allowed as well.

Dried Fruits and Nuts Recommended in large quantity, although the reviewer notes that

these are likely intended to be preservative-free. The author notes

that nuts should be consumed raw, and the reviewer notes that

soaking nuts, as well as pulses, legumes and grains, before

consuming improves digestion and assimilation.

Other foods Dr. Seignalet recommended eating honey and pollen; chocolate must

be pure and dark with no additives. It may be sweetened with brown

sugar, agave, honey or maple syrup; white sugar must be eliminated.

Oils Any oil from a first cold press is allowed.

Condiments All are allowed in pure, additive-free form, including herbs and

spices. Salt should only be taken in whole form, versus refined.

Beverages Tap water and mineral water are encouraged. Coffee and tea are

tolerated in reasonable quantities. Achicoria (Spanish for chicory

root) consumption is recommended. Chicory root contains inulin,

which is a type of carbohydrate that serves as a prebiotic. Prebiotics

are indigestible carbohydrates for humans, but friendly

gastrointestinal flora are able to digest them and use them for

energy. All alcoholic beverages (excluding beer and drinks with

added sugar) are allowed in moderate amounts. Drinks with added

sugar, such as soda and commercial juices and prohibited.

Cooking Dr. Seignalet recommended avoidance of cooking as much as

possible, with over 70% of diet consumed as raw. He recommended

that cooking temperatures, when cooking is unavoidable, to remain

below 212 Fahrenheit, with a preference for steaming. Over this

temperature (and especially over about 400), he stated that many

mutagens, Maillard molecules and isomers are created, which turn

into toxins once inside the body.

Light sauting, stewing, steaming and dehydrating are allowed,

since all of these methods dont reach high temperatures. Frying

and oven cooking are not recommended, since these methods allow

very high temperatures to be reached. Eating smoked foods with

moderation is recommended because of the carcinogen effect in the

stomach.

Meal Frequency and Portion Sizing:

No specific recommendations given.

Vitamins/Supplements:

No specific recommendations, although bee pollen can be

considered a supplement.

Will this diet require shopping at a specialty or organic grocery

store, or buying the diets pre-packaged food (aka, is this diet going to be very expensive to sustain)?

This diet will require some shopping at a specialty or organic

grocery store. Genetically modified foods are not recommended, so

organic foods would be the obvious choice. Also, since quinoa, rice

and buckwheat are the only recommended grains, one may wish to

find flours made of these to use in cooking, as well as nut, bean and

banana/plantain flours. All of these will require specialty

shopping. There are no pre-packaged diet foods associated with this

diet. This diet can be expensive, although careful meal planning and

the minimization of eating out (which is implied) can help to off-set

costs.

What other autoimmune diets is this diet similar to?

This diet is similar to most autoimmune diets in that organic and

unprocessed foods are highly recommended. It is also similar to

elimination diets for autoimmunity, since dairy, gluten,

additives/preservatives are excluded. This is diet is unique to other

autoimmune diets with its recommendation for mostly raw foods,

including meats, fish and eggs. The reviewer notes, however, that

the concept of consuming mostly raw or gently cooked meats/foods

is not new or unique to this diet. The idea of protecting the structure

of proteins as well as fats is an idea that the reviewer believes is

worth considering for optimal health and well-being. Anytime raw

meat is consumed, one must make sure the meat has been handled

appropriately prior to consumption.

Diet basis

JEAN SEIGNALET worked as a doctor and professor in the

Montpellier Hospital (France). He was the administrator of the renal

graft department during 30 years, and a pioneer in organ

transplantation, especially renal. His wide knowledge as a doctor

and biologist allowed him to create a global theory that related a big

part of autoimmune diseases with modern diet, designing a diet that

applied with success to his patients. At first, he designed a diet to

eliminate the possible stimulators of the immune system in

autoimmune diseases, especially in rheumatologic ones: rheumatoid

arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, Behcet disease The good results obtained moved him to apply his diet to autoimmune diseases from

other specialties, and after that even to other diseases of unknown

cause. The results are shown here. In 1998 published

LAlimentation ou la Troisime Mdecine (Alimentation, the third medicine) where he exposes the basis of a healthy diet, and

healing/preventive for many diseases.

JEAN SEIGNALET sets his proposal of diet following a basic idea:

some modern foods are modified from ancestral ones, whereas our digestive system has not modified. This modification of the food is

given by the genetic mutation caused by agriculture, in the case of

some cereals, or by cooking at high temperatures, that modifies the

protein structure. Thus, the proteins we eat may not be digested

completely, altering the balance of the intestinal flora and passing

from a fermentation flora (physiologic) to a putrefaction flora (non

physiologic). This alteration of the flora and of the intestinal content

creates toxins that are absorbed and disturb the body balance. This

alteration may be given by the elimination of the excess of toxins, in

the case of the elimination diseases, by the accumulation of this

excess of toxins, in the accumulation diseases, or by the stimulation

of the immune system by strange proteins, in the case of the

autoimmune diseases. The philosophy of the diet involves eating

non-modified foods that are completely absorbable.

Basic principles:

Exclusion of cereals, with some exceptions.

Exclusion of dairy and dairy products.

Preferential consumption of raw products (more than 70% of

the diet should be raw).

Use of virgin oils, obtained by cold pressure.

Priority to biologic products.

Frequent consumption of probiotics.

EXPLANATION:

1.- Cereals:

- Modern cereals are forbidden, as they are mutated because of

agriculture selection. It is known that modern wheat has 21-23

chromosomes, whereas ancestral wheat had 7. This modification affects the protein structure, which can act as a toxin not being

completely digested. This toxins act in the intestine too, modifying

the intestinal flora and creating a putrefaction flora that affects the

intestinal wall and creates even more toxins.

- Wheat is dangerous, for the reasons above. Thus, foods containing

it must be eliminated: bulgur, couscous, Italian pasta, cakes,

bakery Spelt is not admitted, because despite being sold as ancestral wheat, it has 22 chromosomes. Kamut isnt valid either for the same reasons. Only the variety minor escanda is valid,

because it contains 7 chromosomes.

- Corn is dangerous for the same reasons that wheat: the original

plant measured half a meter, whereas the modern plant measures 3

meters high.

- Barley, rye and oat are from the wheat family: must be excluded.

- Rice is accepted. It has remained in his wild prehistoric form, and

the clinical experience proves that its rarely harmful, even cooked.

- Buckwheat is very well-tolerated by the patients and is allowed.

Probably sesame is very good too.

- About the African cereals (millet, sorghum) and others (amaranth, quinoa), Seignalet doesnt have a clear opinion. They are probably inoffensive, as have never reached massive farming.

Recent studies show that millet is also probably a mutated cereal,

and so should be excluded.

- It is possible to use flour, but from the accepted foods: buckwheat

flour, quinoa, soya, chickpea, rice, banana

- Thus, the traditional Italian pasta is not allowed (made of wheat

semolina), nor couscous, nor bulgur. Many other foods also contain

wheat of other forbidden cereals; carefully read the ingredients on

the labels to be certain.

- The corn and wheat starch are allowed, as they dont contain

proteins if purified.

2.- Dairy and dairy products:

- Cows milk is a very nutritive foodfor a growing calf. Humans can only digest milk from our specie, and during the lactation

period. The main protein from milk, casein, is hard to digest

completely by humans, creating the problems mentioned above.

- Dairy is forbidden (cow, sheep, goat), and dairy products as well (butter, cheese, cream, yogurt)

- This suppression doesnt provoke a calcium deficiency, as the

foods we eat are already rich in calcium, and the body will absorb

calcium depending on its needs.

- Soya milk and yogurt are good substitutes for classic dairy. Other

vegetable milks are also available: almond, hazelnut, rice

3.- Meat:

- Its preferable to eat raw meat (carpaccio, steak tartare) or just a bit done.

- Raw grocery is allowed (parma ham, sausages, salami) and cooked grocery is forbidden (cooked ham).

- True foie-gras (goose duck liver ) is allowed, as its fat is known to be healthy. Common pat isnt, because it usually contains milk

and flour.

4.- Fish:

- As for meat and eggs, the less cooked, the better. However, cooked

fish is less dangerous than cooked meat. It can be steamed or cooked

at low temperature.

- Shellfish is allowed. And if eaten raw (oysters) even recommended.

5.- Eggs:

Better raw or poached, never hard-boiled.

6.- Greens and fruits:

- All greens and fruits are allowed (and recommended). They should

be eaten in big quantities.

- Pulses or leguminous are allowed the same as greens, its admitted

as an exception cooking in a pressure-cooker.

7.- Dry fruits:

He advises to eat a lot of them: figs, dates, almonds, walnuts,

hazelnuts, olivesBut always raw, never toasted.

8.- Other foods:

- Seignalet advises eating honey and pollen. Also aprouted grains of

leguminous (soya, lentils).

- Chocolate has to be black, biologic and with brown sugar or other

natural sweeteners (agave, maple syrup, honey).

- White sugar must be eliminated and replaced by brown sugar,

much richer in minerals and vitamins.

9.- Oils:

Seignalet recommends the following oils:

- olive oil because it contains monoinsaturated fatty acids.

- walnut, soy and canola oil that bring alfa-linoleic acid.

- onagra and borage oil that bring beta-linoleic acid. But any oil is

good whenever its virgin and extracted by first cold pressure.

10.- Condiments:

All allowed: salt, pepper, vinegar, lemon, garlic, parsley, mustard,

curryHe recommends to limit the salt consumption and not taking refined one, but complete salt (Maldon salt, Himalaya salt)

11.- Drinks:

- Tap water and mineral water bring us oligoelements and minerals.

- Drinks rich in white sugar are excluded: soda, commercial juices.

- Beer is excluded, because it contains barley proteins.

- Coffee and tea are tolerated in reasonable quantities.

- Chicory consumption is recommended.

- All alcoholic beverages are allowed (beer excluded) in moderated

amounts.

OTHER RECOMMENDATIONS

- Avoid as much as possible cooking food. Its important to eat as

much raw food as possible (over 70% of diet should be raw), and

when cooking is necessary/inevitable, temperatures shouldnt

overpass 110C or even 100C, preferably steaming. Over this

temperature (and especially over 200C) a lot of mutagens, Maillard

molecules and isomers are created, that turn into toxins once inside

our body.

- Its ok to fry very lightly, stewing, steaming or dehydrating,

because all of these methods dont reach high temperatures.

- Frying is not recommended if 200C or more are reached, nor is

oven-cooking, which can even reach 280C.

- Eat smoked foods with moderation because of the carcinogen

effect in the stomach.

COMPLEMENTARY MEASURES OF THIS DIET

- Not smoking.

- Doing physical exercise as a routine

- Taking probiotic products to regulate intestinal flora.

This is a diet that needs the person to understand the reason that

lies under this type of alimentation, and then using his

intelligence and willpower to follow it correctly.

Alimentation or the third medicine:

The origin of most diseases appears mysterious. Consequently, treatments cannot be directed against the cause, but are only symptomatic or palliative. Treatment is often disappointing and many illnesses are considered as uncurable or incurable.

Why do the mechanisms remain unexplained?

Partly because most doctors and researchers are excessively specialized and they only consider a single facet of a pathological state, which in fact possesses many other aspects. A larger vision, using the date provided by all branches of medicine and biology, allows a much deeper analysis and results in a plausible conception of the physiopathology of different diseases. Favouring hereditary factors, named susceptibility genes, are present but not sufficient. The intervention of environmental factor is necessary. In many cases most factors can be eliminated (radiation, chemical products, tobacco and other toxic substances, medication, allergens, viruses) and two suspects are retained : bacteria and food. A great number of bacterial and alimentary macromolecules are able to penetrate the human organism and modern food is mainly responsible for this phenomenon.

Human enzymes and mucines are adapted to prehistoric food,

but not to modern food which is very distant. The principal changes are the following :

* Consumption of animal milks and their derivatives * Ingestion of muted and cooked cereals * Absorption of many over cooked products * Utilisation of hot extracted vegetal oils * Presence of numerous chemical additives * Partial deficit for some minerals and vitamins Modern food appears as the first cause of many unexplained diseases. It provokes three modifications in an essential organ, the small bowel :

1) Some aliments are incompletely degraded, for the digestive enzymes are not adapted to their structure. The consequence is an excess of alimentary macromolecules.

2) Gut flora is altered and turns into a putrefaction flora, with proliferation of some dangerous bacteria. The metabolism, the death or the destruction by an immune response of these bacteria release an excess of bacterial macromolecules.

3) This abnormal intestinal content is agressive towards the gut mucosa, which is fragile, because it is very extensive (100 square meters) and very thin (1/40 of millimeter). The gut barrier becomes too permeable. Stresses aggravate the small bowel hyperpermeability, for they induce a gamma interferon secretion. This mediator binds to gut mucosa epithelial cells, leading to a spacing

between these cells. Later on, some bacterial and alimentary macromolecules arrive in blood circulation. The composition of these molecules varies according to individuals, for it is conditioned by variations in gut flora, alimentary habits and efficacy of enzymes which cut proteins, lipids and glucids at different sites. According to their structure, these molecules will have an affinity for various types of cells and tissues. They can provoke three categories of pathology :

1) The peptides are going to bind with HLA molecules, which present these peptides to T cells. These lymphocytes are unable to recognize a whole agressor : bacterium, virus ou protein. Their little membrane receptors only allow the recognition of relatively small peptides, and these peptides must be associated with HLA molecules. Activated T cells induce an immune response directed against the cells which express the peptide. The consequence will be an autoimmune disease :

* Rheumatoid arthritis (Proteus mirabilis peptide in synovial and chondral cells, coupled with HLA-DR4 or HLA-DR1). * Ankylosing spondylitis (Klebsiella pneumoniae peptide in enthesis, coupled with HLA-B27). * Grave's disease (Yersinia enterocolitica peptide in thyroid epithelial cells, coupled with HLA-DR3). * Coeliac disease (gluten gliadine peptide in small bowel mucosa epithelial cells, coupled with HLA-DR53 ou HLA-DQ2) and so on ...

2) The non peptidic molecules essentially include bacterial ADN, bacterial lipopolysaccharides, products of Maillard's

reaction, isomeres of proteins, lipids and glucids. These substances are poorly recognized or not recognized by lymphocytes and do not stimulate an immune response. But they may settle in extracellular medium, they may block some membrane receptors and they may accumulate in cytoplasm and nucleus of cells. The outcome is a "clutter" pathology :

* Maturity onset diabetes mellitus (cluttering of endocrine pancreas, muscles and adipose tissue) * Fibromyalgia (cluttering of molecules, tenders and brain) * Arthrosis (cluttering of chondral cells) cancers (cluttering provoking some genetic alterations which transform a normal cell into a malignant cell) and so on ... 3) The human organism attempts to evaluate these nocious wastes. The macromolecules which are unbreakable by enzymes, remain whole. They must be carried by macrophages and neutrophils, escorted by lymphocytes, from blood circulation to the outside, through various tissues. The tissues infiltrated by leukocytes become inflammed and the chronic inflammation leads to the elimination pathology :

* Through the skin : acnea, psoriasis * Through the colon : irritable bowel, Crohn's disease * Through the bronchia : bronchitis, asthma * Through the mucosa of ORL sphera : recurrent infections, hay fever, Behet's disease and so on ... The logical treatment of all quoted diseases is the return to an ancestral diet, close to that practiced by prehistoric men :

* Suppression of animal milks and their derivatives * Suppression of cereals, except rice which has never muted

* Consumption of products, either crude, or cooked at a temperature lower than 110C * Use of oils obtained by first pression, at cold temperature * Preference for biological aliments * Supplementation with physiological quantities of minerals and vitamins. In practice, this diet is very often and very intensely efficient. To show some examples, it considerably improves or leads to a complete remission :

1) Among autoimmune diseases :

* 80 % of patients in rheumatoid arthritis * 95 % in ankylosing spondylitis * 80 % in psoriatic rheumatism * 70 % in Sjgren's syndrome

2) Among cluttering diseases :

* 75 % of patients in maturity onset diabetes mellitus * 80 % in fibromyalgia * 75 % in arthrosis And an evident preventive effect on cancer (except skin tumors) : only one case occurred among 1000 subjects who practiced the ancestral diet since a mean of 5 years (the expected number was 18 cases).

3) Among elimination diseases :

* 99 % of patients in acnea * 99 % in irritable bowel * 97 % in Crohn's disease * 90 % in asthma * 99 % in hay fever

The hypotoxic diet often cures a disease, but cannot repair some definitive lesions : articular deformations in rheumatoid arthritis, destruction of lachrymal and salivary glands in Sjgren's disease, scars in acnea, stenosis, abcess, fistula or fissure in Crohn's disease, and so on... Chronic bronchitis is curable, but not bronchectasia, for the elastic tissue of bronchia is distented. Therefore, it is essential to start the nutritional change as soon as possible.

Catherine Kousmine: a pioneer in the study of

the relationship between health and food

Summary

Catherine Kousmine was a Russian physician who lived and worked

in Switzerland. In the mid- 20th century, she was among the first

researchers to work on the influence of food on health and, more precisely, on medical treatments. Her works gained her fame, and

some controversy too.

The relationship between health and food might seem obvious to us

in our society today: we are constantly exposed to public health

messages urging us to take care of our bodies through physical

activity and by adopting healthy eating habits, and we follow them.

But we have not always been aware of the link or at least not with such a degree of accuracy. There was of course always a major

element of common sense in understanding that a balanced diet

helps keep us in better shape than excesses would. Also, this

concerns the general publics knowledge of the relationship between health and food: the much more precise and complex link between

medicine and food has a lower public profile, simply because

medicine as an area of expertise leaves the issue of medical nutrition

to professional researchers, doctors and caregivers. But there are

figures who have explored this issue and brought it into view of the

general public.

One of them is Dr Catherine Kousmine (1904-1992), a pioneer in

the study of the help that food can give to medicine. This

controversial scientist mothered a method and a Foundation that

now perpetuate her findings and teachings.

Curing cancerous mice with natural food

Catherine Kousmine was born in Russia in 1904. Her family was

wealthy; in 1918, the Russian Revolution forced them into exile, and

they moved to their holiday home in Switzerland. Catherine thus

attended school in Lausanne, and later specialised in medicine and

paediatrics. After having lost two young patients to cancer, she

started to research the link between the disease and food almost by accident. She said she was examining cancerous mice and that, in

order to save money, she alternated the food she gave them; one day

they received bread, milk, carrots, beer, etc. and the next nutrition

pills, as are usually given in labs.

This proportion of 50% of good food and 50% of bad food coincided

with the cancers dropping by 50%,

says the Kousmine Foundations website. She thus became convinced that some diseases that were thought to be incurable

could be fought using a complementary healthy diet which provided

elements required by the body. Retrospectively, Catherine

Kousmine is now considered as one of the founders of

orthomolecular medicine, an approach that favours substances

naturally known to the human body over the use of molecules

created by man for therapeutic purposes. In 1949, Dr Kousmine

claimed to having cured a man suffering from generalised

reticulosarcoma thanks to her complementary nutritional method a result that has not been documented in any other case ever since.

She also specialised in other diseases, such as multiple sclerosis and

polyarthritis.

At the time, Kousmines findings were criticized for a lack of scientific rigour, especially in the testing methods used. She always

claimed that her conclusions were based on consistent experience

and that her recommendations showed results, but she was never

recognized by the scientific community. Despite this, she achieved a

degree of fame, notably through her books: Soyez bien dans votre

assiette jusqu 80 ans et plus (Eat Well and Be Well till 80 and Beyond), La Sclrose en plaque est gurissable (Multiple Sclerosis is Curable) and Sauvez votre corps (Save Your Body). She died in Switzerland in 1992, and the people who had known her

and worked with her decided to continue her work through a

Foundation which undertook to teach her method all around the

world. Whether Catherine Kousmine was right or wrong, it is still

difficult to say with certainty. What is sure is that she opened the

way for greater attention to be paid to the strong interconnections

between food and health.

What is nutrition economics?

Summary

The relation between food and health has been documented

sufficiently for a new discipline to emerge: nutrition economics.

This rising research field focuses on the interdependency between

dietary habits, health and public expenses. A paper recently

published in the British Journal of Nutrition tells us more about how

social & public spending, everywhere in the world, could be

checked through the adoption of healthier diets.

In fact, it is a topic that guides our whole reflection on nutrition,

because it is key to improving peoples well-being everywhere in the world. This idea is at the heart of Danones mission: to bring health through food to as many people as possible.

Developed and developing countries are facing challenging health

issues, and a growing number of them are diet-related undernutrition, diabetes and obesity for example. The latter two fall

into the category of non-communicable diseases (NCDs), recently

highlighted by the World Economic Forum as one of the three most significant risks to global well-being. We cant talk about risk without talking about cost: these threats to global health necessarily

imply economic burdens for public health systems. This idea lies at

the heart of a new research field called nutrition economics. It explores the close links between dietary habits, health and public

expenditure.

The aim of the research is to offer concrete solutions to help prevent

the spread of NCDs and food-related conditions, in order both to

improve peoples well-being and to help health budgets shed a little weight.

In March 2013, five experts (including one from Danone Research)

published a paper in the British Journal of Nutrition entitled:

Nutrition Economics Food as an Ally of Public Health. It is an interesting read which sheds some light on nutrition economics, its

findings and its recommendations.

The rising challenge of preventing diseases

What actually is nutrition economics? A merging of health economics and nutritional sciences, write I. Lenoir-Wijnkoop, P. J. Jones, R. Uauy, L. Segal and J. Milner, who co-authored the piece.

The term was coined in 2010 by a group of multidisciplinary experts

who defined it as

a discipline dedicated to researching and characterising health and

economic outcomes in nutrition for the benefit of society.

The central idea here is to improve health maintenance and delay the

onset of disease: if the links between diets and health are

uncovered, then appropriate policies can be defined to prevent

diseases from erupting, thereby efficiently fighting diet-related

health concerns. The stakes are huge: in most developed countries,

health care expenditure continues to rise faster than economic growth, write the authors. In the past 10 years, it has increased by 50% in the countries of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation,

while the economic cost of diet-related NCD in China was estimated at 2.4% of gross domestic product in 1995. The paper reminds another striking information: cancer, diabetes, heart disease

and lung disease kill 36 million people worldwide every year,

making up 63% of global deaths and a majority of cancers occurs in high-income countries. It thus becomes obvious that the commitment by governments to eradicate hunger and undernutrition

is not only an ethical imperative, but also a sound investment that

will yield significant economic gains and major social benefits. A

win-win opportunity, you might say. Public health efficiency is in

fact a key to a sustainable health care organisation, and nutrition

economics supports the development of sound, persuasive public

policies to promote health through food. Now the main question is:

how? Science has some answers in store.

Let thy food be thy medicine

The methodology used by nutrition economics researchers can be

broken down into three steps: first, they measure and establish the

actual cost of diseases; second, they evaluate the economic impacts

of food habits in real, everyday life; and third, they define precise strategies to help actually change dietary and nutritional behaviours.

As they write in the conclusion of the paper, this work must help

raise awareness as well as recommending turnkey actions: There is a need to improve awareness among health authorities and decision

makers of the very considerable benefits of better-quality diets and

of the effective and cost-effective policies that can achieve that goal.

Nutrition economics has a major role in informing this desirable

policy direction. Here is a strong example of how science can and must guide public action, by providing clear information on the

costs and benefits of a particular policy. Science has a responsibility

to demonstrate the approaches that will be most beneficial to all. As

highlighted by the paper, governments and public authorities can

strive to alleviate undernutrition, deficiencies and NCDs by promoting healthy dietary habits as part of everyday life

(communication to the public has a major role to play here), and by

supporting the use of functional foods (foods where an additional ingredient has been included to provide a supplementary function).

These are effective ways to prevent diseases,on the long term, and

every effort must be made to help the public understand that it truly

matters.

As Hippocrates once said: Let thy food be thy medicine. In these times of crisis, nutrition economics highlight how this principle must

guide modern societies towards both offering better health to

everyone and reducing public expenditure.