This week The International Diabetes Federation (IDF)  released new data showing that a staggering 285 million people worldwide have diabetes. Diabetes now affects seven percent of the world’s adult population. The regions with the highest rates are North America, where 10.2 % of the adult population have diabetes. See the summary in Science Daily.

Surprised? Perhaps we shouldn’t be. Annual refined sugar consumption has risen from 20 pounds per person per year in 1850 to 160 pounds per person in 1996. This and other disturbing facts of modern dietary perversion are detailed in the book Primal Mind – Primal Body by Nora Gedgaudas.  This is a solid Paleo book that tells us a good deal about how our nutritional practices have gone completely off the rails. Gedgaudas does a great job of showing the immense contrast between our ancestral ways and the absurd diet of the modern world. In a nutshell, she’s an anti-refined-carb crusader, but she has plenty to offer across the nutritional spectrum. By the time you finish this book, you’ll find it nearly impossible to eat a refined sugar product and you’ll avoid the center aisles of the supermarket like the plague.

Note: Gedgaudas advocates the use of nutritional supplements, a controversial practice among natural health practitioners. Her case is simple however. For those who have been metabolically crippled by chronic consumption of refined sugars and trans-fats (this includes most modern people) supplementation offers a way back to homeostasis and health. This is definitely worth a look.

If you’re an athlete or health professional, you care about food. You want to know what’s in it and where it comes from. Food Inc, gives us the background story that everyone needs to hear. It’s everything you’ve suspected about industrial food production, only worse. The movie will make you cringe, but it’s also inspirational in its own right. Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser and others come across as courageous advocates for a better world. See this movie, and visit the Hungry for Change website.

Forget about the content of what you’re eating for a moment. Instead, think about how you came in contact with it. For millions of years, humans and human ancestors traveled across the land in search of food. By some estimates, hunter-gatherer tribes walked and run between 5 and 20 miles per day. No matter whether you were going for nuts and berries or big mammals on the hoof, the challenge was always the same: moving your body to where the food was. This system proved quiet satisfactory; not only did we get to eat and see the neighborhood, we also pumped our bodies and promoted our vitality. But now we see an inverted relationship and it’s no surprise that we have problems. If you need a conveyor belt to bring you your lunch, you should probably check your health insurance; you’re certainly going to need it.

When it comes to talking sense about diet, nutrition and food, Michael Pollan is the guy to listen to. Not only does he clarify the history and problems of the modern diet, he also demonstrates a truly holistic approach to the body, one that shows that relationships are more important than things. Listen to this show: Michael Pollan Says: Eat Food, Not Too Much, Mostly Plants