Agrarian diet and diseases of affluence – Do evolutionary novel dietary lectins cause leptin resistance?

BACKGROUND: The global pattern of varying prevalence of diseases of affluence, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, suggests that some environmental factor specific to agrarian societies could initiate these diseases. PRESENTATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS: We propose that a cereal-based diet could be such an environmental factor. Through previous studies in archaeology and molecular evolution we conclude that humans and the human leptin system are not specifically adapted to a cereal-based diet, and that leptin resistance associated with diseases of affluence could be a sign of insufficient adaptation to such a diet. We further propose lectins as a cereal constituent with sufficient properties to cause leptin resistance, either through effects on metabolism central to the proper functions of the leptin system, and/or directly through binding to human leptin or human leptin receptor, thereby affecting the function. TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS: Dietary interventions should compare effects of agrarian and non-agrarian diets on incidence of diseases of affluence, related risk factors and leptin resistance. A non-significant (p = 0.10) increase of cardiovascular mortality was noted in patients advised to eat more whole-grain cereals. Our lab conducted a study on 24 domestic pigs in which a cereal-free hunter-gatherer diet promoted significantly higher insulin sensitivity, lower diastolic blood pressure and lower C-reactive protein as compared to a cereal-based swine feed. Testing should also evaluate the effects of grass lectins on the leptin system in vivo by diet interventions, and in vitro in various leptin and leptin receptor models. Our group currently conducts such studies. IMPLICATIONS OF THE HYPOTHESIS: If an agrarian diet initiates diseases of affluence it should be possible to identify the responsible constituents and modify or remove them so as to make an agrarian diet healthier

Predictors of acute myocardial infarction mortality in hypertensive patients treated in primary care: A population-based follow-up study in the Skaraborg Project

Objective. To explore risk factors for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) mortality in hypertensive patients treated in primary care. Design. Community-based cohort study. Setting. Hypertension outpatient clinic in primary health care. Subjects. Patients who consecutively underwent an annual follow-up during 1992-1993 (n =894; 377 men and 517 women). Methods. All events of fatal AMI were ascertained by record linkage to the National Mortality Register to December 31, 2002. Gender-specific predictors for AMI mortality were analysed by Cox regression. Main outcome measure. AMI mortality. Results. During a mean follow-up of 8.7 years 32 cases (8.5%) of fatal AMI were observed in men and 31 cases (6.0%) were observed in women. Most important predictors for AMI mortality in men were microalbuminuria (HR 3.8, CI 1.8-8.0) and left ventricular hypertrophy (HR 4.0, CI 1.7-9.4), whilst in women type 2 diabetes (HR 4.8, CI 2.4-9.8) was an important predictor. In hypertensive patients without diabetes male gender was associated with high AMI mortality (HR 2.7, CI 1.4-5.3), but in patients with both hypertension and type 2 diabetes the higher risk in men disappeared (HR 0.8, CI 0.4-1.7). Conclusion. Cardiovascular disease risk factors remain strong predictors of AMI mortality in hypertensive patients but with a different pattern in the two genders. Markers of organ damage are more important predictors in men, whereas markers of impaired glucose metabolism are more important predictors in women