A recent study published in Nature Medicine focuses on traditional African diet: an ancestral combination of vegetables, legumes, whole grains, and fermented foods that, in just two weeks, showed remarkable results in reducing inflammation, boosting the immune system, and improving metabolism.
WESTERN DIET CAUSES INFLAMMATION, AFRICAN DIET PROTECTS
Researchers from Radboud University Medical Center and KCMC University in Tanzania have studied the health effects of dietary changes, observing that the Western diet causes inflammation while the traditional African diet protects and has a significant impact on the immune system.
Traditional African diets are increasingly being replaced by Western dietary patterns due to urbanization, economic development, increased access to processed foods, globalization, and changing social norms. The health consequences of this nutritional transition are not well understood.
Lifestyle-related diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and chronic inflammatory diseases, are on the rise in Africa, posing a growing challenge to healthcare systems across the continent.
LIFESTYLE-RELATED DISEASES
Researchers collected data from seventy-seven healthy men in Tanzania, both urban and rural residents, who participated in the study. Some participants, following a traditional African diet, adopted a Western diet for two weeks, while others maintained a traditional African diet. A third group consumed a fermented banana drink daily. As a control group, ten participants kept their usual diet.
Researchers extensively analyzed the immune system function, blood inflammation markers, and metabolic processes at the beginning, after the two-week intervention, and four weeks later.
Participants who adopted a Western diet showed an increase in inflammatory proteins in the blood, along with the activation of biological processes related to lifestyle-related diseases. Their immune cells also responded less effectively to pathogens.
On the other hand, those who adopted a traditional African diet or consumed the fermented drink showed a reduction in inflammatory markers. Some of these effects persisted even four weeks later, indicating that short-term dietary changes can have lasting effects.
The shift from the traditional diet to the Western diet affected different metabolic pathways associated with non-communicable diseases, promoting a proinflammatory state with a deficient blood cytokine response to microbial stimulation. In contrast, shifting from a Western diet to a traditional diet or consuming fermented beverages had a primarily anti-inflammatory effect.
FIRST STUDY TO COMPREHENSIVELY MAP
This is the first study to comprehensively map the effects of the traditional African diet on health. «Previous research has focused on other traditional diets, such as Japanese or Mediterranean,» says internist Quirijn de Mast from Radboudumc.
However, he adds, «There is much to learn from traditional African diets, especially now, as lifestyles in many African regions are rapidly changing, and lifestyle-related diseases are on the rise.»
«The rich diversity of African traditional diets offers unique opportunities to gain valuable insights into how diet influences health,» he adds.
De Mast finds the importance of dietary effects surprising, even after just two weeks. «The African diet includes abundant vegetables, fruits, legumes, whole grains, and fermented foods. Our study highlights the benefits of these traditional food products for inflammation and the body’s metabolic processes. At the same time, we demonstrate how harmful an unhealthy Western diet can be,» he states.
This diet typically consists of processed, calorie-rich foods, such as french fries and white bread, with excess salt, refined sugars, and saturated fats. Inflammation is the cause of many chronic diseases, making this study highly relevant for Western countries as well.
WHAT FOODS ARE IN THE AFRICAN DIET?
1.- Vegetables and leafy greens: A wide variety of vegetables are consumed, such as spinach, amaranth, yam leaves, okra, and other local leaves used in stews and soups.
2.- Legumes and beans: Beans, peas, and lentils are essential in many African diets, providing an excellent source of protein and fiber. In some regions, pumpkin seeds, chickpeas, or peanuts are also consumed.
3.- Whole grains: In many parts of Africa, cereals like millet, sorghum, maize, and brown rice are consumed. These are used in stews, as side dishes, or in the form of porridges (such as sadza in Zimbabwe or ugali in East Africa).
4.- Tubers: Yam, sweet potato, cassava, and taro are essential in the African diet, providing a key source of complex carbohydrates.
5.- Fruits: Tropical fruits like bananas, mangoes, pineapples, papayas, guavas, and citrus fruits are common, consumed fresh, in smoothies, or in traditional desserts.
6.- Fermented foods: The use of fermented foods is common and believed to aid digestion and intestinal health. Examples include ogi (fermented corn) and mahewu (a fermented drink made from millet or corn). Additionally, yogurt and other fermented dairy products are consumed in some regions.
7.- Animal proteins: Although not the main focus, animal proteins like chicken, goat, fish (particularly in coastal regions or near rivers), and beef are consumed, albeit in smaller quantities than in Western diets.
8.- Natural oils: Natural oils like palm oil (in West Africa), peanut oil, and coconut oil are used. These oils are rich in healthy fatty acids.