I have a stack of stuff to get out and you're going to be surprised over the next day and beyond, much of which concerns the enormous growth of this blog, what I have planned, how you can take part, and how we can make a large contribution to aiding the general public on two fronts: the obesity epidemic, and, the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases that don't need to be.

However, courtesy of Ricardo Carvalho over yonder in Portugal, this can't wait.

This report concerns early life nutrition, predominantly fetal and infant nutrition, providing useful reference information and 'key messages' for healthcare professionals. It discusses the evidence-base and draws conclusions about the ways in which the patterns of early life nutrition can be improved, and the likely consequences of such improvements. This is now of critical importance in addressing the rapid increase in the incidence of so-called lifestyle diseases such as cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes, which are linked to overweight and obesity. In addition there is now compelling evidence for a role of early life nutrition in setting the risk of other conditions including osteoporosis, asthma, lung disease and some forms of cancer. Evidence is growing that early life nutrition can play a role in behavioural and cognitive problems in children and adolescents, and possibly even in cognitive decline and other aspects of ageing.

Then, from pages 5 and 6 of the full report (PDF).

"Humans evolved to consume a diet very different from that consumed by many people today. This makes our physiology potentially mismatched to our contemporary lifestyles, increasing the risks of ill health."

Nutritional transitions and patterns of chronic disease

Human diets have changed substantially during the course of our evolution and history. Compared with current diets, the pre-agricultural hunter-gatherer diets of our Palaeolithic ancestors were based on wild animal and plant foods and were much higher in protein and lower in carbohydrate.

The introduction of agriculture 10,000 years ago permanently changed the nature of our food supply, as plants and animals were domesticated for the first time. Further dietary change followed the Industrial Revolution, which created opportunities to process foods such as grains and cereals; and the onset of global trading introduced new foods into the UK diet. Our dietary patterns have continued to evolve to the present day – as new food products have become available and we are influenced by dietary trends occurring in other parts of the world.

Although it is argued that this rate of change in diet from Palaeolithic times has been too fast to allow the human genome to adapt, and is linked to the rising incidence of chronic diseases, many of the improvements in nutrition in the UK over the last century have had an enormous beneficial impact on mortality and public health. Diseases such as goitre or rickets, which were historically associated with social deprivation and malnutrition, are now rarely seen. Improved nutrition has therefore played a role in the dramatic increase in life expectancy. Some recent trends, however, are a cause for concern, such as the increase in the sugar and salt content of the diet. These recent dietary changes have also been accompanied by reductions in physical activity, and there is considerable concern about the consequences of the combined effects of these changes on the incidence and patterns of obesity and associated diseases."

Here's a chart provided that's not perfect (did Cordain consult?), but considering the mainstream source, this is progress.

So, there you have it folks, and this signals that it's only a matter of time until the truth prevails.

I'm doing what I'm doing because I have never had a shadow of a doubt in two respects: a paleo-like diet is optimal and produces lean, healthy bodies, and, it's a truth that can't be hidden by any authority. This is not like politics where people go out of their way to lie to themselves. This is ultimately about well being and it cannot long be suppressed.

We shall prevail.

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