The Tukisenta Tribe: A Nutritional Paradox in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea

The Tukisenta tribe, residing in the highlands of Papua New Guinea, presents a fascinating case study in nutrition and health. Despite deriving 90% of their traditional diet from sweet potatoes, the Tukisenta people exhibit none of the chronic diseases that plague modern societies, such as obesity, diabetes, heart disease, or high blood pressure. This fact would not have been surprising because, since the '90s, high carb-low fat diets have been most popularly recommended. However, this intriguing paradox challenges the newly prevailing "low carb" diet trend and raises important questions about the true culprits behind these health issues. In this post, I will cover their diet and a few other “extreme” traditional diets and discuss the real culprits behind the ever-increasing amount of chronic illnesses.

We Have Forgotten Why We Eat and Its Killing Us

In the history of the human race, eating was regarded with the highest priority. The taste was unimportant. Today, overly tasty foods act on the brain the same way alcohol, meth, cocaine, heroin, and many other drugs do. They cause a dopamine hit that will stimulate reward-seeking behaviors that are difficult to control. Flavorful foods are hijacking our brains. Drugs and hyper-palatable/highly processed foods are precisely the same. In both cases, the immediate short-term pleasure overtakes long-term health and wellness. I will cover this unfortunate shift and what we can do about it in this post.