The Jungle Effect explores how indigenous diets in five parts of the world keep the people free of five of the most serious modern ailments, including heart disease and diabetes. Miller also includes recipes she learns from people in each of the regions.
Miller began exploring the benefits of indigenous diets more than a decade ago when she observed exceptional good health in people in three separate jungle regions. She explored research in nutrition, epidemiology and anthropology and then traveled to various areas she identified as "cold spots" for modern ailments. She talked with food experts in each area and collected recipes. She drew conclusions about the kind of diet that would reverse illness trends in the US and proved her conclusions with successful improvements in the health of many of her own patients who embraced her "jungle diet" recommendations.
You are welcome at the live chat with Daphne Miller. If you want to send your questions in advance, please gathermail them to the author,Daphne Miller, M.D., or to me.
The chat will be held here, in the comment spaces below.
How To Join The Conversation:
To jump into the discussion, all you need to do is type your question in the comment box below. To see others' questions and Miller's responses in real time, simply hit the refresh button on your browser. You will need to refresh your page continuously to see each new comment.
You must be a member of Gather to participate in the chat. Click here to join today. It's FREE.
recommend this
email
print
link to this page
Comments: 47
I'm sorry to miss your comments live. I'll have to read them tomorrow. Thank you for taking the time to answer.
I think this is a truly needed book!
I would like to ask the author if she is recommending American's IMPORT the ingredients of these "indigenous diets" or if the book contains "indigenous diets" of North Americans ?
I believe a large part of the benefits derived might be in freshness of the food source.
I believe we consumers loose quite a bit when it is neccessary for the importers to harvest, package and ship fruits and veggies before they become ripe.
Here now, Dr. Daphne Miller, author of _The Jungle Effect_.
"I'm curious about something Dr. Miller. Can you give us an idea how long it would take to reverse current illness trends if everyone adopted your indigenous diet principles? And, since "everyone" won't do that, how many do you hope to affect with your book?
I'm sorry to miss your comments live. I'll have to read them tomorrow. Thank you for taking the time to answer."
Hello. I cannot give you exact data but I can tell you that as a family physician I see people making changes in their diet and lifestyle and it having a rather immediate positive effect on their overall health including blood sugars, blood pressure, arthritis symptoms and mood. Making changes can be a gradual thing. For most of us it is hard to do a radical overhaul. My real hope is that this book offers people stories and ideas for how they can begin to make substitutions that feel right.
Dr D
Richard Owl Mirror asks,
" I would like to ask if you are recommending American's IMPORT the ingredients of these "indigenous diets" or if the book contains "indigenous diets" of North Americans ?
I believe a large part of the benefits derived might be in freshness of the food source. I believe we consumers lose quite a bit when it is neccessary for the importers to harvest, package and ship fruits and veggies before they become ripe.
"medical uses and benefits of yogurt @ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoghurt
In 2005, Mireille Guiliano released her best selling book, French Women Don't Get Fat, in which she touts yogurt as her secret weight loss weapon. In her book, she campaigned for Americans to discover the benefits and pleasures of homemade plain, non-fat yogurt, as opposed to the sugar and corn syrup-laden 'impostors' found in most U.S. supermarkets.
Fermenting Yogurt at Home
http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/publications/nchfp/factsheets/yogurt.html
Thanks for those links. As I discuss you find fermented foods in all of the cultures I visited (no pun intended). Whether it is skyr (yogurt) in Iceland or Crete or fermented manioc in Cameroon. The bacteria in these live foods is great for the gut and also might help prevent illnesses as far varied as asthma and food allergies. You have to make sure that the food you are eating is truly fermented and has a live bacteria count (it usually says this on the label.) Many of the pickles sold in the US are not truly brined but are prepared in vinegar instead so they do not have the same healthy qualities.
Dr D
Christine Zibas has gather-mailed this question:
"How much of a role do you think preservatives and other artificial ingredients added to our food have in making us sick? That is, by eating a diet free of processed foods, can we improve our health?"
I apologize for just popping in and out again. I have not read your book but have been hearing wonderful things about it. My local library does not have it but they are trying to find it for me at another library. Thanks for letting so many members of Gather read your book.
Christine Zibas also gather-mailed this question:
"Also what about genetically modified grains and similarly engineered food?"
Thanks for persisting and it is good to hear from you.
Hope you enjoy the book!
Dr D
We are always breeding new foods and usually we select them on the basis of their ability to grow well or to have a certain pest resistance ...and usually it is at the expense of their health value. You all have seen how tasteless foods like conventional watermelon, cucumbers, broccoli, apples etc have become. It turns out that they are also lower in antioxidants (important disease fighting properties). Plants with natural predators and pests develop their own disease fighting mechanisms and these also are often what contributes to the taste and nutritional quality of that plant.
The other concern with Genetically modified foods is that they are replacing our traditional seeds that had unique tastes and nutritional benefits. A great example were the hybrids of corn that I tasted when I visited the Tarahumara in Mexico. Completely different from our corn and much better tasting.
Does that sound reasonable?
Dr D
I am sorry but I need to get ready for my own live chat that is scheduled at 7. Thank you for taking the time to chat with me.
Dorine,
Thanks for hosting this chat.
Both of you have a wonderful evening and I am sorry to run like this.
Dr D
When the chat ends, I'll prepare and post the transcript.
Dr D
Thanks for all your good answers, Daphne. I know they are helpful to the many Gatherites who are concerned about following a healthful diet. I hope many here at Gather buy your book, implement your ideas, and share the things they have devised to eat a Jungle Effect diet in their homes.
This has been a crazy week in my medical practice and I have not had a chance to go over my mail. I tell you what, I will read any additional questions later in the week and post the answer after my latest article and will also send the answers to the individuals.
D