Why Some Like It Hot: Food, Genes, and Cultural Diversity PDF
Preview Why Some Like It Hot: Food, Genes, and Cultural Diversity
W H Y S O M E L I K E I T H O T Food, Genes, and Cultural Diversity GARY PAUL NABHAN a shearwater book w h y s o m e l i k e i t h o t HOT w h y s o m e l i k e i t f o o d , g e n e s , a n d c u l t u r a l d i v e r s i t y Gary Paul Nabhan Island Press / Shearwater Books washington • covelo • london A Shearwater Book Published by Island Press Copyright © 2004Gary Paul Nabhan All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without permission in writing from the publisher: Island Press, 1718Connecticut Ave., NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC 20009. shearwater books is a trademark of The Center for Resource Economics. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data. Nabhan, Gary Paul. Why some like it hot : food, genes, and cultural diversity / Gary Paul Nabhan. p. cm. “A shearwater book.” Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 1-55963-466-9(cloth : alk. paper) 1. Human population genetics. 2. Food preferences. 3. Ethnic groups. I. Title. qh31.n282004 394.1—dc22 2004005033 British Cataloguing-in-Publication data available. Printed on recycled, acid-free paper Design by Kathleen Szawiola Manufactured in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 “Now killin’ folks and cookin’ ain’t so very far apart.” herbert h. knibbs from his poem/song “Boomer Johnson” (cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2)(cid:2) Dedicated to the memory of Ted Nabhan, Sally Giff Pablo, and Gabriel Williams (cid:3) c o n t e n t s Introduction 1 one Discerning the Histories Encoded in Our Bodies 15 two Searching for the Ancestral Diet 36 Did Mitochondrial Eve and Java Man Feast on the Same Foods? three Finding a Bean for Your Genes and a Buffer Against Malaria 63 four The Shaping and Shipping Away of Mediterranean Cuisines 92 five Discovering Why Some Don’t Like It Hot 112 Is It a Matter of Taste? six Dealing with Migration Headaches 140 Should We Change Places, Diets, or Genes? seven Rooting Out the Causes of Disease 163 Why Diabetes Is So Common Among Desert Dwellers eight Reconnecting the Health of the People with the Health of the Land 186 How Hawaiians Are Curing Themselves Sources 211 Index 225
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