Emergence of Diseases of Civilization

 Interesting book with lots of free pages on Google Books

A strange instance of cognitive dissonance occured when reading the chapters on Eskimos and Native Americans. In the Eskimo chapter they note that diverticulitis is unheard of in those eating the traditional diet. In the next chapter they note that US Indians also have a low rate of this diverticulitis and credit it to their high fiber intake. If low fiber intake was to blame, you'd see extremely high rates in Eskimos.

The book also discusses the high rate of infectious disease in hunter-gatherers, which account for the low life expectancy in many of these population, but then also notes that it is likely most infectious diseases were introduced by agricultural civilizations.