If we understand the science of the human body, then we can understand the effects of food on it. I don't know what kind of 'typical' so-called "Western" diet other folks might have at home, but I grew up (as a caucasian from Irish/Scottish/British roots) eating potatoes, steamed or boiled vegetables, and usually baked or grilled meat of some sort. Sure, we had burgers sometimes, but certainly not with fries (at least not at home!), and we had lots of fresh greens.

I think like everything else, American pop-culture has come to represent "Western"-ism, whatever *that's* supposed to mean. As if pop-music, pop-food, pop-(insert) were representative of all "Western"-ers. Lifestyles across North America used to be healthy, before everyone jumped on the fast/pop/mass-food bandwagon.

Having said that - I acknowledge the healthfulness, taste, variety, and nutrition in certain well-prepared Mediterranean and Asian foods, though even so, we must not generalize. Greek food, for example, can be very, very rich in fat and calories, depending on what you eat, and the further from the tropics you get in Asia, the more food begins to resemble "Western" delights such as breads, fried food, sugary foods, and other comestibles laden with starch.

Ultimately, variety is the spice of life - and I appreciate Leigh's article in raising awareness of choosing to eat differently if it means eating better.

(ps - traditional Vietnamese or Cantonese food are both very healthy as well - lots of watery vegetables, cleansing for the digestion, and big on flavour, but low on calories (if you choose the right things))

As some one who can not tolerate gluten (most commonly found in wheat flour) the western diet is inherinetly problematic to me. We put wheat in /everything/ here in Canada (just as corn is in everything in the states). The solution to my problem, as it turns out, was looking at asian and indian cooking a lot of which I've adapted to be more western in flavor, while still working on the same principles. We now eat a great deal of Thai, Vietnames and Japanese where rice is the primary grain (both whole and in noodle form) and East Indian and Moraccan where chickpea is a common ingrediant and flour.

While for me getting away from the flour was wonderful, I've noticed a palatable change in my family as well. Escaping the refined and over processed flour based foods meant going back to home cooking, less preservatives, more fresh produce ingredients, more homemade sauces, less salt laden preserved condiments. Not only are they happier and healthier but food /tastes/ better. It feels better. It smells better.

Six and a half years ago, I decided to get rid of the biggest impediment to my health that I could see; my gut... sorry, my ignorance.

I joined a men's weight loss program that encouraged me to eat, in reasonable amounts, what was healthy and to avoid or eliminate what was not, along with an exercise regimen of walking daily.

The result was a loss of 50 pounds of fat, an improvement in virtually every measure of health that my GP could administer, and a resolve that the old me will never be seen again.

The food portion of the diet (this word does not mean something you do only to lose weight) was largely fruit and veg, with smaller than the usual North American portion of meats. I ate almost anything I wanted, provided I kept the portion reasonable and unadulterated by the ingredients and methods that food manufacturers use to extend ITS shelf-life, not the consumer's.

I like the idea presented by one author (whose name I have sadly forgotten) that if your great grandmother wouldn't recognize the ingredient, she wouldn't use it or eat it. And neither will I.

A lot of food manufacturers, to me, are no different than the 'BIG THREE' American car makers; serve them crap, and make them think it's great.

The best defense of your health is to learn: what real food is, what you have been doing to yourself (knowingly or not), and to change your attitude to food, health, exercise, and knowledge.