Annotated Bibliography

Michael, Pollan. In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto. New York: Penguin, 2009.

Presents a case for how the gradual change in diet from whole to processed foods has affected our health for the worst. Offers evidence and suggestions for ways to solve the problem of the declining health of the average American.

Popkin, Barry. The World is Fat: The Fads, Trends, Policies, and Products That are Fattening the Human Race. New York: Avery, 2009.

Popkin describes the various possible causes of the increased rates of obesity in American. Anthropological focus which looks at the behaviors and policies which influence calorie consumption and other factors that have an impact on our health.

Cuatrecasas, Pedro, and Guy P.E. Tell. "Insulin-Like Activity of Concanavalin A and Wheat Germ Agglutinin-Direct Interactions with Insulin Receptors." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 70 (1973): 485-489.

An old study which looks at the effect of a component of wheat germ and how it interacts with insulin receptors. Insulin is the key fat and energy storage hormone in the body, so changes in the way it behaves can lead to potential weight changes.

Shapiro, Alexandra, et al. "Fructose-Induced Leptin Resistance Exacerbates Weight Gain in Response to Subsequent High Fat Feeding." American Journal of Physiology - Regulatory, Integrative, and Comparative Aug 13, 2008.

As the title suggests, the study examines the effect of fructose on the hormone leptin and its possible effects on fat storage. Concludes that fructose throws off the normal behavior of leptin in the rats during the trial.

Jonnson, Tommy, et al. "Agrarian diet and diseases of affluence – Do evolutionary novel dietary lectins cause leptin resistance?" BMC Endocrine Disorders 5:10 (2005).

A research summary which presents a hypothesis based upon available data. It posits the possibility that lectins present in cereal grains may be culpable in the causing of the "diseases of civilization." Metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and others.