I stand behind the list of recommendations in my previous post.
Trying to proscribe a specific diet to a person with no diet-related issues is a fool’s errant. People live long lives while eating all kinds of foods; we’re omnivores. There’s toxins everywhere, so we’ve evolved to tolerate most of them to some degree. Of course there are minerals and vitamins that are essential and phytochemicals that are useful that we should get enough of, but in general eating a varied diet and eating enough will accomplish that.
The main thing is to avoid eating too much on a consistent basis. I firmly believe that most of the bad results that are associated with obesity aren’t actually caused by having too much fat / body weight, but by continuing to increase fat / body weight.
Of course there are things you should avoid eating, such as (more than a little) cured meats, anything that has turned black (cancer!) and stone-ground flour (the gravel will erode your teeth).
It’s a common mistake to think that there are foods that will promote health. If you get enough of everything you’ll be healthy, getting even more of some stuff won’t make you even more healthy. I guess there is some opportunity to make up for a few bad habits with extra “good” food, but you really don’t want to go down that path because it’ll only take you so far.
Edit (well, apparently not): the heart attacks: heart disease is the most common cause of death in the western world currently, even after going down significantly in recent years. It’s also pretty big in the rest of the world. I’m not sure how common it was in the past, but I’d think still common enough for anyone who was paying attention to recognize in some way. The interesting thing is that it can kill people without warning and although it’s more common with older people, the risk starts becoming serious in early middle age. (I know someone my age who had a heart attack five years ago. Yikes!)
In the West, per what I have read, I don’t think the concept of heart disease even existed until the 19th century. Keep in mind that the germ theory of disease was not even accepted as fact until the latter half of the 19th century. People were just figuring this stuff out. I agree that someone dropping dead was hard to miss, but if you don’t know the cause, you just don’t.
May be it has to do with society and culture is different today. In the old days nothing can be done. Now people think that money and research can get things done.
People think doctors can do more than doctors can really do. People think doctors can heal people of almost any thing today.