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Preventing diseases of civilization

2018; Elsevier BV; Volume: 53; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2018.02.099

1531-5037

J. Isbit,

Global Health and Surgery

This letter comments on the recent lecture by Dr. Stephen W. Bickler. He reported that many serious diseases that haunt our society are rare or unknown in the underdeveloped world. These include appendicitis, IBD, diverticulosis, colorectal cancer, GERD and others. For example, the rate of appendicitis in Gambian children is one-thirtieth the rate of Caucasian children living in the USA. Colon cancer is nearly 15 times as common in black Americans as in Africans. There is a wealth of evidence linking these disparities to a lifestyle factor that was not mentioned by Dr. Bickler: the unnatural method of defecation used in our society. Like all primates, humans were designed to squat for bodily functions. The sitting position sabotages the natural biomechanics of defecation and forces one to use the Valsalva maneuver. How does this increase the risk of appendicitis? The cecum, instead of being squeezed empty by the right thigh when squatting, is actually inflated by the Valsalva maneuver. The increased pressure can push fecal matter into the appendiceal orifice. The back-pressure can also overwhelm the ileocecal valve, contaminating the small intestine. Crohn's Disease develops in the terminal ileum - the area soiled by this toxic backwash.