When humans start to gain weight, one of the first things they often consider is changing their diet. It is common knowledge that simple sugars, found in most processed carbohydrate foods, candies, and sodas, are associated with weight gain and obesity. Obesity, in turn, is linked to numerous health problems, including heart disease. These connections between diet and health also hold true for other animals, including gorillas.
The Diet-Health Connection in Gorillas
While gorillas generally thrive in zoos, a concerning trend emerged a few years ago. Heart disease was identified as one of the main causes of death among older zoo gorillas. Consequently, diet was one of the first considerations when searching for a solution. In the wild, gorillas typically spend their day consuming large quantities of herbaceous vegetation, a food source high in fiber and low in caloric density. Zoo-housed gorillas, on the other hand, are frequently given a diet higher in calories and lower in fiber than what they would eat in the wild. These diets also contain commercially produced biscuits (“monkey chow”), which are calorically dense and high in simple carbohydrates and grain-based. The goal of adding these scientifically formulated biscuits to gorillas’ diets is to ensure they get all the nutrients they need. However, zoo staff began to wonder whether they might be having negative effects as well.
The North Carolina Zoo's Dietary Investigation
Dr. Richard Bergl, Director of Conservation, Education, and Science at the North Carolina Zoo, set out to investigate whether the diet traditionally fed to gorillas in zoos might be contributing to their health problems. His goal was to create a new diet that closely mimicked that of wild gorillas, reduced weight gain, and ultimately ameliorated associated health problems, including cardiac disease.
Creating a Novel Diet
Dr. Bergl faced the challenge of creating a novel diet for the North Carolina Zoo’s gorillas that mirrored the foods consumed by their wild counterparts. This diet needed to be low in calories, high in fiber, and limited in fruit and starchy vegetables, all while meeting their nutritional needs. This was not as easy as it seemed. Dr. Bergl noted that simply providing the gorillas with a perfect food did not guarantee they would eat it. For example, spinach and kale were great substitutions for the monkey chow and fruit, which were higher in sugar, but the gorillas refused to eat them. Eventually, Dr. Bergl landed on a combination of vegetables, leafy greens, alfalfa hay, and a small amount of fruit, accompanied by a multi-vitamin.
Measuring the Effects of the New Diet
Changes to cardiovascular health can take years to accrue, so Dr. Bergl conducted a study of both behavioral measures and the gorillas’ blood chemistry to investigate whether the new diet was having an impact in a shorter period of time. Zookeepers and research staff observed the gorillas’ behavior over a period of months to see if it changed on the new diet, and Zoo vets collected blood samples during physical exams, which were sent to the lab for analysis. The gorillas were also weighed regularly to ensure they were not gaining or losing too much weight.
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Results of the Dietary Change
The behavioral research showed that the gorillas were twice as active after the switch to the new diet, with a lot more time spent processing and consuming food. This was a positive sign, since in the wild, gorillas spend most of their waking hours looking for food. Along with increased activity, the gorillas all maintained a healthy weight, despite eating a diet much lower in fruit and without any monkey chow. The lab results further confirmed the benefits of the new diet, with indicators of obesity and inflammation all reduced. In the end, Dr. Bergl found that the Zoo was able to feed the gorillas a low-calorie, high-fiber diet, which kept them physically engaged, increasing their daily active foraging time, as well as maintaining or improving body condition. Now the gorillas are eating a diet that provides them with all their nutritional needs, without relying on excessive fruit or monkey chow. They particularly enjoy romaine lettuce and alfalfa hay.
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo's Experience
New diets for two male gorillas at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo are bearing fruit for hundreds of captive gorillas in North America. Bebac, 26, and Mokolo, 23, are Western lowland gorillas and both have heart disease. Their latest cardiac exams showed healthy weight loss for both. The diets responsible for the progress are Cleveland's contribution to a much larger project among more than a dozen of the best zoos in North America, all accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. First steps were taken in 2008 when the zoo started weaning the simian duo off the commercial, processed biscuits that made up the bulk of their diets. Vegetables and leafy greens became their staples, and the food was scattered about their enclosure so they were compelled to forage. Researchers believe the gorillas are now enjoying an activity level that is more akin to what they would have in the wild. Another benefit of the diet is the complete eradication of a visually offensive habit that occurs in captive gorilla populations called "R and R," short for regurgitation and re-ingestion. It has not been observed in the wild and occurs among captives because of some element of the typical zoo diet. The low-starch content in their new diets may be the key. Mokolo's heart chambers are now slightly smaller, his heart-pumping efficiency has improved, and he has lost 60 pounds since his last exam.
Establishing Indicators for Healthy Body Mass
One important element of the Cleveland research belongs to Elena Hoellein-Less, a doctoral candidate in biology at Case Western Reserve University. She is trying to establish indicators for healthy body mass in the gorillas. Veterinarians have historically relied on data about human body mass and heart health and tried to extrapolate that to apply to the gorillas, but indicators for 170-pound humans are difficult to adjust for 400-pound gorillas. Further, little is known about the health and mortality of "free-ranging gorillas because they tend to be fairly elusive."
Lessons for Human Weight Management
The dietary changes implemented for gorillas in zoos offer valuable lessons for human weight management. Just as gorillas benefit from a diet high in fiber and low in processed foods and simple sugars, humans can also improve their health by adopting a similar approach.
The Guerrilla Diet and Lifestyle Program
The Guerrilla Diet and Lifestyle Program, outlined in Galit Goldfarb's book, is based on research, facts, and over 20 years of experience in search of the healthiest diet for human consumption. This program examines the changes that occurred in the human body and which foods allowed humans to become the most developed species on the planet. It's a total lifestyle program backed by solid scientific evidence from many different scientific fields combined, including genetics, evolutionary science, anthropology, zoology, medicine, and nutritional sciences. The book provides knowledge and step-by-step guidelines to apply the ideal diet for human consumption along with precise lifestyle habit-changing plans to support individuals on their path to optimal health, vitality, and longevity. The diet analyzes the similarities between humans and gorillas to explore the diet that restores health. Gorillas have much in common with humans, but the foods they consume stand in contrast to the typical Western diet. In captivity, gorillas who were fed processed foods suffered from obesity, heart disease, high cholesterol, and sugar addiction; after returning to their natural high-fiber, low-protein, and low-fat diet, the animals thrived. Similarly, humans would benefit from a return to the food that led them to succeed as a species. The Guerrilla/Gorilla Diet is dissimilar to those of other diets in that it provides intricate scientific and historic explanations.
Read also: The Gorilla Diet Breakdown
Macronutrient Intake in Wild Gorillas
A study of mountain gorillas (Gorilla beringei) in Uganda revealed that, in some periods, carbohydrate-rich fruits displace a large portion of protein-rich leaves in their diet. Non-protein energy (NPE) intake was invariant throughout the year, whereas protein intake was substantially higher when leaves were the major portion of the diet. This pattern of macronutrient intake suggests that gorillas prioritize NPE and, to achieve this when leaves are the major dietary item, they over-eat protein. The concentrations of protein consumed in relation to energy when leaves were the major portion of the diet were close to the maximum recommended for humans and similar to high-protein human weight-loss diets. By contrast, the concentrations of protein in relation to energy when gorillas ate fruit-dominated diets were similar to those recommended for humans. During high-fruit periods, mean daily macronutrient intakes for adult males, adult females, and juveniles aligned along the AP to NPE nutritional rail (slope) of 0.3, and gorillas consumed 19 percent of their total energy as protein. When gorillas ate leaves, the balance of AP to NPE aligned along a nutritional rail of 0.5, and gorillas consumed 30 percent of total energy as protein. During fruit periods, the balance of AP to NPE in the diet was slightly higher than that of gorilla mid-lactation milk (AP comprises 16% total energy), a nutritionally complete food source for supporting growth in infants. This balance is similar to the diets chosen by humans in free-choice experiments (AP comprises 17% total energy) and close to the current recommendations of the American Heart Association (15%).
Additional Tips for Weight Management
Losing weight and keeping a healthy weight is a major challenge, and things like inactivity and poor diet can cause your weight to fluctuate in inconvenient ways. Maintaining a healthy body weight can increase your quality of life and make you less susceptible to physical ailments and illnesses. Regular physical activity is one of the best ways to lose weight. In general, you need to be in a deficit of about 500 calories a day in order to lose a pound in a week. Cardio will help you burn fat and lose weight rather quickly by speeding up your heart rate. However, strength training is just as important. You’ll look more toned and healthy overall if you burn fat while continuing to train your muscles. One of the biggest reasons why so many people struggle to keep off weight is because they feel unmotivated to work out. You can try working out with a friend, curating a pumped-up workout playlist, or setting personal goals for yourself so that you can feel major accomplishments when you surpass them. Eating right is equally important for weight management. It’s important that your diet is high in things like fruits, fiber, vegetables, protein (especially lean meat), and even carbohydrates (with an emphasis on whole grains). Skipping breakfast can make you feel immense hunger later in the day, which often leads to eating too much to compensate. It’s always great to try to replace some less-healthy foods with options that are much better. For example, instead of going for a sugary mixed berry cereal in the morning, go for a mixed berry smoothie with some added protein powder, peanut butter, and greek yogurt. The reason is that many of the fad diets don’t preach holistic health. They only focus on a single aspect of fat loss without actually helping you to learn habits that will keep the weight off for the future. People who lose weight gradually are more successful at keeping the weight off. Stress has a cyclical relationship with weight. Individuals who are overweight often feel a large amount of stress regarding their body image or health. By trying to decrease your stress, you can positively impact your physical and mental health. Be sure to end your day with a relaxing activity like reading a good book, watching a favorite TV show, or hanging out with some friends.
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