Here's how the modern diet disabled our best defense against unhealthy aging
A functioning Nrf2 Cell Defense Pathway is essential for good health. It works everywhere in the body to neutralize oxygen free radicals and environmental toxins. It also supports healthy immune responses, sustains the health of every organ and tissue, and ultimately promotes healthy longevity. Although you may not have heard about Nrf2, there are over 9,000 related publications in the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
The good news is that we all have an Nrf2 Cell Defense Pathway. But for it to work properly, special nutrients known as “Nrf2 activators” or "Nrf2 co-factors" are required. Humans and other animals can’t make these vital compounds. Without a dietary source of Nrf2 activators, we are left vulnerable to the harmful effects of oxygen free radicals and toxins, particularly with aging. Our ancient ancestors had multiple sources of Nrf2 activators in their foods and beverages (link to original research). But, beginning with the industrial revolution, radical changes in technology and taste preferences systematically eliminated dietary sources of Nrf2 activators – and disabled the Nrf2 Cell Defense Pathway we all require for good health.
Dietary sources of Nrf2 activators were abundant in ancient diets
Like modern gorillas, the earliest humans were vegetarian and consumed plant foods covered with plant-loving bacteria that produce Nrf2 activators.
Our ancestors didn’t have a problem getting Nrf2 activators from their diet. The earliest humans were vegetarian, and their plant-based foods were naturally coated with plant-loving bacteria. Once consumed, these plant-loving bacteria acted like probiotics that produced Nrf2 activators directly in their intestinal tract. Later, when humans began to eat meat cooked over an open fire, they got Nrf2 activators from their fire-cooked foods. That’s because wood smoke is also a rich source of Nrf2 activators. Eventually, preserving meat with wood smoke also became a common practice – providing another source.
More than 1 million years ago, the human diet evolved to include meat cooked over wood fire. Wood smoke is a rich source of Nrf2 activators that permeate food as it's cooked or smoked.
With the rise of farming and civilization, new dietary sources of Nrf2 activators emerged in the form of fermented beverages and foods. Beer and mead were among the earliest. Both were fermented by wild airborne yeasts, which manufacture Nrf2 activators just like the Nrf2 activators made by plant-loving bacteria. Similarly, ancient wines and ciders were fermented by wild airborne yeasts – in combination with plant-loving bacteria that came along with the grapes and apples. Again, these fermentative microorganisms all manufacture Nrf2 activators. As an additional benefit, the plant-loving bacteria in early wines and ciders also served as natural probiotics that produced Nrf2 activators during digestion.
With the rise of farming, ~ 10,000 years ago, natural fermentation was widely adopted as a means to produce alcoholic beverages and preserve solid foods. Nrf2 activators are produced by the airborne yeasts and the plant-loving bacteria involved in natural fermentation.
Like fermented beverages, fermented foods were also abundant in ancient times, including those derived from virtually every fruit, vegetable, and cereal grain you can imagine. Fermentation of everyday foods was widely adopted because it was the easiest and best way to prevent spoilage and thereby maintain a constant food supply. Even meat and fish were fermented. The plant-loving bacteria that manufacture Nrf2 activators were key to fermenting all of these traditional foods, so they were good for Nrf2 function and good for human health.
Modern innovations eliminated Nrf2 activators from our foods and beverages
The wood stove and sterile canning were the earliest innovations that eliminated Nrf2 activators from food.
The elimination of Nrf2 activators from the Western diet began early in the 19th century with the adoption of cooking stoves. Stoves were much safer and more convenient than traditional open fire methods for cooking. But they totally eliminated direct contact between food and Nrf2 activators present in wood smoke – a benefit that humans had experienced for over 1 million years. Next, sterilization and canning became available for preserving food. Because this new technology greatly facilitated large-scale production and transport, transition from fermented foods to canned sterile foods was a rapid process, particularly in urban areas. Soon after, iceboxes became widely available; and they further accelerated decline in fermentation as a preservation method. By the 1920s, electric refrigerators were common, soon followed by electric freezers. Ultimately, in less than 150 years, all of the ancient methods for preparing and preserving foods had changed; and virtually all food sources of Nrf2 activators were lost. The only common fermented foods that remained were dairy products like cheese and yogurt. Unfortunately, these are useless for Nrf2. Bacteria used for fermenting dairy products are not the plant-loving type, and they are incapable of manufacturing Nrf2 activators.
Modern breweries and commercial wineries use controlled fermentation to eliminate the wild yeasts and plant-loving bacteria that produce Nrf2 activators.
The traditionally fermented beverages containing Nrf2 activators also quickly disappeared, due to changes in technology and taste preferences. Lack of safe drinking water, which had made fermented beverages absolutely essential for everyday life, was no longer a problem. And pasteurization, canning, and refrigeration now made storage of milk and fruit juice practical. There was still demand for fermented alcoholic beverages – but not the traditional ones. With the rising popularity of sugar and the associated changes in taste preferences, beverages fermented by wild airborne yeasts and plant-loving bacteria were no longer appealing. That’s because microbes that generate Nrf2 activators also produce a variety of “off-flavors” that sugar-favoring palates find unpleasant. So, new fermentation methods with cultured yeasts that don't produce off-flavors or Nrf2 activators quickly replaced traditional fermentation, and more "sophisticated" tastes took hold.
In the end, Nrf2 activators and the microbes that produce them were eliminated from commercial beer and wine just like they’d been eliminated from commercial foods. Even cider was affected – for food safety and also to appeal to modern tastes. Instead of fermenting cider with wild airborne yeasts and plant-loving bacteria, most are now fermented with cultured yeast that doesn't produce Nrf2 activators. After fermentation, modern ciders are pasteurized and refrigerated to halt fermentation by any other microbes that may be present.
Modern foods starve the Nrf2 Cell Defense Pathway
In retrospect, it’s easy to see how dietary sources of Nrf2 activators were unwittingly eliminated from modern foods and beverages. The loss was driven by a revolution in food cooking and preservation, in combination with the rise of sugar and radical changes in taste preferences. The end result is that modern diets don’t support Nrf2 function – a phenomenon never before experienced in human history. It’s no wonder there’s growing suspicion that modern diets have negative consequences for health. Clearly, the disabling of Nrf2 function by modern diets needs a lot more attention.
That's why we founded Nrf2 Probiotics® and developed Latarum® – a probiotic similar to the plant-loving bacteria found in traditionally fermented foods, wine, and ciders. In combination with any diet containing caffeic acid – a common phenolic acid abundant in coffee, apples, and other plant-based foods – Latarum® will produce activators the Nrf2 Cell Defense Pathway requires.*
To learn more, see: Discover Latarum® and How it Works. To read how Latarum® is different from typical modern probiotic supplements, see: Supporting Science.