I'm taking a class this term called "Human Body: Health and Disease," and it got me thinking . . . ******* Health, Diet, and Disease in Modern Cedonia Thanks to the priestly orders of Lucia, Coron, and Arlova, Cedonians generally enjoy good physical and mental health. However, due to factors of diet, climate, and genetics, there are certain diseases and health issues that are common enough to be of note. Cedonians: ---------- Ethnic Cedonians (a group which includes the people of Vizinia and Zelkor), generally eat what we would call a 'Mediterranean' diet, with plenty of red wine, pasta, garlic, fish, etc. As far as consumption of meat is concerned, Cedonians have no dietary prejudices as such, but they generally prefer lamb or goat over poultry or seafood, and they prefer poultry or seafood over pork or beef. Heart disease is uncommon among Cedonians, as is iodine deficiency and vitamin deficiency in general. However, the high consumption of seafood in the coastal cities makes water-borne cholera a constant threat. Northern Cedonia, shading into Selaria, has a constant problem with mosquito-borne disease. Malaria and yellow fever are endemic in some coastal regions. As a consequence, many Cedonians are carriers of the gene for sickle-cell anemia: a single copy of the mutant gene provides some protection from malaria, but two copies cause problems. The incidence of sickle-cell anemia among ethnic Cedonians is roughly the same as the incidence among blacks in our world. Selarians: ---------- Ethnic Selarians eat a very different diet than Cedonians: Horsemeat, horse milk, horse blood, beef, game meat, grains, tubers. Selarians eat very few green vegetables, although they do eat fruit, and do tend to develop vitamin deficiency diseases like rickets or goiter. However, their practice of eating meat nearly raw provides them with enough Vitamin C to avoid scurvy. They are more vulnerable to heart disease than Cedonians, but the nature of their herding and hunting practices means that most of their dietary fat is unsaturated. They also tend to get more exercise than the average urban Cedonian. Selarians also carry the sickle-cell gene and have roughly the same incidence of the disease as Cedonians. Selarians and Cedonians also both carry the gene for cystic fibrosis, which, like the sickle-cell gene, is a mixed blessing: one copy provides resistance to the effects of dysentery and similar diseases, but two copies means a life expectancy of 30 years at best. Kasovians: ---------- Members of the Kasovian ethnic group have the highest rates of heart disease and stroke in Cedonia. Their traditional diet is pork, beef, mutton, grains, tubers, and ale. Lard is an important ingredient in Kasovian cooking. Like the modern Scots, they eat very few fruits or vegetables, and consume a lot of saturated fats. Kasovians find the Cedonians' preference for goat meat and the Selarians' consumption of horse meat to be revolting. Kasovians also suffer from colon, stomach, and skin cancers more than the other two ethnic groups--the former two because of diet, the latter because of complexion. Due to elevation, Kasovia is cool enough that mosquito-borne illness is not a great concern. Tick-borne diseases, on the other hand, are common. As far as genetic diseases are concerned, Kasovians carry the cystic fibrosis gene, but not the sickle-cell gene. The nature of Kasovian clan society creates a certain amount of inbreeding, so within any given valley, a different constellation of hereditary diseases may be found, such as Wilson's Disease(excessive copper accumulation), hemochromatosis(excessive iron accumulation), polydactyly(extra fingers & toes), Huntington's chorea, and others. ****** Andrew ---------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, send mail to celandra-off@phoenyx.net.
