In the assigned article, \"The Saltshakers Curse\", how does the application of

Question

In the assigned article, "The Saltshakers Curse", how does the application of evolutionary theory expain the link betwen salt and hyperextension in modern African Americans? In other words how does understanding evoluion (like fitness and natural selection) help us explain why modern African Americans experience such high levels of hypertension and other related health issues?) Your answer should be about 3-5 sentences.

Article link:

https://sacct.csus.edu/bbcswebdav/pid-2220597-dt-content-rid-8019685_1/courses/2158-ANTH1SH-MASTER/02_Saltshakers%20Curse.pdf

Explanation / Answer

The survivors of slavery have other natural advantages. One dramatizes our point today. It's a resistance to malaria. Sickle cell hemoglobin gives that resistance. But when people protected by the sickle cell trait marry, one in every four of their children suffers sickle cell anemia.

So the blessing becomes a curse. Black Americans emerge with a huge Darwinian advantage. But the advantage turns to a death sentence, because now we load our diets with salt and sugar - in a sense OVERLOAD.



Today, Black Americans come into their own in a land that hasn't treated them well. As they do, it is an eerie fact that the hard-bought ability to live on a low-salt, low-sugar diet turns to disadvantage.

The reasons for the exceptionally high rates of hypertension and associated end organ damage among African Americans, are not entirely clear but likely include socioeconomic status, lifestyle choices, clinical factors (e.g., increased risks of diabetes and hypertension), environmental, and biologic/genetic factors that may contribute broadly to racial/ethnic differences in not only outcomes but in response to therapeutic intervention. Our understanding of the complex factors that predispose African Americans to hypertension and hypertension-related complications is evolving. While RAS inhibition has emerged as an important antihypertensive therapy, the blood pressure lowering efficacy of RAS inhibitors is attenuated in African Americans, likely due to an increased prevalence of having a low renin profile. Therefore these agents may be less likely to be recommended as initial therapy in African Americans with hypertension.

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