The link between nutrition and disease has been all but obscured by modern medicine and the pharmaceutical industry. It is unquestionable that poor nutrition is the primary cause of disease -- and yet, most physicians continue to prescribe their patients drug after drug to "manage" their conditions instead of treating the root cause. Few doctors are willing to recognize the influence nutrition has on health outcomes. While many healthcare professionals will agree that eating junk food can make you sick, you would be hard-pressed to find a member of the medical establishment willing to admit dietary modification can actually be curative.
The fact of the matter is that if poor nutrition can cause disease, good nutrition can help reverse course.
When food is fatal
As Integrative Practitioner reports, the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017 (GBDS) looked at trends in consumption for 15 dietary factors among adults 25 years of age or older. Data was collected in 195 countries from 1990 to 2017, making it one of the most comprehensive analyses on the effects of nutrition on health and mortality to date.
Ultimately, their research showed that dietary factors, such as high salt intake and low intake of fruits, were responsible for an astonishing 11 million deaths worldwide. That means one out of every five deaths is linked to poor nutrition.
The scientists also looked at "disability-adjusted life-years" or DALYS, which are essentially the number of years a person's life is affected by disability. A grand total of 255 million DALYS were attributed to poor nutrition, based on the GBDS. Millions of years of suffering, solely because of how dysfunctional our approach to food has become.
On average, the researchers say, people consume 10 times the recommended amount of sugar-sweetened beverages. People also consume roughly twice the amount of processed meats that health organizations recommend.
"In summary, we found that poor dietary habits are associated with a range of chronic diseases and can potentially be a major contributor to NCD mortality in all countries worldwide. This finding highlights the urgent need for coordinated global efforts to improve the quality of human diet," the team concludes.
Death by design
The food industry has never had humanity's interests in mind -- and it's foolish to think this research will prompt any sort of change from the corporate fat cats who run Big Food (or their patsies in Big Government). For years now, Big Food has been operating outside of the law via loopholes and so-called "gray areas."
The industry exploits these "gray areas" so they can use questionable ingredients with impunity. Many of the additives used in prepackaged foods and other goods can be harmful to human health. Artificial sweeteners, petroleum-based colorants and trans fats have all been linked to adverse health effects.
There is no shortage of things wrong with the modern "foods" that line grocery store shelves -- and even much of the produce available today has been corrupted, either by GMOs or toxic agrichemicals.
Government agencies purportedly charged with protecting public health have stood idly by while multiple industries pump the world's food system with poison. The government has literally colluded with industry leaders to mislead the public. It would be foolish for anyone to think this is suddenly going to change just because -- but research like this allows three-letter agencies to pretend that they're doing something.
You can learn more about healthy eating here and start taking charge of your health today. See more stories about food and nutrition at Food.news.
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