Health Equity - Revolutionize Your Health

April 1, 2022

Health Equity of United States citizens

One might assume that a country as big as the United States would have the lowest rates of health-related diseases due to its economic status. However, even a large country with many resources can suffer nutritional inadequacy. In the United States, we have high rates of obesity, cancer, Type 2 diabetes, Alzheimer’s disease, and other chronic illnesses related to eating and nutrition. The state of our health is not good!

Smoking used to be the number one cause of death in the United States but has now been reduced to number 2. Know what has replaced it? Our diet – namely food-related diseases like obesity, diabetes, and conditions related to it like high blood pressure. The Global Burden of Disease Study, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation—indicates the number one cause of death in the United States is the way we eat. Smoking kills half a million Americans every year, but hundreds of thousands more die from food-related conditions. NutritionFacts.org.

Identification of Health Equity

Malnutrition is as big a problem in the US as in third-world countries. If the food you are eating is not rich in vitamins, minerals, proteins, and fats, you can quickly become malnourished. It's not about having access to food, and it's about eating food of no nutritional value. We eat around our schedules, often stopping for convenience food rather than a sit-down dinner. It is odd to think that one of the wealthiest nations in the world could have starving people in it. But it is true. People in this country are malnourished because the food we eat has little to no nutritional value. Our food is laden with chemicals, preservatives, fat, cholesterol, and calories. The standard American diet has always been meat and potatoes, but that has changed to mean burgers and fries today. Fast food meals have replaced many of the home-cooked meals we used to enjoy. If this is true, you may realize that you need to revolutionize your health by changing your diet and lifestyle.

Then does the food we eat determine how healthy we are? Yes, it does. When you eat healthy food with all the nutrients, antioxidants, and amino acids, the body can function the way it is supposed to, and we, like people, thrive. The point is that we don’t have to accept disease and death as a prognosis for our lives. We have tremendous power over our health, destiny, and longevity. Many of these conditions are preventable and manageable through diet. Diabetes, heart disease, cancer, hypertension, kidney failure, obesity, and high cholesterol are all diet-related diseases that can be prevented through proper nutrition, a plant-based whole food diet, and a healthy lifestyle.

How do you feel? Overweight, tired, and feeling rundown by noon? As a nation, we should be wary of being sick and tired. We function on less sleep than we used to, eat more takeout food, and take more prescription medications than most other countries. If you are eating the Standard American Diet, which is linked to poor nutrition and health, this could be why you are feeling.

For example: Do you want to lose weight? Do you want to feel better? Do you want to improve, stabilize, or even reverse a chronic condition like heart disease, high cholesterol, diabetes, or high blood pressure?

Doctors Don't Have All the Answers

Doctors spend years and years in medical school studying the various diseases and conditions that affect the population. They learn how to diagnose illness and treat patients using a combination of surgery and prescription medications. However, in all those years spent learning in medical school, doctors were never taught how food affects the body and how eating the right foods can help prevent some diseases. Less than 1/3 of the schools require nutrition courses as part of their doctors' training programs. See How Much Nutrition Education Do Doctors Get?

So, while we are taught to eat the food pyramid in grade school, as adults, our diets go off the charts with all the pre-packaged convenience foods and takeout services at our disposal 24/7.

Our diets have gone from bad to worse, and more and more people are dying from conditions that could be prevented with proper nutrition and healthy foods. What we have been taught about food and health has been entirely wrong.

The Solution - Revolutionize your health

A critical factor in revolutionizing your health is discovering your “why.” To be successful in any endeavor or undertaking, you must "Find you why" why do I want to do this! To find you why is one of the most important things we do when we set goals to make changes in our lives. It is essential to have a clear understanding of why I want to do this. Why do you want to change? The "why" is crucial or necessary for making the change. Because if you are not committed, you will not be successful. It may not be easy to stay focused at times, but you must be successful.

I talk from experience as I have been a plant-based vegan for over 12 years now and must admit that I have fallen off the wagon at times. However, it is like everything in life; you must get up and move again. You will be successful if you commit and know "Why" you are ready to change your health and lifestyle.

The truth is you don't have to suffer from diabetes and obesity. There is a solution that has been right in front of you. You can change your health by what you choose to put on your plate. It's time we started eating the way we were intended to all along. Does the food we eat directly impact our health? You bet it does!

For an understanding and overview of plant-based diets in general, read: What is a Plant-Based Diet, Types of Plant-Based Diets and Understanding Plant-Based Diets. Also, see Plant-Based Primer: The Beginner’s Guide to a Plant-Based Diet by the folks over at Forks over Knives. These resources will help you begin your journey and guide you in the steps to revolutionize your health by making a transition to a plant-based diet.

Summary

As you can see, the state of our health is not good, and the chance of it getting soon doesn't seem to be the case. Feeding your body foods with the highest nutritional value is one of the best things you can do for your health. Diet is responsible for some of these problems, and one of the easiest things to change but is often overlooked is to change your diet and lifestyle. Now you can see why a plant-based whole food diet and lifestyle may answer our health and nutritional problems. Eating plant-based or vegan is not a fad; see Why the Global Rise in Vegan and Plant-Based Eating Isn't a Fad.

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