FOOD

I read what I consider to be a truly great article this morning in JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association). It was called "Technology, Diet and the Burden of Chronic Disease" written by David Ludwig MD,PhD. It was short (2 pages) but clear, concise and in my opinion truly profound. The upshot was that the vast majority of chronic disease is directly related to the evolution in food which has occurred over the last 200 years. This is not new and not earth-shattering but I was struck by how simply worded and clear the information was delivered. Ultraprocessing is at the heart of the problem. By becoming slaves to convenience, ease and speed, we as a society have literally thrown away our health and well-being. Fast food and processed food replaces micronutrients, fiber and phytochemicals (the building blocks of fruits, vegetables, nuts,seeds and legumes) with low quality and unhealthful fats and high calorie sugars. In addition, water is taken out and processed food is much denser in calories. This alone explains our obesity epidemic and the overwhelming burden of chronic disease. Sodas and colas are not discussed but everyone knows that they are co-conspirators in our health woes.

The good news remains that: we have the power to regain our power and our health. The authors cite good suggestions for us as individuals and us as a society to combat this truly insane sacrifice that we as a society have made. Health and well-being has been forsaken in the quest for speed, convenience, palatability and profit to the companies which produce our truly toxic fare. This madness can end whenever we say, "STOP". There is another way and it is truly life-enhancing rather than life-destructing.