Health Update: The Western Diet is Killing Us!
9.19.2022
Hello once more everyone:
This is a very good article from Medscape.com that highlights how the Standard American Diet (S.A.D.), also known as the Western Diet, is just killing us. Here is what a noted gastroenterologist has to say:
“The Western diet has really cannibalized the health of the United States and Western civilizations.
This diet is typically characterized by high intakes of processed and prepacked food items, red meat, dairy, and grains, consisting of high-fat, high-protein, and low-fiber components. These food items have become diets of convenience as opposed to diets potentially promoting health.
They’ve led to an associated increase in so-called “diseases of civilization,” including cardiovascular disease , obesity , and a va riety of metabolic diseases and cancers.
Western diets have been also associated with a variety of microbial and gut integrity changes, which in turn, are associated with an assortment of bad outcomes. Specifically, they’re associated with decreases in microbial diversity in the gut; upregulation of proinflammatory mediators, cytokines, and chemokines; and several changes to gut integrity, immunity, and pathways that are derivatives toward diseases and even promoting translocation of gut bacteria.
In contradistinction, we have the Mediterranean diet, which is often proffered as the good or healthy diet for most patients. This comprises a diet that’s high in fiber and low in animal protein and saturated fat, and is characterized by a higher ingestion of vegetables, fruits, and healthy fat and a lower intake of red meat and dairy. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend a Mediterranean diet for promoting health and minimizing disease.”
Bottom Line: This is empowering information regarding how many chronic diseases in our country are diseases caused, aggravated, or perpetuated by inflammation that arises from poor dietary decisions. It confirms that upgrading your food plan to a more plant based Mediterranean style diet can be extremely beneficial. Understanding this type of information makes it easier to approach the need for change. In that light, Hippocrates is quoted as saying: “ Before you heal someone, ask him if he’s willing to give up the things that make him sick .” This certainly applies today. Are you up for it???
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