- About 40% of American suffer from obesity, and we have the highest rate in the world.
- Obesity is linked to 70% of heart disease.
- 2400 Americans die of heart disease EACH DAY, equaling 1 person per minute.
- 1 out of 3 people born in the US today will develop type 2 diabetes.
- America spends $2.2 trillion/year on health care. This is over 5 times our budget for American defense.
- Only 12% of our total calorie intake is coming from unprocessed plant foods.
When the family I lived with in France returned home from a trip to the US, they showed me photos from their visit. One of the photos was of a random obese person. They didn't take this photo to be mean, they simply took it because they were amazed about how large people were here in the US. It's something unusual to them, and they don't see too often. It was/is depressing.
If we would cut out these processed foods, and focus on eating what the earth gives us naturally, these numbers would drop dramatically. Then instead of spending a whopping 5 times more on the health budget, we could put it to better causes. We all need to start being more responsible for ourselves, start taking care of these amazing bodies we have been blessed with. You'll feel better, look better, and live longer, fuller lives!
Only 12% of unprocessed plant foods is not cutting it. That's horrible. Focusing on what the earth provides will give us more energy, fill our bellies more, and keep us content with our meal, rather then feeling like we need to eat an hour later.
Now is the time to start, people! Let food heal you, and start living to the fullest. Don't let this junk hold you back. Don't be the 1 out of the 3 who will get diabetes. Is that junk really worth it?
Eating a more plant based diet is not boring. You still eat amazing, knock it out of the park, flavorful food :) We just have to get it out of our heads that each meal require meat to make it complete.
So go out there and get healthy, America!
(These facts were provided by the Forks over Knives site)
I think it is sad how much money America is spending on health care, and we don't even come close to being the healthiest country.
ReplyDeleteThis post reminded me of why I like Michelle Obama; I love the effort she is putting into helping kids get healthier.
I know this isn't the point you're trying to make, but about 1-1.3 Trillion of that 2.2T number is government spending, a number that is almost double what it was in 2002. Of that 1-1.3T, 44% is spent on Seniors. It's also estimated that at least 20% of all healthcare spending is 100% attributable to waste. Again, I know it's not what you're trying to say, but the biggest reason that number is so high is due to things not really linked to diet. Fortunately for the seniors that so much of the money is going towards, their life expectancy is at an all time high.
ReplyDeleteAnd only because it pains me that it gets overlooked for so many other things, I have to point out that two babies are aborted every three seconds, that's 2400/HOUR (in the US, it's "only" 154 abortions per hour).