Why America Is Sick

The health of THE USA is at risk. While obesity reaches near epidemic proportions, the rate of type 2 diabetes, heart disease and cancer continues to rise. What is the cause?

The way we eat. Sadly, today, many Americans choose convenience over health. Fast-food restaurants and convenience foods continue to make up a significant, and unhealthy, proportion of our American diet.

Americans are not getting enough essential nutrients, fiber and natural fats that help our bodies prevent disease.  

What are some of the issues with the American diet?

The Standard American Diet (SAD) is not contributing to our health.  Learn about some of the issues.

1. Processing removes nutrients

Our supermarkets are full of convenient packaged foods that appeal to our taste but compromise our nutrition. Because most of these foods’ natural nutrients are removed in the refining process, we need to get them elsewhere.

2. Processed foods have additives

The Standard American Diet relies heavily on processed foods that include artificial color, additives, flavorings, and chemically-altered fats and sweeteners. These additives and chemically altered substances may be giving our bodies the wrong signals, instead of the information they need to function properly.

3. Even “natural” foods have fewer nutrients

The food is not the same as it was 20 years ago. Nutrients in the soil have been depleted, so food grown in that soil has fewer nutrients. Chemicals are increasingly used in raising both plants and animals, particularly on huge industrial farms that specialize in a few products.

4. We are eating less variety of foods

Ironically, while 17,000 new products are introduced each year, two-thirds of our calories come from just four foods: corn, soy, wheat, and rice.

5. We eat for convenience, not pleasure

We tend to eat for convenience and speed, not health and pleasure. Our fast foods also remove us from the pleasures of creating and savoring a wonderful meal, and our fast pace often prevents us from connecting over a good, slow meal.

6. TRUE or FALSE:

 Say whether the sentences below are true (T) or false (F) according to the text:

a. The Standard American Diet is unhealthy. T/F

b. Processed food removes the natural nutrients that make us healthy. T/F

c. Our bodies can function well due to additives and chemically altered substances found in processed food. T/F

d. Natural foods have a lot of nutrients   today. T/F

e. We’re eating a large variety of food nowadays. T/F

f. Lack of time makes us eat without any pleasure. T/F

7. Read the infographic below and compare with your own diet: