Ignoring the elephant in the room: the Western diet
Filed under: Type 2, Diet, Opinion
Here's a question for you to ponder: we know that obesity/overeating is harmful to the body, right? It leads to Type 2 diabetes, among a myriad of other harmful effects. So why do we continue to eat the way we do? Author and academic (at the University of California, Berkeley) Michael Pollan has taken a valiant stab at answering that question. Pollan is the author of the well-received book The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. I have not read the book (though I'm adding it to my list of books to read in 2007), but I did read Pollan's fab article "Unhappy Meals" in this weekend's New York Times. Our obesity problem, says Pollan, is all tied up with a national hangup about eating and nutrition.The "elephant in the room," writes Pollan, is the Western way of eating. To be healthier and to avoid diseases like Type 2 diabetes, we should cut consumption of meat and carbs, avoid processed foods, and eat lots more fruits and vegetables. In the case of Type 2 diabetes, the nation needs to stop, in the word's of a scientist quoted by Pollan, "mainlining glucose." And yet...it doesn't happen. Instead, Americans subscribe to fad diets, they invest in expensive exercise equipment and gym memberships. Moreover, says Pollan, Americans are beset by "nutritionism." That is, we try to prevent obesity and diet-related diseases like diabetes by identifying and eliminating the harmful substances in our foods - like salt, fat or carbs - when what we need is to totally modify our diets. He (politely) places a lot of the blame for this on scientists and the media for supplying us with a constant stream of nutrition-related advice that's so confusing and contradictory and seemingly-important that we keep forgetting about that big old "elephant" - the Western diet as a whole. This focus, he says, "has diminished our pleasure in eating it while doing little or nothing to improve our health." It's a conundrum alright.
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The Dilemma: which disease is more worth treating?
Filed under: Research
Fight infectious diseases or treat chronic illnesses? Which of the two do you choose? This is the very dilemma faced by many third world nations, with economic shortfall being the cause for such a decision to be made. So, with little alternative but to make a choice, many poor countries have focused their medical attention to preventing the spread of communicable diseases. As expected, this has left people suffering from chronic non-communicable conditions such as cardiovascular disease and cancer with few treatment options.
In the January 18, 2007 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, Gerard Anderson, PhD, a professor from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, addressed the dire need for more international aid for chronic, non-communicable diseases in these poorer countries. He cites facts surrounding the dangers of not properly treating such diseases, and also highlights statistics showing cardiovascular disease as being the cause of 27 percent of all deaths in poor countries, whereas HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis combined only account for 11 percent of deaths in poor countries.
The professor is quick to point out that he does not feel as though aid for communicable diseases should be cut. Rather, he feels that an equal amount of resources should be made available for chronic, non-communicable diseases, as well. As for a reason why the former receives more attention than the latter, he posits that it may be related to the fact that the world fears the world fears the global spread of communicable diseases, a danger that is not attributed to chronic, non-communicable disease. Also, in many cases chronic, non-communicable diseases are not viewed as being of great urgency, so they do not receive an equal amount of media attention.
For more information, review Dr. Anderson's article, "Expanding Priorities -- Confronting Chronic Disease in Countries with Low Income" in the January edition of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Heart health and family history
Filed under: Family history, Prevention
When we first applied for life insurance, my marathon running husband was shocked to find out that his premium would be twice as high as mine. The reason, according to our agent, was his strong family history of early heart disease. Though we knew that genetics play a role, we thought that a healthy lifestyle would balance things out. Not so, at least in the eyes of life insurance companies.A healthy lifestyle does have a significant impact on your heart health, but if you've been wondering just how much of a role family history plays in your personal risk of cardiovascular disease, check out this article from WebMD. It covers the basics of family history and may help initiate a conversation about prevention with your doctor.
Go for Scientific Weight Loss
Go for Scientific Weight Loss
By Karen Peralta
Considering the US Center for Disease Controlâ??s advice is a very good idea. Fat, although systematically proven useful to the human body, is not only a waste of food. When youâ??re fat, if very fat, youâ??re obese, and you do indeed have a disease. It can sneak right up [...]
Weight Loss - With The Atkins Diet
Weight Loss - With The Atkins Diet
By Michael Russell
What if I told you you’d able to eat all the juicy steaks, succulent seafood with butter and bacon and cheese omelettes and still lose massive quantities of weight? What if I also explained to you that you wouldn’t necessarily have to exercise to lose this weight? [...]
Hypertension - What Exactly Causes High Blood Pressure?
By Mark Littlejohn
High blood pressure (hypertension) is often called the “Silent Killer” because of a distinct lack of symptoms. The first time someone finds out they may have hypertension is after a routine test at the doctor’s office.
Your doctor can quickly and easily check your blood pressure, but do be warned, there is a very [...]
Go for Scientific Weight Loss
Go for Scientific Weight Loss
By Karen Peralta
Considering the US Center for Disease Controlâ??s advice is a very good idea. Fat, although systematically proven useful to the human body, is not only a waste of food. When youâ??re fat, if very fat, youâ??re obese, and you do indeed have a disease. It can sneak right up [...]
Weight Loss ? With The Atkins Diet
Weight Loss – With The Atkins Diet
By Michael Russell
What if I told you you’d able to eat all the juicy steaks, succulent seafood with butter and bacon and cheese omelettes and still lose massive quantities of weight? What if I also explained to you that you wouldn’t necessarily have to exercise to lose this weight? [...]
How to Reduce Blood Pressure Symptoms
By Paul J Johnson
Blood pressure is the pressure exerted on the arteries. Blood pressure can differ from person to person. When your blood pressure is measured it is expressed in two numbers such as 120/80.The figure on the top denotes the pressure when the heart is pumping blood and its muscle is contracted. If your [...]