Understanding The Connection Between Western Diets And Disease

By Eric Walker


As obesity rates climb in the United States, the rate of chronic illness is climbing as well. The connection between Western diets and disease is as real and undeniable as ever. Apparently, what people are eating is having a significant impact on their overall life qualities and their length of life among many other things. Following are some important facts about the link between the foods that people consume and their overall health.

It is first important to note that people in the west are consuming an inordinate amount of sugar. These individuals are eating a lot of highly processed and refined foods that contain unnecessary additives. This is the primary cause of obesity in the west, as well as diabetes, hypertension, and many other common ailments.

Beyond increasing the risk of diabetes, obesity and many other issues that are weight-related, refined sugar is responsible of causing internal inflammation. In the west, this is actually one of the top causes of disease. People who maintain diets that are high in sugar tend to have a much higher likelihood of things like arthritis, cancer and even fungal infections that are widespread and systemic.

Corn happens to be a major commodity in the west and people are eating massive and regular servings of this vegetable. Unfortunately, however, they are not consuming it in its original state but are being exposed to byproducts of corn that the human body cannot effectively metabolize. Among some of these are maltodextrin and both corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup.

Sometimes, however, it is more about what people are not eating than what they are. A lot of consumers are not making it a practice to eat regular servings of fresh vegetables and fruits, whole grains and heart-healthy fats. As such, their bodies are not able to take advantage of the rejuvenating and revitalizing benefits of these foods.

You should also know that modern food production has been negatively impacting the overall quality of various foods in developed nations. There is a shortage of essential nutrients in foods that have been cultivated due to soil depletion. This means that even though many consumers are attempting to eat healthy diets, there remains a number of important nutrients that these individuals are still missing. This is why mineral and vitamin deficiencies are on the rise in these areas.

Developed nations would be expected to have diets with particularly high nutritional values especially when compared to the diets that are maintained of necessity in nations that are still in the process of development. Foods that have been genetically modified and foods that lack key nutrients as the result of modern cultivation, however, have lead to an increased number of serious health issues. There are a number of obese Americans who are both overfed and undernourished at once. This has also led to an increase in mental health concerns that include chronic anxiety and chronic depression. These are actually among some of the more common and early symptoms of many nutritional deficiencies.

Westerners often maintain diets that are largely animal based as well. The best way to fuel the body, however, is by implementing a diet that is largely plant-based. This helps fight internal inflammation, diminish cancer rates, and fuels the body with essential antioxidants and phytonutrients. These nutritional additions actually stave off disease rather than contribute to it, by bolstering the immune system and limiting inflammation.




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