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refinedflourandconcentratedsugars
inourdiet,whileeatingmorefruits,
Whyyourdoctor cruciferousvegetableslikebroccoliand
cauliflower,andchlorophyllfromgreen
vegetablessuchasspinach,couldreduce
doesn’tknow therateofbreast,colorectalandprostate
cancersby70percent,andthatoflung
3
cancerbyasmuch as 50 percent.
aboutdiet School’sout
Sowhyisn’tyourdoctortellingyou
this?Whilesomewillgiveyouthe
rudimentaryadvicetoeatmorefruits
Thefoodweeatisthesinglemostimportantfactorin andvegetablesandcutdownonsweets
determiningourhealthandlongevity—andyetdoctors have andprocessedfoods,nonearetaughtthe
biologicalcomplexitiesoffoodanddiet
only the most basic knowledge about nutrition orthewaynutritioncanbeharnessedto
reversedisease.
It’sevenstartedtoworrytheAmerican
HeartAssociation(AHA),anadvocateof
thedrugs-firstapproachtohearttherapy.
Spurredonbyrisingratesofdiabetes,
obesity,highbloodpressureandother
ippocratesmighthave “Thisstudyaffirmsthatpoordietis chronicdiseases,theAHAcommissioned
pronouncedthatfoodshouldbe responsibleformoredeathsthanany anexpertpaneltodiscoverwhythis
Hourmedicine,butit’sadvicethat otherriskfactorintheworld,”saidlead increaseishappening,especiallyas
doctorshavebeenignoringforthepast researcherDrChristopherMurrayfrom doctorshavebeengivingpatientsbasic
100years.Andtheyreallyshouldhave theUniversityofWashington. dietaryadviceforyears.
beenlistening,asunderscoredbyanew Althoughhealthagencieshavefocused Essentially,itcomesdowntothe
researchstudythathasdiscoveredonein theirpublichealthalertsonfastand simplefactthatdoctorsaren’tbeing
fivedeathsaroundtheworldeveryyearis sugaryfoodsasthingstoavoid,the taughtanythingbeyondthosebasics,
thedirectresultofapoordiet. researchersdiscoveredthatnoteating recommendationsthatcouldhavebeen
Addtothatthe40percentofcancers enoughfruitsandvegetableshadafar gleanedinatabloidnewspaper.
andthemanycasesofdiabetesandheart biggerimpactonhealthandlongevity. It’saneducationalgapthatgoesback
diseasecausedbybadeatinghabits,and Othersagree.Takingaone-year decades,sayspanelchairpersonDrKaren
it’sclearthatahealthydietisthesingle snapshotofheartdisease,dietanddeath Asprey.Eventhebarestminimumof25
mostimportantfactorformaintaining intheUS,researchersfromtheTufts hoursofinstructioninnutritionand
healthandpreventingdisease. FriedmanSchoolofNutritionScienceand diet,whichwasrecommendedin1985,
Butdon’tjustblamethedoctor. PolicyinBostonrecorded702,308deaths isbeingmetbyfewerthan30percentof
Medicalschoolsaren’tteaching in2012fromcardiometabolicdiseases, medicalschoolsintheUS. 4
nutrition,andhealthagenciesthatlay whichincludesheartdisease,strokeand Theaverageteachingtimeisjust19
downtheguidelinesforbestpractice diabetes,andmorethan45percentof hours,suggestingthereislittlerecognition
arenotpushingnutritionalapproaches themweredirectlycausedbydiet. that“obesityandcardiovasculardisease
asavalidwaytotreatchronicdisease— Mostofthesedeathswereattributed arelinkedtopoornutritionandpoordiet
eventhoughthereisanabundanceof tonoteatingenoughnuts,seedsand quality,”Aspreyadded.
evidencetodemonstratethatnutrition omega-3fattyacidsfromseafood,and Andnobodyreallycaresifdoctors
playsapivotalroleinpreventingand consumptionoftoomuchsalt(sodium) understandwhatthey’rebeingtaught.
reversingmany health problems. andprocessedmeats. 2 There’snotesting,anddietdoesn’t
Cancer,too,couldbepreventedby appearonanyexaminationpapers,said
Eatingbad eatingahealthydiet.Upto40percentof DrDavidEisenbergattheHarvardTH
Thelatestsuchstudy,whichtracked allcancersarecausedbyapoorlifestyle ChanSchoolofPublicHealth.
dietandhealthin195countriesfor27 and diet, and reducing the amount of “Itisascandalthathealthprofessionals
years,concludedthat11milliondeaths arenotintroducedtothesefactsabove
ayear—roughly5percentofalldeaths andbeyondminimalinformationabout
worldwide—arecausedbypoordiet, The bare minimum 25 hours nutritionaldeficienciesinbiochemistry,
definedaslowintakeofwholegrains,fruits, of instruction in nutrition is andthatthesethingsdonotappear
vegetables,nutsandseeds,andhighlevels ontheirexaminationstobecome a
ofsodiumandtransfatsfromprocessed being met by fewer than 30 practicingphysician.
“fast”foods,bakedgoods,sugarydrinks percent of medical schools “Noraretheyrequiredon
andredandprocessedmeats. 1 board certification,whetherit’sto
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