Sticking to a healthy diet is not something that is easy for everyone. Sure, there are plenty of people out there who genuinely enjoy eating kale salads and quinoa, and who don’t mind skipping ice cream every single night, but there are also a lot of people who find it really hard to enjoy healthy food. On top of that, many people feel that healthier food (like all-natural and organic options) are more expensive and less accessible than less healthy options (like grabbing fast food for dinner or picking up a frozen meal after a busy day). The point is, there are plenty of reasons people have unhealthy diets — and unfortunately, many people have them.
Everyone knows that these unhealthy diets are, well, not good for you at all. We all know that an unhealthy diet can lead to a variety of health issues, can make us feel generally bad, and can lead to things like unwanted weight gain. But for a lot of people, the cons just don’t seem bad enough to change their entire lifestyle up. However, there’s a new study that has found some disturbing news about unhealthy diets, and it just might make everyone reconsider their choices.
The research — which was part of the Global Burden of Disease Study done by the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation in Seattle, — found that, basically, unhealthy diets are responsible for more deaths every year than smoking. When you think about all of the negative side effects that come with cigarettes, that’s certainly an alarming thought.
According to the CDC, smoking causes over 48,000 deaths every year in the United States. Worldwide, it causes more than 7 million deaths every year.
One in Five Deaths Worldwide Linked to Unhealthy #Diet #KnowYourRisk #CardiovascularHealth https://t.co/qKQoogZRzY pic.twitter.com/UpEOuLXrYX
— Cleveland HeartLab (@CLEHeartLab) April 18, 2019
So, is it French fries, bags of chips, and ice cream that are contributing to this rising number of deaths? Not so much. Although a huge sugar and salt intake isn’t helping you get any healthier, this research discovered that the culprit here is really the nutritious food people aren’t eating. It’s essentially what an unhealthy diet is lacking that is causing so many problems.
Researchers discovered that while diets were different in each country, there was a pattern. Diets that didn’t include enough fruits and vegetables, but did include too much sodium, accounted for half of all deaths and two-thirds of the years of disability attributable to diet.
The other main risks included eating too few whole grains, fruits, nuts and seeds, vegetables, and omega-3 fatty acids from seafood.
These deaths were mainly caused by heart attacks and strokes. Types of cancers and type 2 diabetes were also the main causes of diet-related deaths.
🔎 Taking a closer look now at some figures from the recent Lancet study about the dietary habits that most affect our health.
— Didi de Zwarte - RD (@Didititian) April 14, 2019
🤷♀️ What impact does an unhealthy diet have on death rates?
Video: https://t.co/sozyhy644U
Post: https://t.co/QHNAvUZQuL…#trustadietitian #RD pic.twitter.com/TisXAr5aKy
Through this study, researchers found that trying to convince people to cut down on things like sugar, salt, and fat is not as helpful as simply trying to promote healthier options. Basically, instead of saying, “Don’t eat that,” they should be saying, “Try adding this to your diet.”
For one thing, it’s a more positive way to look at a dietary change, and for another, it works even if you don’t realize it. Lead author Dr. Ashkan Afshin of the IHME explained, “Generally in real life people do substitution. When they increase the consumption of something, they decrease the consumption of other things.”
Following the Mediterranean diet means putting a heavy emphasis on fruit, vegetables, nuts and legumes, bread, eggs, seafood, and olive oil. The diet, which is really more of a lifestyle, doesn’t include a lot of red meat, and avoids things like added sugars, processed meat, refined grains, refined oils, and processed foods in the general.
When it comes down to it, what you really need to do is focus on introducing the right foods into your diet and minimizing the wrong ones. Try to avoid a high intake of sodium, and try to add more whole grains, fruit, nuts, seeds, and vegetables into your everyday diet.
You don’t have to cut out all of the junk food you like, but be sure to add in lots of the good stuff, too. An unhealthy diet just isn’t worth the risk.
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