How Do We Cure Preventable Illnesses?

This sounds like a silly question, but, “How do we cure preventable illnesses?”  As Michael Pollan points out in the NY Times article, Big Food vs. Big Insurance, three-quarters of health care spending now goes to treat “preventable chronic diseases.”  Why aren’t we focused on prevention?

Are we stupid?

Not disciplined enough to follow a healthy diet?

Not working out as much as we like?

Think buying organic is too expensive and not worth the extra money?

Rely on technology to take care of us?

Bad genes?

Stress?

Environment?

Don’t believe that nutrition can really prevent disease?

Drive Thru Nutrition

It can’t possibly be that we’re a society dependent on drive-thru nutrition.  It’s a cliché that symbolizes the “instant health” recipe: just add fluorinated water, prescription meds, vaccines and foods fortified with synthetic vitamins, antibiotics and hormones.  We spend less time and money on food than ever before – we’d rather have meals that are already portioned (to count the calories) and take less than 5 minutes in the microwave or drive-thru lane.  Americans spent 25% of their income on food in 1930′s and today’s figure is closer to 10%.

Healthcare vs. Nutrition

Diseases have skyrocketed in the last 60 years.  We’re paying for it now by spending billions of dollars on diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.  Is healthcare the answer? If every American had health insurance, would it change the fact that we’re simply treating symptoms?  We rely on technology and sophisticated devices to help detect, diagnose and treat these symptoms in their early stages.

Yet, there aren’t enough people who believe that proper nutrition is the answer to our high medical bills.  Few people are willing to take simple yet effective measures in improving their health.  Taking the time to soak grains overnight, eating unpasteurized butter and eliminating packaged foods with preservatives just seems like too much work.  Telling someone you purchased organic meat doesn’t mean much – it’s thought of as a waste of money.  Mentioning that you eat a diet high in good saturated fats throws up a red flag (because it gives them the wrong impression that it will lead to high cholesterol or heart attack). Those who use aspartame think it’s a sweetener similar to stevia.  One can cause serious side effects, while the other has been around for centuries.  Clearly, marketers in America have done a good job at promoting their version of what is healthy.

I’m surprised no one has come up with the idea of sprinkling minerals and antibiotics on top of fat-free double chocolate cake.  Eating a piece a day isn’t going to boost your immune system.

Ultimately, we need to take personal responsibility for what we eat.  But we need accurate and full disclosure of what is being offered to us.  If a cereal box receives honorable mention by its marketing department and CEO for its ability to reduce cholesterol in six weeks, with no mention of type 2 diabetes as a potential side effect, then I have the right to be pissed off.

Today’s blog was inspired by Michael Pollan’s article, “Big Food vs. Big Insurance,” which was published in the NY Times on September 9, 2009.  Michael Pollan is a contributing writer for the Times magazine and a professor of journalism at the University of California Berkeley.  He is the author of “In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto.”

Link: Big Food vs. Big Insurance