Americans are in dire need of medical assistance.
Heart Disease
- - Heart disease is the most likely reason you’ll die. It is the number one cause of death in the US.
- - Heart disease kills more Americans than the next four fatal diseases combined.
- - One in every two Americans will die from heart disease or stroke. (I find that an absolutely shocking statistic.)
- - In 1900, cardiovascular disease wasn’t even in the top ten causes of death. By 2007, more than 3,000 people were dying from heart disease every day. That’s one death every 26 seconds.
Cancer
- - Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US, and will likely surpass the number one cause (heart disease).
- - One in every three people will get cancer in their lifetime.
- - One in every four people will die from it.
Stroke
- - Stroke is the third leading cause of death in the US.
- - Stroke is the leading cause of serious, long-term disability in the United States.
- - On average, every 40 seconds someone in the United States has a stroke.
- - Stroke is like a silent killer that attacks with no warning signs and results in death 25% of the time.
Diabetes
- - One in 12 Americans suffers from diabetes.
- - 3,000 new cases of diabetes hit every day.
- - Researchers estimate that as many as 1 in 3 people born after the year 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime.
- - Diabetes is the leading cause of blindness, amputation, and kidney failure.
- - Diabetes doubles your chance of having a heart attack or stroke.
- - In 2002, the annual cost of diabetes was $132 billion dollars – that’s about 1 out of every 10 health care dollars spent in this country.
Obesity
- - The US is the most overweight country in the world. Over two-thirds of the US population is overweight or obese.
- - A “normal” body mass index (BMI) is 18.5 – 24.9.
- - 34% of adults (over age 20) are overweight (have a BMI of 25–29.9).
- - 34% of adults (over age 20) are obese (have a BMI of 30 or greater).
- - 33% of children are overweight or obese.
Alzheimer’s Disease
- - Alzheimer’s disease and dementia affect 6-8% of people over 65, and close to 50% of people over 80. This is predicted to increase fivefold by 2050.
- - Scientists have found associations between cognitive decline and vascular and metabolic conditions such as heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.
Link To Diet
This lineup of killer diseases is taking us down like dominoes! But there is great scientific evidence showing that a plant-based diet can prevent, and even reverse, most of these diseases. And not just that, but a plant-based diet can also lower blood pressure, end constipation and irritable bowel syndrome, reverse osteoporosis, and reduce or eliminate PMS, migraines, kidney stones and gall stones, eczema, and infections.
I plan to discuss each disease individually, present the reasons why meat, dairy, and eggs cause them, and the evidence that a plant-based diet can stop them. Be sure to follow along!
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Breakfast: Toast with vegan cream cheese
Lunch: Hummus, cucumber, and tomato sandwich
Dinner: Roasted garlic and jalapeño pasta (by Gourmet Texas Pasta) with olive oil – It was very good! I definitely recommend trying this stuff! One $7 package was more than enough for dinner for 2 with leftovers for lunch tomorrow. I’ve also tried the Spinach basil garlic – also very good!
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Don McClure says:
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 5:12 pm (UTC -5)
Heart disease was 4th ranked cause of death in 1900. With pneumonia, tuberculosis and diarrhea/enteritis limited, heart disease is now 1st.
Source: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services; Nat’l Center for Health Statistics; growthhouse.org
Powered By Produce says:
Thursday, June 16, 2011 at 6:27 pm (UTC -5)
(From here):
“Before 1900, very few people died of heart disease. Since then, heart disease has become the number one killer in the United States. The age of technology has made life easier and made people more prone to heart disease. Before the Industrial Revolution, most people made their living through some sort of manual labor. Walking was the major means of transportation. Laundry was scrubbed and wrung by hand. Stairs were climbed, carpets were beat, and butter was churned.
With the arrival of automation, life became less strenuous. Most manual labor was either replaced or assisted by machinery. Automobiles, washing machines, elevators, and vacuum cleaners became commonplace. Modern conveniences made physical activity unnecessary.
Along with the change in lifestyle came a change in diet. Machines were built to homogenize milk, process cheese, churn butter, and make ice cream. Previously, such high-fat treats had to be made by hand. Fried foods, like potato chips, hamburgers, and french fries, became staples in many diets.
The combination of a sedentary lifestyle and a rich diet led to an increase in clogged blood vessels, heart attacks, and strokes. Heart disease became commonplace. The rate of heart disease increased so sharply between the 1940 and 1967 that the World Health Organization called it the world’s most serious epidemic.
Medical science immediately went to work studying the disease and searching out its causes and cures… Today, the causes of heart disease are known.”
We know that the cause of heart attacks is blocked arteries. Arteries get blocked by cholesterol build-up. And cholesterol is ONLY found in animal products.