Are we eating ourselves sick?
I was recently reading an article that hypothesised that America’s high Covid death rate could be attributed to the high obesity levels that they have. A staggering 72% of American’s are overweight and over a third of those are listed as medically obese. Now before we point that finger at our friends across the pond, the 2017 2018 Bureau of Statistics National Health Survey showed that 67% (two thirds) of Australians are overweight. Absolutely frightening and not that far off our American friends!
We have heard from medical experts far and wide, that people with underlying health issues seem to be more susceptible to catching Covid in the first place and then developing more serious symptoms. It should, of course, be noted that there are perfectly healthy people who have caught the virus and have subsequently died. The rate of infection however, remains higher in those who are not as healthy.
In 2015 a study was undertaken to identify what is called the “burden of disease” with some startling findings. Burden of disease is defined as the impact of health problems as measured by financial cost, mortality, morbidity or other factors. The report identified that:
chronic diseases such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and musculoskeletal conditions contributed the most burden in Australia in 2015
38% of the burden could have been prevented by removing exposure to risk factors such as tobacco use, overweight and obesity, and dietary risks.
If 38% of the deaths that occurred in 2015 could have been prevented with changes to diet, why don’t we change our habits as a nation? It’s a tough question to answer. Is it education or a lack thereof, is it convenience, are we too lazy to cook a nutritious meal, are we addicted to junk foods, sugar and sodium laden snacks and processed packaged foods that are cleverly marketed? Is it all the aforementioned and more?
What we know at Gut Happy is that living healthily is a lifestyle and not a diet. Let me say that again, we don’t diet! Living a lifestyle that includes eating wholefoods and a wide variety of fruits and vegetables with a mix of proteins. We eat good fats like avocados, coconut and olive oil, drink lots of water and try to limit exposure to any processed foods as best we can. Are we perfect………no………do we slip up sometimes…….yes we do! One thing we try to achieve is consistency. Being consistent with our gut and what we put into it.
We build our health and wellbeing one meal at a time. When our health suffers, for whatever reason, we ensure that we do the fundamentals well. Bone broth, ACV, prebiotic fibres and when our bones ache we always have our magnesium flakes to soak the aches away.
The pitfalls of poor health start with poor nutrition. Surely if we are eating ourselves sick, we also have the ability to eat ourselves well. Eating well increases your immunity, eating well will decrease our risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and obesity and eating well can prevent all of us from being susceptible to many illnesses and inflammatory conditions. Healthy living is a one day at a time journey. When we eat well, we can improve our health and our outcomes every day.
Stay safe, positive and stay Gut Happy
The Gut Happy Girls
xxx