The Standard American Diet Should NOT Be the Norm
Source From: https://homejarfitness.com/the-standard-american-diet-should-not-be-the-norm/
By: Lanae Agee, RN, Chief Wellness Officer –
I love being empowered by plant-based nutrition books. I encourage you to read as much as you can about plant-based nutrition. It will truly change the way you look at food.
I was recently reading an excerpt on the Standard American Diet (SAD). I know I have heard it from Dr. Tessler before. But go to a restaurant and look around you. What are people eating? Drive down a busy street and look at the lines at lunchtime at the fast food chains. Look at the person purchasing food in front of you at the grocery store. What are they buying to eat?
I will tell you what they are eating…high fructose corn syrup, processed snacks, fried food, sodium, hydrogenated oils, saturated fats, soda, artificial sweeteners, white bread, etc. Here are some of the facts:
3 out of 4 Americans don’t eat a single piece of fruit on a given day (National Cancer Institute).
9 out of 10 don’t reach the minimum recommended daily intake of vegetables (National Cancer Institute).
63 percent of calories Americans consume come from processed foods (USDA).
Plant-based foods only make up 12 percent of calories consumed in the U.S. today (USDA).
The Federal guidelines for food intake says that that up to 25 percent of your diet can be made up of “discretionary calories”, meaning junk food. Yet we still failed. 95% of Americans exceeded their discretionary calorie allowance.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Americans over the age of two are averaging over 3,400 milligrams of sodium each day — that is more than double the recommended level and nearly seven times what our bodies actually need.
According to the USDA, nearly 1,000 calories a day (out of a 2775 daily calorie diet) is attributed to added fats and sweeteners! In comparison, dairy, fruits and vegetables only contribute 424 calories. Our priorities for food are totally out of balance.
And it is not just food. Prescription drugs too. According to CDC, 48.5 percent of Americans have used at least one prescription drug in the past 30 days, and 21.7 percent have used three or more prescription drugs. Think about it…We now take a pill to balance the fact that we want to eat a 10 oz. ribeye, loaded baked potato and a piece of Texas toast, washed down with a sweet tea.
Are we really going to stand by and watch while our children become obese and our loved ones fall victim to unhealthy diets that lead to disease. Let’s lead by example – Eat more fruits and vegetables.