Poor Diet Now a Leading Cause of Death
We have all heard about “Leading Causes of Death” and usually read about heart disease, cancer, diabetes, strokes. But now the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) and the University of Washington have ranked “poor diet” as a leading cause of death. (Environmental Nutrition, Oct. 2013). Why? Scientists analyzed data from 2010 and discovered that of the 10 leading causes of death, POOR DIET is now "leading the pack". In 2010, they attributed 678,288 deaths to a poor diet. Poor diet surpassed smoking, drug use and alcohol as causes of death. However, physical inactivity was not far behind the other factors. So what is the Poor Diet that is causing so many deaths? Low intake of fruits and vegetables . If more people ate 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day, they could lessen their risk. Sodium – most Americans take in way too much sodium, and mostly from packaged...