If you follow me on social media you may have seen my post about this yesterday. Today I want to dive in a little more on the topic.
During the last few months, we have all had friends, family, people we follow on social media, the media, and governing bodies tell us how important it was for us to participate in the recent election. We were all told that it was our right and responsibility to vote. That each of our fellow Americans was counting on us to do so.
While I won’t dispute the importance of voting, I can’t help but wonder what it would be like if our nation responded to our growing health epidemic with a similar response.
We live in a nation where over 50% of our population is overweight/obese and 1 in 3 have prediabetes or diabetes. While these health impairments no doubt put a huge burden on the individuals who have them, the burden on our society as a whole is much greater.
When we are unhealthy, we don’t operate optimally. That means we don’t do the best with our job, we don’t treat those around us as well as we should, we can’t parent our kids right, etc. All of these things have a butterfly effect on our society that is and will continue to be detrimental.
The impact doesn’t stop there. Since nearly all of the common chronic diseases we see today are impacted by what we eat, there is an environmental burden as well. Poor health in our country is almost always a result of the overconsumption of highly processed foods. Foods that are made with ingredients that support environmental destroying practices. This means that when we choose to eat unhealthy foods, we aren’t just hurting ourselves. Our environment is paying a price as well.
Unfortunately, the impact doesn’t stop there either. There is also a massive economic burden of poor health. A single diabetic patient is estimated to cost society over $250,000/year (mostly due to our poor treatment of this disease) It’s been estimated that chronic disease, most of which is caused by poor diet and lifestyle, costs the U.S. $3.7 trillion dollars per year and will cost the American economy $95 TRILLION over the next 35 years.
Our health is incredibly complex. It doesn’t just affect us but those around us in so many ways. I think it’s time for government officials, the media, and our society to start preaching how important it is for every single one of us to take our health seriously. If we can all get behind voting because it’s important to do so, then we should all be able to get behind getting healthy. Even if it does take more work!
Thanks for reading,
Chris Irvin
P.S. One of the best ways to begin improving your health is to decrease carb intake and increase protein and healthy fat intake. A great way to do this is by adding in a nutrient-dense protein shake either after a workout or between meals. Here is my favorite recipe:
Equip Beef Protein (my most recommended protein, use THEKETOLOGIST for a discount!)
1/2 Avocado or Dry Roasted Nut Butter
Water or quality nut milk