Let Food Be Thy Medicine and Medicine Be Thy Food: Improving Health by Fixing the Food System

Let Food Be thy Medicine & Medicine Be thy Food Megan  Grocki,    Experience  Strategy  Director  #HxR2014          @megangrocki  

What has happened to our food?

How is our food affecting our health?

What can we do about it?

has happened to our food?

WTF

Photo:  Mark  Kegans  for  The  New  York  Times  

Photo:www.perdueagribusiness.com  

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

“Organisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally.”

-World Health Organization

Is genetically modified

(Bt) Corn Bacillus thuringiensis 

(Bt) Corn classified as a

pesticide by the EPA

Yellow No. 5 (tartrazine) azodicarbonamide

MSG

Aspartame

Sodium benzoate High fructose corn syrup (HFCS)

Sodium nitrite

80% of antibiotics sold in the US are used on farm animals

FDA  

Pesticides Insecticides Fungicides Herbicides (Glyphosate) - 527 million pound increase since 1996

C.  Benbrook,  2012  

What does our food have to do with our health?

We Are Sicker & Die Younger

Than Others In Wealthy Nations Source:  NaHonal  Research  Council  and  InsHtute  of  Medicine.  U.S.  Health  in  InternaHonal  PerspecHve:  

Shorter  Lives,  Poorer  Health.  Washington,  DC:  The  NaHonal  Academies  Press,  2013.  

American  Diabetes  AssociaHon.    

American children born each year since 2000, will develop Type 2 diabetes

1 in 3

Source:  Stanford  school  of  medicine  

has food allergies

1 in 13

2,615 4,135

9,537

1998-2000 2001-2003 2004-2006

Food allergy related hospitalizations for children under 18

Center  for  Disease  Control.  Na2onal  Health  Interview  Survey    

Pediatrics,  May  21,  2010  

of girls are expected to begin puberty by the age of 7

15%

Centers  for  Disease  Control  

CANCER is the leading cause of death by disease

in children under 15

President's  Cancer  Panel  Report  

of Americans are expected to get cancer

41%

Environmental  Health  Perspec@ves  -­‐  V.106,  N.6  -­‐  Jun98  

We spend more on health care and

disease management than any other country on the

planet.

Source:  NaHonal  Research  Council  and  InsHtute  of  Medicine.  U.S.  Health  in  InternaHonal  PerspecHve:  Shorter  Lives,  Poorer  Health.  Washington,  DC:  The  NaHonal  Academies  Press,  2013.  

Many diseases are diet-related & PREVENTABLE

We  are  overfed,  and  undernourished  

Food  insecurity  

We  are  overfed,  and  undernourished  

Food  insecurity  

Source:  American  Journal  of  Medicine  (hWp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24440543)    

Nearly 1 in 3 adults with a chronic disease has problems paying for food, medicine, or both.

Image  Credit:  Wikimedia  Commons  

What if we could PREVENT unnecessary illness in the first place?

What can we do about this?

We as individuals can … Cut Artificial Colors Count chemicals, not calories Eat Less Fake Food Seek out yummy ways to consume superfoods Learn more about GMOs and support labeling Support producers who don’t use antibiotics, or pesticides

We as healthcare professionals can … Consider nutrition in our content Build awareness around the food/health connection Integrate nutrition information into our interfaces Getting the facts and doing research is key – study food consumption patterns alongside other work

Cool things happening with food, media, and

technology

Produce at convenient stores

Fooducate  

Fooducate

Social media pressure

So much sickness could be prevented by improving nutrition literacy

It’s not hopeless – we can all do something

Food is “health” care, Medicine is “sick” care

Let’s fix food to improve health

Thank you!

mgrocki@madpow.com

@megangrocki