AngelinaDorado

RWS1302

M12:00PM

ProfessorMiertschin

ABSTRACT

Thepurposeofthisreviewistoanswerfourfundamentalquestionsabouttheroleofdietin

fourofthemostprevalentchronicillnessesintheUnitedStates:cancer,obesity,diabetes,and

cardiovasculardisease.Thisisintendedtoanswerquestionsabouttheeffectsofawholefoods

plantbaseddietcanhelpmanageorpreventthesymptomsofthesediseases,andhow

radicallydifferentculturesfollowingthewholefoodsplantbaseddietlivelonger,andon

averagehavelowerratesofchronicillness.Thisreviewwillalsodiscusssomecurrentresearch

intohowahighfatdietaffectsthebody,especiallyinthebloodvesselsincausing

atherosclerosisandcardiovasculardisease.Lastly,thisreviewwilldiscussthesocietaleffectsof

havingachronicillnesssuchasdiabetesorobesity,andhowitnotonlyaffectsthepersonwho

isafflictedwiththedisease,buthowitalsotakesatollonsocietyingeneraltosupportpeople

whohave(excludingcancer)preventablechronicillnesses.

 Chronicillnesshasbecomemoreandmoreprevalentinwesterncountries,somuchthat

thisnewgenerationisthefirstgenerationexpectedtonotoutlivetheirparents.Obesityhas

becomeanepidemicandhassparkednewwavesoforganizations,acts,andresearchinhopes

toinformandprotectthenewergenerations.ThestandardAmericandietisknowntobe

linkedtoobesityandchronicillnessalongwithasedentarylifestyle.Newresearchandhealth

movementshavesparkeddiscussionintotheimportanceofahealthydietandhowmucha

poordietcanaffectthebody.Studieslinkhighfatdietstoheartdiseaseanddiabetes,twoof

thebiggestkillersinAmerica,andtheresearchthatwasmorerecentlypublishedbytheWorld

HealthOrganization(WHO)statesthatprocessedanimalproductsareaclassonecarcinogen

alongwithcigarettesandasbestos,anotherleadingcauseofdeathinAmerica.Thestateofour

populationcanbereversedbutmoreimportantly,itcanbeprevented.Metaanalysisshows

thatpopulationsthateatalowfat,predominantlyplantbaseddiethavelittletonoratesof

chronichealthrelatedillness.Thisreviewisintendedtobreakdownandexamineresearch

beingdoneonobesityandchronicillnessandifthereisameansofpreventingit.The

questionsthispaperintendstoanswerareasfollows:

Tofurtheranalyzethisissuewemustaskwhatarethesimilaritiesanddifferences

betweenthetopthreecountriesthathaveanobesity/chronicillnessepidemic

versuspopulationsthathavethelowestratesofchronicillness?

HowdoesthestandardAmericandietaffectthebodyinabiologicalway?Including

researchonIL1beta,andhighfatdiets.

Lastly,howisaplantbaseddietmoreoptimalforpreventingchronicillness?

Howistheobesityepidemicaffectingeveryoneelse?
 Inhisparamountwork,TheChinaStudy,byT.ColinCampbell,heoutlinestheeffectsof

howawholefoodsplantbaseddietcanhelppresenttheonsetofchronicillnessessuchas

diabetes,heartdiseaseandobesity.Thisstudyanswersthequestionofhowdifferentrural

ChinesedietsarefromtheStandardAmericandiet,andshowsthefewsimilaritiesthatthey

have;thisstudyalsoillustratesthedifferentstandardsofhealthintheruralChinesecommunity

andtheAmericancommunity.ThestudywasconductedonasmallruralpopulationinChina

thatfollowedawholefoodsplantbaseddiet,withacontrolgroupofpeoplewhoatethe

StandardAmericandiet.Campbelloutlinedinhisstudythatpeoplewholivedinthisruralarea

ofChina,90%ofwhomhadneverlefttheareaintheirlivesateadietconsistingofonethird

lessfatthanAmericans,twiceasmuchironandthreetimesthefiber,andtwothirdsasmuch

proteinaspeoplefollowingtheStandardAmericandiet.Incomparisontowhatatypical

Americaneats,eightypercentofthedietaryproteincomesfromanimalsources,andonly10

percentofdietaryproteincomesfromanimalsourcesintheruralChinesediet.Thepurposeof

thisstudywastodiscernthedifferencebetweenastandardwesterndietandtheruralChinese

diet,asnotmuchdataexists.Asthestudyproceeded,Campbellandhisteamfoundthatthere

wasaveryhighcorrelationbetweenbloodcholesterollevelsandintakeofanimalprotein.The

peoplefollowingthestandardAmericanDiet,whoseanimalproteinintakewasseventygrams

perday,wasintherangeof170to290milligramsperdeciliter.IncontrasttotheruralChinese

populationwhoseanimalproteinintakewasfarless,theirbloodcholesterollevelswereon

average127milligramsperdeciliter.ThisfindingleadCampbellandhisteamtobelievethat

animalproteinswerethecausebehindtheraiseinbloodcholesterol,andthatthehighfiber

intakeoftheChinesepopulationwascorrelatedtoloweroveralllevelsofbloodcholesterol.
Thesimilaritiesinthedietsstopatanimalproteinconsumption.Thelowestlevelsofanimal

consumptionareinruralareasofChinaliketheonefoundintheChinastudy,andthehighest

levelsofanimalconsumptionarefoundinwesterncountries,suchastheUnitedStatesand

Mexico.Thedifferencebetweenthesetwodietsisthatoneisverylowinanimalproteinand

highinfiber,thusleadingtomorehealthbenefits,whereasthestandardAmericandietishigh

infatandlowinfiber,andthuscausesmanyhealthproblemsinthelongrun.

ComparedtothepeoplefromruralChinainCampbellsChinastudy,nearlyoneoutof

everythreeAmericansandMexicanstodayareobese.Mexicoinparticularhasthehighestrate

ofobesityintheworld,evenhigherthantheUnitedStates.Thesetwocountrieshavethe

highestdeathrateofobesityintheworld,withdiabetesbeingtheseventhleadingcauseof

deathintheUnitedStates,andtheleadingcauseofdeathinMexico.AccordingtoDr.Michael

Greger,obesityisassociatedwithveryserioushealthconcernssuchasheartattacks,diabetes,

cardiovasculardisease,alongwithmanyotherseriousillnesses.Becauseoftheprevalenceof

thehighfat,processedfoodsinbothcountries,ithasbeenshownthateatinganimalbased

foodsincreasestheactivityoftheTORenzyme,whichiscloselylinkedwiththeriskof

developingobesity.AccordingtoOdgen,etal,childhoodobesityisalsoanepidemic,with

seventeenpercentofyouthbeingobese.Thisleadstoanincreasethechildhooddiabetesrate;

whichpersiststobecomeapartofthechildslifeforever,oraslongastheystaydiabetic.The

infographicbelowdisplaysthecombinedobesityepidemicitself.Manyofthestateshavean

obesityratewellovertwentypercent.Adiethighinfatcanalsoleadtoatherosclerosis,as

foundbyUnruh,etal.ThehighfatconcentrationfoundinthestandardAmericandiet

promotesdysfunctionalendotheliumlayersofthebloodvessels,aswellasmonocyte
activation,animportantfactorforcreatingnewdepositsofplaqueinbloodvessels.Anearly

indicatorofthiscanbeseenintheredbloodcellsthatpassthroughtheafflictedarea.The

effectofahighfatdietonthedevelopmentofdiabeteshasalsobeenwellestablished.New

researchbyDinarello,etal.,isshowingthatinterleukin1beta,aninflammatoryenzyme,is

linkedtoinsulinresistance.Interleukin1beta(IL1Beta)isfoundinthetissuesofanimals,and

onconsumption,increasethelevelsofthisenzymeinhumans.Becauseofitseffectonhuman

cells,highlevelsofIL1betaleadtoanincreasedriskofdevelopingtypetwo(insulinresistant)

diabetes.BecauseoftheoverwhelmingevidencethatthestandardAmericandietaffectsthe

bodyinabiologicallynegativeway,itcanbesaidthatthisdiethasalargeflawinthatthereisa

highfatintake,aswellasnolimittoconsuminganimalbasedfoods.

Weturnourattentionnowtothequestionofhowisaplantbaseddietmoreoptimalat

preventingchronicillness.InastudycalledBROADconductedbyWright,etal.,thisstudytooka

randomizedcontrolledtrialofpeoplefollowingawholefoodplantbaseddietversusthosewho

wereeatingastandardwesternorStandardAmericanDiet.Forsixtotwelvemonths,Wrightet

al.followedsixtyfivesubjectsastheywentthroughthecontrolledtrial.Theresultsofthetrial

showedthatriskfactorsformajorchronicillnessessuchasdiabetes,obesity,cardiovascular

diseaseandcancerhadgonedownsignificantly.Infact,thesubjectsreportedbeingabletolose

weightmucheasieronthewholefoodplantbaseddietversusthosewhowerenotonthediet.

ThisisalsocorroboratedwiththeAmericanHeartAssociation.TheAssociationrecommends

thisdietforeverybody,aslongastheymakesuretoeatrightwhileonit.Theyalsoreportthat

aplantbaseddietalsohaslowerincidencesofchronicillness,aswellasacuteailmentssuchas

heartattacksandstrokes.Asacorollary,theWorldHealthOrganizationsmedicalbranchissued

astatementsayingthattheyhadfoundthatredmeatandprocesseddelimeatswereclassone

carcinogenic,thesameascigarettesandasbestos.Toavoidthenegativehealtheffectsof

exposuretothesecarcinogens,oneshouldavoidtheseproductsalltogether.Fromthis

evidence,itcanbeconcludedthattheplantbaseddietismuchmoreamicabletopreventing

chronicillness,asitreducesthechancesofhavingaheartattack,diabetes,cancerandobesity,

aswellasmanagingonesweight.

 Lastly,thequestiononpeoplesmindsnowadaysusuallyleadstowhyoriftheyshouldcare

aboutthesehealthproblemsfacingAmericanstoday.Manypeoplesaythattheyfeelfinewith

theirhealth.Inasurveyconductedbytheauthorofthispaper,peoplewereaskediftheyor

somebodytheyknowhaschronicillness,80%ofparticipantsrespondedyestothisquestion.

Thissurveyclearlyhighlightsthefactthatpeopleshouldcareaboutchronicillness,asitusually

affectssomeonethattheyknow.Italsotakesatollonthehealthcaresystem,aswellas

Americantaxdollars.Themostprevalentchronicillness,obesity,leadsthepackinwhich

Americanssufferfrom;unfortunatelyhasalargeamountofassociatedchronicillnessesthat

arecausedbyobesity.Becauseofthehigherincidenceofailmentssuchascardiovascular

disease,diabetes,etc.,itputsatollonourhealthcaresystemtotakecareofthesepeople,as

wellascosttaxpayerdollarstokeepthemhealthy.Formany,thisshouldbeanincentiveto

keephealthy,asyouarenotburdeningthesystem.HealthcarecostsintheUnitedStateswere

doublewhattheywereestimatedtobein2005,andithadturnedouttocost$190billion

accordingtoHarvardUniversitysObesityPreventionSource.Obesityisalsothesecondleading

causeofdeathintheUnitedStates,onlysecondtotobacco.Beingobesemayalsoleadto

discrimination,lowerselfesteem,depression,etc.Manyyoungmenaswelldonotqualifyfor

serviceinthearmedforcesbecauseofthefactthattheyareobeseaswell.Theseeffectsthat

obesityhasonsocietyarehuge,andplaceatolloneveryone.Theeffectsonsocietyaresimilar

forthatofheartdisease,diabetesandcancer.Thesechronicillnessestakemanypeoplefrom

theirfamilieseachyear,andthenumberonlykeepsongrowing.FromtheCDC,thenumber

onecauseofdeathintheUnitedStatesin2015washeartdisease,with614,348reported

deathsfromthisillness.591,699deathswerecausedbyvarioustypesofcancers,and76,488
deathswerecausedbydiabetes.Thedeathtollislarge,andAmericansarenotworkingto

preventthenegativeeffectsofchronicillness,theyseekonlytoalleviatethesymptoms.

Inconclusion,thequestionsaskedhereallleadtothefactthatAmericansneedtotake

bettercareoftheirhealth.Thenewestgenerationisnotexpectedtooutlivetheirparents,and

childhoodobesityratesareskyrocketing.ContinuingonthistrendwillmeanthatAmericawill

beapredominantlyobesenation,asofrightnowoneoutofeverythreepeopleareobese.The

intentionofthisreviewwastoshowthefactsabouthowthestandardAmericandiet

contributestothehealthproblemsfacedinthiscountry,andtoshowthatthealternative,a

plantbaseddiet;canactuallymakeadifferenceinoneslifeifadoptedcorrectly.Theevidence

presentedinthepapersuggeststhatawholefoodplantbaseddietisthewaytogotobeat

chronicillness,asitlowerssomanyriskfactorsfordifferentchronicillnesses.Diabetesbeing

oneofthetoughesttomanage,buttheeasiesttopreventisbecomingmoreandmore

prevalentthroughouttheUnitedStates,andmorepublichealtheducationisneededtocombat

thegrowthofthisdisease,asmanypeopledonothaveanunderstandingofwhatitmeansto

beadiabetic,andhowonecanstillliveameaningfullifeevenwithtype2diabetes.Overall,

chronicillnessisnothingtolaughat,manypeopleareaffectedbyit,andmorepublichealth

effortsneedtobeundertakeninthiscountrytohelppeopleovercomeorlivewiththeirchronic

illness.

References

Campbell,A.(1968).TheChinastudy.AnnArbor,MI:InteruniversityConsortiumforPolitical
Research.

Dinarello,C.A.,Donath,M.Y.,&MandrupPoulsen,T.(2010).RoleofIL1intype2diabetes.
CurrentOpinioninEndocrinology,DiabetesandObesity,1.
doi:10.1097/med.0b013e32833bf6dc

Greger,M.,M.D.(2017,March24).Obesity.RetrievedMarch26,2017,from
http://nutritionfacts.org/topics/obesity/

IARC.(n.d.).IARCMonographsevaluateconsumptionofredmeatandprocessedmeat[Press
release].Retrievedfromhttps://www.iarc.fr/en/mediacentre/pr/2015/pdfs/pr240_E.pdf

ObesityConsequences.(2016,April12).RetrievedMarch26,2017,from
https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/obesitypreventionsource/obesityconsequences/

Ogden,C.L.,Carroll,M.D.,Kit,B.K.,&Flegal,K.M.(2014).PrevalenceofChildhoodandAdult
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Unruh,D.,Srinivasan,R.,Benson,T.,Haigh,S.,Coyle,D.,Batra,N.,...Bogdanov,V.Y.(2015).
RedBloodCellDysfunctionInducedbyHighFatDiet:PotentialImplicationsforObesityRelated
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VegetarianDiets.(n.d.).RetrievedMarch26,2017,from
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Diets_UCM_306032_Article.jsp


Wright,N.,Wilson,L.,Smith,M.,Duncan,B.,&Mchugh,P.(2017).TheBROADstudy:A
randomisedcontrolledtrialusingawholefoodplantbaseddietinthecommunityforobesity,
ischaemicheartdiseaseordiabetes.Nutrition&Diabetes,7(3).doi:10.1038/nutd.2017.3

Dorado,A.D.(n.d.).Surveyof20peopleaboutwhotheyknowisaffectedbychronicillness.
(Rep.).