Ask Your Doctor

Ask your doctor if eating better is right for you.

How does your doctor talk to you about your health? Do they believe that disease prevention is important?

The recent study published in The Lancet proves that our diet is killing us and 20% of all deaths worldwide, or approximately 11 million per year, are due to poor diet. That makes me wonder if doctors think about the connection between diet and health.

It is not just what we are eating, but what we (collectively, I don’t mean you or me) are not eating.

We aren’t eating enough fruit, vegetables, nuts, seeds and whole grains. We are eating too much sugar, fat, processed foods and meat.

Which makes me wonder if your doctor believes that the reasons that you are sitting in their office are preventable or treatable with diet? Because most of the diseases that are killing us are reversible, preventable and treatable with lifestyle modifications.

Simple ones.

Like eating more fruit and vegetables.

I was talking to a friend whose mom was just diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Their doctor prescribed drugs and told her to stop eating fruit. Nothing else.

Guess what? You can reverse type 2 diabetes and manage your blood sugar without medication.

You can eat fruit.

I am not opposed to medications. I understand that most doctors have 10 minutes or less to talk to their patients. That most patients come to their doctor’s office EXPECTING to be prescribed medications.

Doctors don’t have to be dietitians, or even experts in diet, fitness or lifestyle changes.

However, they do have a lot of influence. Doctors are the original INFLUENCERS, well before the social media age. Doctors don’t need to fix the problem, all they need to do is MENTION that there are alternatives to medications.

The author of the new study on diet and disease, Dr Christopher Murray, Director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, University of Washington, USA says,

“This study affirms what many have thought for several years — that poor diet is responsible for more deaths than any other risk factor in the world.” 

Health effects of dietary risks in 195 countries, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017. The Lancet, April 3, 2019; DOI: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30041-8

How many times does your doctor talk to you about your diet?

I can tell you my experience. Never. Not once. My doctor knows nothing about my diet.

The Global Burden of Disease study tracked 15 dietary factors from 1990 to 2017 in 195 countries and quantified the impact of poor diet on disease. They found that “diets high in sodium, low in whole grains, and low in fruit together accounted for more than half of all diet-related deaths globally in 2017.”

These 11 million deaths included;

• 10 million from cardiovascular disease
• 913,000 from cancer
• 339,000 from type 2 diabetes

What if your doctor asked, “Do you meet the minimum recommended daily intake of fruits and vegetables?”

What if that was the only diet related question that they asked you? Do you think that would make a difference?

I do.

Doctors influence their patients. Doctors don’t need to solve the problem in 10 minutes, but they can suggest alternatives. They can ask their patients if they want to talk to someone about changing their lifestyle habits.

Every day there is new research proving that eating a plant-based diet keeps you healthier by reducing blood pressure, weight, cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, inflammation and more. A plant-based diet improves our gut microbiome which affects our health in many ways we don’t even understand yet.

If your doctor mentioned the benefits would you (or someone like you) be more likely to consider it? I bet it would make a difference.

It could reduce the risk of death for one in every 5 people.

Change your mind, change your health,

Shayla