People are increasingly concerned about healthcare these days, yet most overlook daily nutrition, a critical component of health and wellness.
asserted
most → overlook → health
Addressing this will not only make huge improvements to people’s health, it will also lower their healthcare costs and reduce enormous strain on both the U.S. healthcare industry and economy at large, increasing the country’s dominance over its geopolitical rivals.
It’s a relatively simple solution.
asserted
It → address → rivals
We don’t have to agonize over pills or expensive and complex treatments; we can make huge strides by simply changing our diets.
asserted
we → have → diets
A Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report from 2023 noted that 55% of people’s diets consist of ultraprocessed foods — calorie dense, low in fiber, high in unhealthy fats, sugars, and salt — with major costs to our health.
asserted
% → note → health
These diets are the No. 1 cause of chronic illness, such as heart disease, stroke, Type 2 diabetes, which kill more people than anything else.
asserted
which → kill → anything
A 2017 Tufts University study found that poor diet itself causes nearly half of U.S. heart disease, stroke, and Type 2 diabetes deaths annually.
asserted
diet → find → disease
That’s around 300,000 deaths every year.
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That → ’ → ?
Trading a diet of starches, sugars, processed meats, and industrial trans fats for one rich in fruits, vegetables, nuts, meat, fish, and whole grains can save us billions of dollars.
asserted
Trading → trade → dollars
In 2023, Tufts found that if hospitals implemented a medically tailored meals program for patients with chronic illnesses, healthcare savings could total as much as $13.6 billion in the first year alone, along with 1.6 million fewer hospitalizations.
uncertain
savings → find → hospitalizations
The same study revealed that produce prescription programs for diabetic patients with food insecurity could save an additional $44 billion in that same year.
uncertain
produce → reveal → year
Critics will argue that opting for healthier foods will be hard on people’s wallets.
asserted
opting → argue → wallets
However, the federal government can help.
asserted
government → help → ?
Establishing even modest programs to subsidize healthier food and increase the nutrition in packaged foods can both lower costs and reduce the amount of chronic disease in the country.
asserted
Establishing → establish → country
Tufts’s 2017 study shows that subsidizing the cost of fruits and vegetables by only 10% could save 150,000 lives over 15 years.
uncertain
subsidizing → show → years
A program to reduce salt in packaged foods could save between $10 billion and $20 billion in healthcare costs annually, while preventing tens of thousands of cardiovascular deaths.
uncertain
program → reduce → deaths
Though opting for more healthier foods may seem more expensive, compare this to the long-term healthcare costs for those who develop chronic diseases.
uncertain
who → opt → diseases
According to a Utah State University report, obese individuals’ medical costs are $1,500 more per year on average than those of normal weight.
uncertain
costs → accord → weight
A person who has three or four will spend more than four times the amount annually on healthcare than someone without any.
asserted
who → have → any
Better national nutrition would also free up the burden that chronic diseases have on the healthcare industry.
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diseases → free → industry
A Milken Institute report from 2018 indicated that chronic health conditions burden the U.S. healthcare system by $1 trillion.
asserted
conditions → indicate → trillion
That’s equal to nearly 6% of the country’s annual gross domestic product.
asserted
That → ’ → product
If chronic diseases were significantly reduced, consider how many significant resources could be freed up to be used elsewhere.
uncertain
resources → reduce → ?
Perhaps that money can be redirected toward research in rare diseases, genetics, and other advanced fields.
asserted
money → redirect → diseases
At the very least, consider how much relief it would be for the U.S. economy.
asserted
it → consider → economy
This matters urgently, as China’s biomedical and healthcare industries now rival America’s, built on a willingness to cut costs and corners.
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industries → matter → costs
With so much riding on American leadership in these fields, ceding ground to China would be a blow to the global health community.
asserted
ceding → rid → community
It cannot happen.
asserted
It → happen → ?
Investing in national nutrition is one of the most straightforward ways to ensure it doesn’t.
asserted
it → invest → ways
People facing food insecurity and chronic health problems need information about the nutritional front lines of healthcare.
asserted
People → face → healthcare
The Aporia
