Check It Out: Why aren't more medical professionals talking about this?

By Joan Janzen

The story is told of a desert nomad who, awakened by hunger one night, decided he'd have a snack. Lighting a candle, he grabbed a date and took a bite. Holding it up to the candle, he saw a worm inside and threw the date out of the tent. Biting into a second date, he found another worm and threw it away. Deciding he might not get anything to eat if this continued, he blew out the candle and continued to eat dates.

The story illustrates how we sometimes prefer to ignore the truth. Although it may not always be what we want to hear, denial doesn't change that.

Two of my favourite clinicians discussed the truth about our food industry in a recent podcast. The corresponding comments revealed that Dr. Suneel Dhand and John Campbell are among many people's favourites.

They stated that ultra-processed foods account for over 70 percent of the average person's calorie intake, and in poor communities, it's over 90 percent because the food is cheap and highly addictive. "Our grandparents consumed almost zero percent ultra-processed food," Dr. Dhand said.

As a direct result of this change in the food environment, he's witnessed an off-the-charts health disaster, particularly over the past five years. John Campbell observed that children who are accustomed to consuming ultra-processed foods may "turn up their nose when they're given real food like meat and vegetables."

Dr. Dhand compared the current situation to the 1960s when doctors would smoke while doing their rounds and patients were given cigarettes. "I believe this situation is worse. With smoking it took years to develop health problems. But now we see teenagers with Type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. That never happened before," he explained.

He said that in the 1970s, the medical establishment and media held out as long as possible before doing something because they were paid off by tobacco companies, adding, "We're seeing the same thing now."

"In the 1970s, doctors had enough sense to say you have to quit smoking. If they had the same mentality that we have now, they would have said it's ok - just keep on smoking; we'll just give you an injection every month. We need to focus on the root cause," he reasoned.

According to Dr. Dhand, 80% of everything he's seeing is due to insulin resistance and inflammation from a toxic food environment. "It's astonishing that we think the answer is to pile on more medicine," he said. "Twenty percent of kids in the US have fat in their liver. This was never seen thirty years ago. Fatty Liver Disease and Type 2 Diabetes are now the biggest exploding conditions with kids."

John said mental health is also impacted when the brain is pounded with unnatural spikes of insulin. Insulin resistance is linked with depression, anxiety and stress.

But Dr. Dhand said that's just the tip of the iceberg. There's a huge number of mothers giving birth who are metabolically unhealthy, resulting in a high infant mortality rate. "There are babies born with fatty liver disease. This is unprecedented. I can't understand why more medical professionals aren't shouting it from the rooftops," the doctor observed.

John added another statistic: 95% of people with high blood pressure are below the age of 65. "Insulin resistance is the root cause," he said, explaining why there's little incentive to fix the problem.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) takes fifty percent of its funding from the pharmaceutical industry. "So how can it be independent?" Dr. Dhand asked.

"Throughout the last few hundred years you always had one dominant industry; now it's the pharmaceutical industry," he reported. "In the US two-thirds of congressmen and senators take money from big pharmaceuticals."

The doctor observed that Venture Capital is now heavily investing in chemotherapy clinics across the US. The medical establishment is jumping on board, but they're not asking the question of why younger and younger people are getting cancer.

"To me, it's very obvious; it's due to ultra-processed food and pesticides that are used at every stage of the process," he said.

John asked the doctor what can be done. Dr. Dhand reassured his listeners that real change is possible. "But it's not easy coming off food which is highly addictive. You can start with small changes," he advised. Purchasing food from local farmers and gardeners is a healthier and more economical option. "You'll look back and say why didn't I do this before?" Dr. Dhand said.

A woman listening to their discussion posted a comment: "As a single mom, I was forced to choose the cheapest food but didn't resort to processed or junk food. No new clothes or holidays, but homegrown vegetables are a must," she concluded.

Like Dr. Dhand said, change is possible, but it's not easy. Yet we might be like the desert nomad and choose to stay in the dark by continuing to consume foods that feed the gut while destroying the liver. However, the desert nomad may have been healthier than many are today, while he continued to feed on worm-infested dates.

Good health is vital because it frees us up to have the time and energy to focus on the people we care about and contribute to our communities.