If you've been doing January Whole30, you're halfway home. Congratulations! See, it's not as hard as it may have seemed. But, why would someone choose to eat only whole, all-natural foods for 30 days? Whole30 is an elimination diet. It focuses on whole foods, cutting out the processed junk, sugar, alcohol, grains, legumes, and dairy. It offers the body a chance to heal and reset. The average American diet looks something like this: One third of Americans regularly eat fast food. Nearly 60% of American's calorie intake is from processed foods. On average, Americans consume over 20 teaspoons of sugar every day or nearly 80 lbs per year. The average American consumes roughly 36 lbs of vegetable oil per year. Yikes! That's a lot of junk.
Now, let's look at where poor diet has gotten us. Two thirds of Americans are considered overweight. Nearly 40 million Americans have diabetes and 38% have prediabetes. Every 34 seconds, someone dies in the U.S. of cardiovascular disease. Studies estimate that 40% of Americans will be diagnosed with cancer in their lives. More disturbing, half the population suffers from some sort of chronic illness.
Add to this the fact that 25% of Americans get little to no exercise each week, and you have a recipe for a disaster. Remember a person doesn't have to be hungry to be malnourished. If a diet is lacking nutrition, it's really not that difficult to imagine considering so many rely on processed calories. Is it really any wonder why rates have risen for cancer, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, depression, and every sort of autoimmune disease imaginable? This year, let's all eat healthy. The time to start doing something good for your health is always right now!
Well Wishes, Team USWM
