Part 3 of the “American Health and Nutrition: A Second Opinion” round-table series. Dr. Jordan Peterson, Max Lugavere, and Brigham Buhler cover science-driven policy, the addictive nature of processed foods, and systemic health care failures.
American Health Nutrition A Second Opinion – Senate Roundtable, 23 Sep 2024: https://vimeo.com/1018782955/fd45027f3f
60% of the calories Americans consume are from these types of products. Certain demographics are hit harder than others. For example, black Americans consume on average 80% of their calories from ultra processed foods contributing to a disproportionate burden of diet related diseases. This isn’t by accident. Many such populations are specifically targeted by advertisers, but make no mistake, all Americans are under attack and it’s costing us dearly. A recent umbrella review of meta-analyses linked ultra processed foods to 32 negative health outcomes, everything from cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, the usual suspects to depression and anxiety, as Dr. Palmer has alluded to, He went on to explain that ultra processed foods are engineered to be addictive, Ultra processed foods, the kinds of foods that typically line our supermarket aisles are engineered to be hyper palatable and addictive. In fact, according to a study published by Gerhard et al in 2022, ultra processed foods meet the exact same criteria for addictive substances as tobacco products. Seminal, NIH funded research clearly shows their obesogenic effect. They drive us to overeat by as much as 800 calories per day simply due to the quality of the food. This finding was actually precisely replicated and published last week in Japan. This is why America is facing an obesity epidemic that’s not about willpower, it’s about the food system. He continued by explaining how a consumer could identify ultra processed food so that they can avoid it. Well, the lines are fairly blurry. You’re right, and processing is a continuum. And there’s nothing inherently wrong with processing a food. When you slice an apple as you alluded to, you’re processing that apple to some degree. Ultra processed foods are defined essentially as a food that you couldn’t possibly make in your own kitchen if you tried. It’s a food product with innumerable ingredients, which doesn’t necessarily demonize a food, but it’s a fairly good surrogate indicator for what a processed food might look like. A food that has innumerable ingredients, half of which you can’t identify or even pronounce. Um, so I think that’s a fairly good litmus test, but it’s also important to understand that even within the bucket of ultra processed foods, some are better, better than others, and we need to continue to do research to understand which are the most nefarious from a health standpoint. I think it’s fairly well agreed, well established at this point that sugar sweetened beverages are among the worst offenders. They provide no satiety benefit, pure calories, um, artificial colorants and the, and the like. And there are certainly some ultra processed foods that are likely more benign, but in general, as a general screening tool, um, if you will, an ultra processed food is a, is generally a food that you couldn’t possibly replicate in your own kitchen if you tried Luga Vera advocates for a shift toward whole nutrient dense foods and emphasizes the need for public awareness to reduce the consumption of ultra processed foods. With more on what’s wrong with the healthcare system, Brigham Bueller, CEO, of ways to well contended that the healthcare system is rigged, saying that it profits from chronic diseases driven by systemic constraints that prevent doctors from exploring the best treatments for their patients. There is a cancer in our healthcare system, and it is insidious and spreading rapidly that cancer is big industry, a broken system fueled by corruption and collusion. We cannot treat what we refuse to diagnose. I have personally witnessed physicians unable to run unnecessary lab tests, unable to prescribe appropriate medications, unable to even perform investigations into their pa patient’s conditions, to uncover their root cause. We hear people reference President Eisenhower’s speech all the time about the military industrial complex, but rarely do we hear the second half of that speech. He also warned us about the rise of the scientific industrial complex. He warned us, if we allow the elite to control the scientific research, it could have dire consequences. The statistics and the data that we are presenting today illustrate that very nightmare. How is it that Americans are so chronically ill despite spending more on healthcare than any other nation? The answer simple private industry has traded patient outcomes and public health for quarterly profits and earnings. Private interest now dominates academia, scientific research, the governing and regulatory bodies. As a result, the focus has shifted away from patient care to corporate gain. He emphasized that reform is necessary to create a patient-centered approach and remove industry-driven obstacles. As we’ve seen, the experts at this round table are united in their call for an overhaul in healthcare and food industries. Check in with us tomorrow as we bring you more high profile perspectives on this critical issue.
