Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the US, yet about 80% of heart disease is preventable with changes in lifestyle.
Disinformation, Misinformation, and Missing Information, which I abbreviate as DMMI, fuels unhealthy lifestyle choices that drive increases in cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, cancer, and other lifestyle diseases. Millions of people don’t understand the impact of diets high in cholesterol, grains and grain-flour products, and sodium on cardiovascular conditions. For example:
Misinformation that “good” cholesterol (HDL) removes “bad” cholesterol (LDL) has led millions of people to try to boost their HDL through supplements or other actions without changing their diets. In fact, some studies have shown that very high levels of “good” cholesterol may be associated with an increased risk of heart attack and death.
Misinformation about grains: Grains like wheat, corn, and rice and grain-flour products made from them contain large amounts of glucose. So despite being touted as healthy, these products raise blood glucose levels. “Did you know that 100 grams of whole grain contain 77 grams of glucose? In effect, eating a sandwich, a slice of pizza, a doughnut or muffin, and so on floods your body with the glucose that, if not used immediately by your muscles and organs, ends up getting stored as fat or raising your cholesterol level.”
Missing information about sodium: Canned goods, deli meats, and frozen products often contain high amounts of sodium, far beyond the daily requirement, that increase blood pressure and can cause heart disease. Yet most people don’t understand food labels or pay attention to the sodium content.
Control of blood volume through reduced sodium intake is one important change everyone can do to avoid unnecessary medical management of high blood pressure.
Your Health Is at Risk
In 2020, there were over 122 million people in the U.S. diagnosed with elevated blood glucose, 34 million with the diagnosis of Type 2 diabetes, and 88 million diagnosed with prediabetes, yet their hope for healthy living is thwarted by medical dogma, disinformation, misinformation, and missing information.
Disinformation, Misinformation, and Missing Information, which is abbreviated “DMMI”, fuels growing health illiteracy and unhealthy lifestyle choices. This drives not only increases in Type 2 diabetes but also cancer, cardiovascular diseases, COVID-19, and other illnesses considered lifestyle diseases.
As described in my 5th book, Your Health Is at Risk, a literate person in today’s world is aware that the traditional media and social media are swarming with intentional disinformation about many topics, from politics to finances, to health advice and diet plans. Literacy, critical thinking, and a tolerance for reading scientific material are absolutely necessary to detect such disinformation.
