There is always a lot of talk about what are healthy foods to eat, why this one is better, which one will protect you from this disease and on and on.

Well recently a new study came out of Australia that links what foods lacking in a diet are likely to cause the highest rates of death and disease in people.

The article talking about it can be found in the Courier Mail entitled “The diet more deadly than sugar and fat.” What they talk about is that it is actually more unhealthy to leave out fruits and vegetables from a diet than it is to eat sugary drinks, high sodium foods and saturated fat. Remember that this does not mean that you have free reign to go and start chugging soda and processed foods, but highlights how important it is to get simple healthy food in the diet in the form of fruits and vegetables.

That being said healthy eating is not going to necessarily give you the most “disease burden” protection. That would come from not smoking since smoking is actually linked with more early death, ill-health and disability the article states.

One thing that I really like that stands out with the article is that it doesn’t focus on you only have to eat “this one thing” and you will reduce risk for XYZ. That is a problem sometimes because it may not be a food you like, the food may be great, but you don’t tolerate it well (therefore it can’t be a superfood or health food for you) or it may just not be available where you live. Instead, they show that it is is simple as eating fruits and vegetables. That’s right, just eating simply healthy food can help prevent a whole mess of problems with your health.

Coming in right behind eating healthy food like fruits and veggies and making sure not to smoke was over consuming alcohol and lack of exercise. While none of these is really that groundbreaking it just goes to show that doing the simple things really can improve your length and quality of life. It is time to make sure that you are putting each of these into practice on a daily basis and year after year let the benefits really add up.

If you were told to not smoke, eat some fruits and veggies, don’t drink too much alcohol and move a little bit every day to live a long, healthy life would you be up for the challenge? Now’s the time to find out.

Have a Great Day!

Nick Horowski