The Standard American Diet (S.A.D.)

The “Standard American Diet” (S.A.D.) is a similar term, specifically used to describe the stereotypical diet of Americans. The typical American diet is about 50% carbohydrate, 15% protein, and 35% fat  which is over the dietary guidelines for the amount of fat (below 30%), below the guidelines for carbohydrate (above 55%), and at the bottom end of the guidelines for the amount of protein (above 15%) recommended in the diet.

If you were to list the factors that increase the risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, intestinal disorders – just about any illness – the standard American diet has them all:

  • High in animal fats
  • High in unhealthy fats: saturated,      hydrogenated
  • Low in fiber
  • High in processed foods
  • Low in complex carbohydrates
  • Low in plant-based foods

The striking fact is that cultures that eat the reverse of the standard American diet – low fat, high in complex carbohydrates, plant-based, and high in fiber – have a lower incidence of cancer and coronary artery disease (CAD). What’s even more sad is that countries whose populations can afford to eat the healthiest disease-preventing foods don’t. The United   States has spent more money on cancer research than any country in the world, yet the American diet contributes to the very diseases we are spending money to prevent.

As Americans we eat too many ‘industrial foods.” – food that is made within a food lab and not by Mother Nature. Two things that I think are most lacking in the American diet are good, healthy fiber and good, healthy green foods. As a country we need to shift our mindset from quick, cheap and easy foods to foods that are healthy for our body on a cellular level, foods that can reduce our chances of cancers and other diseases, and provide us with energy.

Everything comes with a price. The price we are paying for these unhealthy convenience foods is damage to our health and the health of our family. I want to teach you ways of implementing a whole-based foods into your healthy lifestyle that are tasty and easy to prepare.

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