Living in America today we consume processed foods all the time. The price, taste, and convenience of these products are why Americans love them. Grocery stores carry more processed food and products that are chemically engineered and grown with the help of pesticides than natural and organic food. These unnatural choices are also much cheaper in comparison to the prices of healthier foods. Americans save money by buying these foods and many find them to be tastier. But how will eating these low quality foods now affect us in the future?
Americans love meat. They typical plate consist of Meat, a large amount of carbohydrates (bread or potatoes) and a small amount of vegetables. Americans eat about 8 ounces of meat a day; this is about twice the world average. Each year the typical American will eat about 200 lbs of meat. This is twice as much meat than was consumed 50 years ago. The number of cancer cases in the United States has increased significantly also. Cancer rates went up 55% from 1950 to the year 2000. It is believed that the amount of meat and the type of meat that we consume is directly related to this increase. Much of the meat we buy contains sodium nitrate. This is used to help preserve the meat but is also believed to be a carcinogen. This article shows that sodium nitrate not only can increase your risk of cancer but can lead to other health problems. Instead it is recommended that we eat natural meats, such as local meats and grass fed meats.
Foods containing refined carbohydrates are also suspected of causing cancer. Examples of foods containing these are white bread, chips, granola bars, candy, and almost all sweets. These types of foods are eaten by Americans all the time and many are believed to be healthy. Not only do these carbohydrates play a large role in the development of diabetes but also heighten the chances of developing cancer. Carbohydrate intake has a proven correlation with the risk of cancer, especially in the colon and breast.
Although these foods are a large part of the American diet it is recommended that we eat less animal products and processed foods and more vegetables, fruits, and other forms of proteins such as seeds and nuts. It is believed that doing so will greatly reduce a persons risk of developing cancer. Doing so is hard when our stores sell mainly processed foods and doing so is also more expensive. But in the long run the rewards are great. America as a whole will be able to lower cancer rates in the United States simply by changing their diets.
