Our Food Is Killing Us. Who Is Going To Do Something About It?

When I was growing up, I was perpetually irked by the caliber of snacks in our kitchen cabinet. It felt like nearly all the other kids at my school got Oreos, Ritz Crackers, Pringles, and more in their lunch bags, but I got plain Babybell cheeses, grapes, chopped carrots, celery, radishes, and things of that sort. My mom lovingly called the snacks that accompanied my sandwiches “bunny bags,” likely to sweeten the deal for me, but I felt downright deprived. 

Don’t get me wrong, we weren’t a totally crunchy household, and you bet I begged my school friends to share their empty-calorie, sugary treats with me, but I can recall those early moments when I realized there were roughly two categories of food: wholesome choices and not-so-wholesome garbage.

I’ve undergone a bit of an awakening in my 20s, which I’m seeing mirrored more broadly across America. I may not eat the most nutritious, nourishing foods 24/7, but at least I’m not blind to the truth at hand. Big Food is killing us, and if the harm it inflicts isn’t fatal now, it will be through obesity, chronic inflammation, and dependence on medication to manage chronic conditions. Thankfully, we’re not the only ones waking up.

Wait, Obesity Rates Have Gotten That Bad?

Chronic disease is no joke. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other health authorities estimate that 60% of American adults have at least one chronic disease, and 40% have two or more chronic diseases. Among the most common are heart disease (the leading cause of death, which kills almost 700,000 Americans each year), then cancer, lung disease, stroke, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, and kidney disease. These chronic conditions are responsible for 70% of deaths in America and burden our nation’s healthcare system with $4.1 trillion in healthcare expenditures annually.

But why are we so sick? Well, some of the most significant risk factors for many of those aforementioned chronic conditions are obesity and Type 2 diabetes. While 1 in 3 American adults are overweight, sadly, over 2 in 5 are obese. Worse, 1 in 11 are severely obese, according to the National Institute for Health. If trends continue in this depressing direction, it’s estimated that as many as 1 in 3 American adults could have diabetes by 2050.

The numbers aren’t looking so hot for American youth, either. Around 16% of American adolescents are overweight, while 20% are obese. Apparently, 18% of American teens are struggling with fatty liver disease, a condition that was once most common among late-stage alcoholics.

Sure, laptop jobs and sedentary lifestyles play a big role in our worsening obesity epidemic, but one of the simplest ways to avoid obesity – and therefore decrease your risk of chronic disease – is by tidying up your diet.

Unfortunately, it’s not so simple when the system is basically rigged against us. While great strides in agriculture and farming have helped pull massive populations out of starvation, our uber-corporatized and ultra-processed food system is putting food in our systems…but it’s not necessarily nourishing us.

Americans grew addicted to fast food battered in nutrient-free flours, fried in seed oils, and laden with toxic ingredients because the “foods” themselves are crafted to be as addictive as possible. 

Refined carbs like certain pastries and breakfast cereals aren’t satiating like whole grains and starches are, so your brain takes a major blood sugar spike and starts craving more, more, and more. Processed meats like sausages, bacon, and deli meats may have an umami kick that makes your mouth water, but many are also considered carcinogenic and have been linked to colorectal cancer. 

To add insult to injury, much of the ultra-processed garbage available promotes chronic inflammation, causing your body to attack itself from the inside out.

Dopamine drives our hunger for addictive, ultra-processed foods. It comforts us. It makes us feel all warm and fuzzy inside. But these fleeting feelings of pleasure will take a serious toll on future generations. Already, American children and teens get as much as 70% of their daily caloric intake from ultra-processed foods like frozen pizza, takeout burgers, and packaged sweet snacks. Researchers are concerned – and you should be too. 

Who Is Going To Make America Healthy Again?

Is it even possible to reverse the damage already done? While meaningful parenting choices best determine individual behavior – think of my childhood “bunny bags” instead of Little Debbie’s debilitating Honey Buns – America turns to trusted authority figures within the government for guidance. 

When the government told us that we should eat 11 servings of bread, cereal, and pasta each day, many Americans followed their guidance. This guidance, however, misguided us down the path of chronic disease.

“Make America Healthy Again” is a somewhat puzzling, but honestly refreshing movement uniting granola moms and don’t-tread-on-me types alike who are fed up with Big Food’s and Big Pharma’s toxic traps. I call it puzzling because, for the first time in what feels like a long time, there’s bipartisan support around a common cause. 

Former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK), healthcare industry insiders Dr. Casey Means, Dr. Peter McCullough, and Dr. Robert Redfield, former Big Food and Pharma consultant Calley Means, fit chick Jillian Michaels, best-selling nutrition author Vani Hari, wellness podcaster Max Lugavere and many more advocates for proper health have come together to address the elephant in the room: America is suffering from a chronic disease crisis.

Brother and sister Calley and Casey Means co-authored Good Energy, which earned a spot on the New York Times bestseller list. They've aggressively promoted the book, spreading the truth around the nation by appearing on just about every popular podcast like The Joe Rogan Experience and Tucker Carlson. But, what’s most important about their advocacy – along with RFK and the others – is they’re narrowing in on the root causes of chronic disease rather than promoting bandaid solutions.

The Means siblings and the rest of the MAHA movement argue we all need to make intentional lifestyle changes. This begins with resolving poor metabolic health by balancing blood sugar levels through exercise, lifestyle, and dietary habits. One tip the Means siblings recommend is using modern technology like continuous glucose monitors (CGMs) to gather real-time data showing how your unique body reacts to different foods. 

This plays into a crucial component of the movement to get America’s health back on track. We all need to take personalized approaches to improve our health. Just like one-size-fits-all clothing rarely flatters all body types, one-size-fits-all diets (especially trendy ones, like veganism, OMAD, Keto, Paleo, and such) don’t take into account how our individual genetics and lifestyle factors cause unique body responses. I can consume copious amounts of cottage cheese each week, but some people who struggle with lactose intolerance would be devastated by a diet like mine.

Another main takeaway from their book is to refocus dietary patterns toward whole, unprocessed (or minimally processed) foods that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants rather than empty calories and inflammatory ingredients. Building a more health-conscious community is actually so simple when you think about it. 

We overcomplicate a lot of things by assuming we need this-and-that supplement, by letting boredom guide our dietary patterns, and by allowing Big Food to trap us with hyper-palatable garbage with ingredient list labels so long they’re stiff competition for hormonal birth control warning labels. 

This is the beauty of the MAHA movement – and both data and anecdotal evidence support it. Eating simpler, cleaner whole foods, getting some amount of regular exercise, and actually sleeping enough will reduce your chances of chronic disease and, therefore, improve your quality of life. This is not to say that pharmaceutical interventions have no place since modern medicine has fundamentally changed our lives for the better in many ways or that we must steer clear of “junk” food completely. 

We can treat ourselves but in moderation. Europeans indulge in treats, but for some odd reason, they’re far less sick than Americans. Surely, that couldn’t have anything to do with the fact that Americans overconsume toxic and addictive ingredients while Europeans ban them, right? 

Thankfully, a beautiful element of capitalism is how innovative small business owners can disrupt and positively impact their respective industries – and there are some standout companies standing up against Big Food. Let me share a few of my personal favorite healthy food, snack, and beverage companies that don’t sacrifice on taste whatsoever. 

When itching for a crunchy, crispy, or carby snack, I reach for Lesser Evil popcorn, MASA chips, Craize crackers, Simple Mills crackers, or Nature’s Path cereal. When I need something sweet, I reach for Hu chocolate, SkinnyDipped almonds, a Perfect Bar, or Jojo’s chocolate. When I want something fun to sip, I reach for a Spindrift, OLIPOP, Bai water, or Body Armor LYTE. 

But I also let myself drink a Dr. Pepper Zero or occasionally eat some movie theater popcorn when I’m craving it. The best part is, when you start making better dietary choices, the not-so-good ones don’t exactly hit as hard as they used to – so you’re far less likely to overdo it on treats when you do indulge.

Closing Thoughts

We have the power to reverse course. Our nation doesn’t have to be a sinking ship, reliant on weekly GLP-1 receptor agonist jabs like Ozempic and other drugs to manage diabetes and obesity. Each of us can do our part by promoting the voices of those who spread the raw truth about the American food industry, like the Means siblings, RFK Jr., Lugavere, and many more. 

We must also pass down this knowledge to the next generation and not be lazy about nourishing our youth. This begins with smart swaps, basing meals around natural and minimally processed ingredients, limiting consumption of processed foods, and being extremely wary of food marketing.