Reasons behind diseases

Many diseases are caused by an inadequate diet. We may eat too much unhealthy food (especially sugar, white flour, and fatty food) and too little food that contains important protective nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals. It is very possible that we get enough energy from food, but not get these important protective nutrients, and this can lead to diseases. This is possible also in Western countries.

   People who eat only vegetarian foods represent a special group. They usually avoid many standard of living diseases (gallstones, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, constipation, cancer), but can suffer from deficiency of certain nutrients, which can also lead to diseases.

   For example, tuberculosis has killed more people than any other infectious disease; it is more commonly found among vegetarians. According to a study of Asian emigrants living in South London, vegetarians had tuberculosis eight times more often than those who ate either meat, fish, or milk products daily; (Readers Digest: Terveyttä vai sairautta ruoasta?, p. 417). The reason for this might be the deficiency of vitamins B12 and D, which are important for our immune system, and which can be obtained mainly from the products of the animal kingdom (fish, meat, eggs, milk products). Some people may have a deficiency of vitamin B2 (fish, meat, eggs, milk products, whole meal grain), zinc (fish, meat, whole meal grain, nuts, peas, beans, milk products), iron (meat, fish, eggs, peas, beans, whole meal grain, dark green vegetables) and perhaps of other protective nutrients. They all are important for our immune system and are often difficult to obtain from mere vegetarian food.

   If we take a look at what is the most typical factor causing diseases nowadays, it is surely eating too much resulting in overweight. In Western countries, people are on average fatter than ever before, and this has caused diseases. For example, cardiovascular diseases, gallstones, constipation and intestinal problems, problems with joints and many other problems can arise from too much eating, overweight, and unhealthy eating. Especially the so-called junk food that contains plenty of sugar, white flour, and animal fats and only a little fiber, can be a reason for overweight and the deterioration of health:

One Third of Americans’ Meals Are Junk Food

Junk food contains almost a third of the calories the Americans consume daily, the researchers told on Tuesday. 25% of their diet consists of sweets, desserts, lemonades, and alcoholic drinks. On top of this, 5% of their food is salty snacks.

  - We already knew that people eat plenty of junk food, but the fact that almost one third of the calories comes from it is shocking. No wonder that obesity is an epidemic in this country, said professor Gladys Block, the leader of the study from the university of Berkeley.

   4,760 adults were interviewed for the study. The adults were asked to make a note of all the food they had eaten during a day.

   According to the researchers, one alarming thing in this kind of a diet is also that the junk food does not have any vital vitamins or trace elements.

  (..) A large number of Americans are undernourished as comes to vitamins. It is possible to be both fat and undernourished as comes to nutrients, Block said. (Etelä-Suomen Sanomat, 3 June 2004)

The significance of our daily choices in controlling weight becomes apparent in the next table (6 / 2003 Koulurauhaa, (“Peace at School”) p. 25). It shows how our choices can save us from getting unnecessary amounts of energy and fat. This is really important if we are trying to lose some weight: