Poor Nutrition More Dangerous Than Pollution and Smoking, Says Global Report

Chilling news from the 2018 Global Nutrition report. According to a comprehensive study co-headed by Johns Hopkins professor Jessica Fanzo, approximately one in five deaths are caused by poor nutrition. Nutrition-related deaths, either from consuming unhealthy food or simply not eating enough food overall, surpasses the health dangers of smoking and Pollution, according to the report.

Fanzo and her co-authors presented the findings during the 2018 Global Food Conference in Thailand’s capital city of Bangkok.

“What we’re eating is killing us.” Fanzo said during an interview. “So something needs to get us back on track with our food system.” She added that a lack of knowledge about nutritious foods, the high cost of nutritious food, and ineffective supply chains, are among the factors that result in poor dietary health.

As heartbreaking as the mortality rates may be, the study found that the economic impact of poor nutrition also cannot be ignored. After analyzing 194 countries, the team discovered that that malnutrition could potentially cost the world $3.5 trillion a year, while obesity could cost $500 billion alone.

The report went on to offer even more words of caution, saying:”Every country is battling some form of malnutrition — be it children who are anemic or too short for their age, or women who are overweight but undernourished due to unhealthy diets — and adolescent obesity rates are rising.”Even though many nations have committed themselves to make major changes to their food wellness by 2025, most of these countries are unlikely to meet nine global health targets, including adult obesity and diabetes, anemia and child health

Progress on global nutrition has been “unacceptably slow”, the paper goes on to remark. Still, there are reasons to hope. Worldwide nutrition initiatives are still taking off, and harmful ingredients (such as trans fats) are being addressed by international bodies with increasing frequency, and more organic food is set to hit the global market. Alarming as the findings of this study may be, the fact that a global nutrition studied was even commissioned in the first place goes to show our collective awareness on this critical issue.

Add Some Plant-Based Nutrition to Your Diet

If you or someone you love needs help adding nutrition to their diet, we have you covered. Check out these nutrition-rich recipes, courtesy of the Food Monster App!

Beautiful Berry Coconut Smoothie Bowls

Source: Beautiful Berry Coconut Smoothie Bowls

Tori Cooper‘s Beautiful Berry Coconut Smoothie Bowls are loaded with good-for-you ingredients like bananas, mixed berries, coconut water, flaxseed meal, and oats, and the best part is it can be completely customized to your liking.

Sunflower Seed ‘Rice’ Nori Wraps

Source: Sunflower Seed ‘Rice’ Nori Wraps

Melina Kutelas‘s Sunflower Seed ‘Rice’ Nori Wraps use a delicious “rice” made from raw sunflower seeds and are then stuffed with tender eggplant and coarsely chopped sundried tomatoes and walnuts to them a bit more texture.

Spinach Salad With Barley Bacon

Source: Spinach Salad With Barley Bacon

Zsu Dever‘s easy-to-prepare and tasty Spinach Salad With Barley Bacon is full of good-for-you ingredients like Porcini mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, zucchini, and leeks, and is deliciously smoky and flavorful.

Enjoy these recipes? Check out 10 Super Green Powders For A Nutritional Boost! We also recommend downloading the Food Monster App. For those that don’t have it, it’s a brilliant Food app available for both Android and iPhone. It’s a great resource for anyone looking to cut out or reduce allergens like meat, dairy, soy, gluten, eggs, grains, and more find awesome recipes, cooking tips, articles, product recommendations and how-tos. The app shows you how having diet/health/food preferences can be full of delicious abundance rather than restrictions.

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