For-Profit Drivers of Poor [Brain] Health in America 1: Food Industries

Among high income countries the United States spends the most on health care and yet has the lowest life expectancy. A high percentage of Americans suffer with chronic diseases including obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, mental disorders, and Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s diseases. There are several reasons why people living in the wealthiest country have poor health all attributable to unrestrained capitalism.  In this episode I talk about how large-scale monoculture crops used to produce addictive ultraprocessed sugars such as high fructose corn syrup adversely affect health including brain health. The widespread availability of such obesogenic high-calorie ultraprocessed foods at low prices have propelled a transgenerational epidemic of obesity, diabetes and associated chronic brain disorders. Increasingly sedentary lifestyles exacerbate the problem. In also talk about the health benefits of a range of organically grown vegetables and fruits with a focus on a few specific chemicals they produce that act on cells in ways that bolster their function and resilience.   

Here are links to a few articles that provide more detail on the problem and potential solutions.

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9904196/pdf/nihms-1868184.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8748512/pdf/41467_2021_Article_27645.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6779523/pdf/nihms-1537205.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5841445/pdf/nihms946635.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4081729/pdf/pr.113.007757.pdf

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4586293/pdf/nihms678801.pdf