- Nutrition is now recognized as a vital sign for health
- Poor diet quality is linked to more deaths than smoking or high blood pressure
- Assessing diet quality during medical visits can lead to better health outcomes
- MedChefs works with you and your health team to assess and improve your nutrition
As Hippocrates said over two thousand years ago, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” This ancient wisdom is now gaining renewed attention. Current research has elevated the importance of nutrition in our overall health to a new level. Experts now consider nutrition as crucial as other traditional health indicators like blood pressure or weight.
The landmark Global Disease Determinants collaboration, led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), provides eye-opening insights. This comprehensive worldwide study found that poor eating habits are more dangerous than well-known risk factors like smoking or high blood pressure. A “poor” diet typically lacks fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, while being high in red meat, processed foods, sugar, and salt. Such eating patterns can lead to serious health issues including heart disease, diabetes, Alzheimer’s, and certain cancers.
By treating nutrition as a vital sign, healthcare providers aim to prevent health problems before they start. This approach promotes better eating habits early on. To implement this change, there’s a push to incorporate quick diet assessments into regular doctor visits. This could help healthcare providers offer tailored nutrition advice, treating diet quality as seriously as other vital signs.
Your diet is now considered a vital sign of health
Pay attention to what you eat and discuss your nutrition with your doctor, just as you would other important health indicators. At MedChefs, we recognize the crucial role of nutrition in our overall health and have developed both assessments and tools to help both you and your health team take significant steps towards preventing disease and promoting long-term wellbeing.
The science is clear
A healthy diet is high in fruits, vegetables, fiber, whole grains, legumes, and low in sodium and sweetened beverages. If you eat meat: small amounts — fish is preferred and avoid all processed meats.