How Diverse is the Average American Diet?
On average American diets are not diverse. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
About three-fourths of the population has an eating pattern that is low in vegetables, fruits, dairy, and oils.
More than half of the population is meeting or exceeding total grain and total protein foods recommendations.
Most Americans exceed the recommendations for added sugars, saturated fats, and sodium.
Of the 4,000 or so edible plant species that have fed human societies at one time of another in the past, only 150 are widely cultivated today and just three of them provide 60 percent of the world’s food supply (Corn, Wheat, Soy).
Today our choice of foods is limited to about 30 species, and for many the choice is even more restricted. It is not unusual for some children to eat nothing but pizza, hot dogs and peanut butter sandwiches.
Such diets will not only be deficient in many nutrients, but the constant call for enzymes needed to digest those particular foods can lead to the exhaustion of that specific digestion mechanism.
Failing to get key nutrients can lead to a variety of health problems, including fatigue, night blindness, osteoporosis, high blood pressure, and even acne.
Plus, the exclusive use of just a few foods can lead to severe food addictions – every bit as harmful and difficult to break as addictions to drugs and alcohol. The food addictions and their compounding allergic reactions, develop into Alzheimer's, diabetes, cardiovascular, and other serious degenerative diseases.
