One Big Threat To Humanity Is Whats On Our Plates
[Applause]
the choices we make
every day have consequences
january 5th 2013 in germany
it’s a cold rainy day
i’m 24 years old and i’m sitting in a
doctor’s waiting room
just a couple of weeks ago i was
traveling the world in
sri lanka and india i just graduated
with a master’s degree i was on top of
the world
never really cared how much i ate or
drank pizzas here
burgers there i was invincible
now i’m sitting in a urologist’s
office in a room full of
gray-haired men in their 70s all
smelling like old spice cologne
what is going on why am i here
why my name gets called
and the next thing i know i’m sitting
with my pants down
on this cold sterile doctor’s table
not my sexiest moment to be honest
dr horstmann gets right into it i’m
starting to get a little nervous but
this will only take a few minutes and i
will never ever tell anybody what
happened
the gel from the ultrasound machine
is cold i hear the machine
humming i’m in a bad movie
then dr horstmann turns around looks up
and tells me michael
i found something it’s cancer
we should schedule surgery for tomorrow
that moment
changed my life forever and not only
were the next
few weeks and months filled with surgery
and chemotherapy
it set in motion a desperate quest for
answers
why do people get cancer what can i do
can i even prevent this what i found
shocked me in 2018 the world health
organization
who stated that up to 50
of cancers are preventable by avoiding
several risk factors among those risk
factors
is diet according to an earlier study
from the who in 2011 up to 30 percent of
all cancers are directly linked
to poor diet habits that means the foods
we eat can be a major contributor
in avoiding cancers but not just with
cancers
the who further states a healthy diet
can help prevent
other major chronic diseases like
obesity cardiovascular disease and
diabetes
health is on top of mind from so many of
us
and those challenges are not only my
story in 2019
41 million people died from chronic
diseases
that’s half the population of germany in
just one year
that’s 80 people every minute 4
800 people every hour dying from chronic
diseases
and what we learned last year in 2020
is people with chronic diseases and
subsequent weakened immune systems
are also at most risk at a pandemic
and that made me wonder is one of the
biggest threats to humanity
what’s on our plates
to put this threat into perspective
let’s compare to other major human
threats
according to the yearly global debt
statistics from the who
chronic diseases make up to 70 percent
of all deaths in the world
cardiovascular disease alone are costing
18 million people’s lives
every year and comparing this to other
major threats
like natural disasters that cost 10 000
people’s lives a year
it’s clear to me currently it is one of
the biggest threats to us as humans
and how do we normally deal with
threats to us as humans let’s look at
the example
of natural disasters isn’t after every
natural disaster the first thing
we hear in the news how can we prevent
this from
ever happening again throughout history
we as humans and us in society we
invested and invented in technology in
early warning systems
to help prevent people dying in
earthquakes hurricanes tsunamis
we invented a seismograph hundreds of
years ago
to measure the tiniest ground movements
to help predict earthquakes as a result
people dying in natural disasters has
come down by 80 percent
of the last decades let’s look at
another
human threat to us dying in the car
accident
we invented and introduced seat belts
speed limits
we’re building safer cars we invented
airbags
similar to natural disasters we’re not
100 safe
but we’re doing everything in our
control to reduce our risk factors
as a result people dying in car
accidents
has come down by 60 percent since 1990
in countries like germany or the uk
in the same time span people dying from
chronic diseases
has gone up by 50
we need to start treating chronic
diseases with the same
seriousness and the same urgency than
other major
threats to us as humans and i know we’re
spending already
millions and millions of dollars every
year in early detection
medical advancements and technology and
all of these fields have seen
tremendous improvements however we need
to start
focusing on prevention similar to
natural disasters
or carcinoid accidents we need to
build systems that help prevent millions
of people’s
getting chronically ill in the first
place not just only treating
the disease or detecting it early
and this is the great news i have today
we already have the greatest technology
for prevention with us a technology so
sophisticated
that modern scientists can still not
figure it out
it’s our own body our own body can act
as our own seismograph
it can give us precise warning systems
and signs if something is not right
it is programmed to be healthy
and actually prevent illnesses it just
needs the right inputs
so instead of only looking at medical
advancements and technology
we need to start using the existing
capabilities within our own bodies
the existing technology to help prevent
chronic diseases
and we are in control of that technology
i know what you might think i get it
it’s a major threat
but what has my own body to do with it
how can i control it
every modern technology in our world
our body needs energy and the energy for
humans
comes from the foods we eat that might
be shocking to some
we don’t only need to eat because we
feel like it because we want to look a
certain way
or because it tastes so good we need to
eat to provide our body
with the nutrients and those nutrients
can help and provide our body with the
energy the growth
and the support for all essential
functions in the body
and those nutrients are vitamins
minerals
carbohydrates fats and water
to have our body operating at the
highest capacity
our body needs the right amount of
nutrients
too much or too little can actually
lead to a dysfunctioning body and can
ultimately lead
to a disease so all we need to do is
feeding our body with the right inputs
isn’t that easy
according to his 2017 study from the
center of disease control and prevention
the cdc in the u.s nine
out of ten americans don’t eat enough
fruits and vegetables
every single day and therefore don’t get
enough of those nutrients
similar data in eu shows eight out of
ten people don’t enough fruits and
vegetables
every single day think about it
what did you eat yesterday did that
include a lot of real fruits and
vegetables
chances are it did not
instead we’re eating a typical western
diet
burgers pizza fries snacks
candy convenience fast food
a western diet consistently uh
predominantly consist of highly
processed foods
a lot of sugar highly refined and
saturated fats and a ton of animal
protein
we don’t have to be scientists to see
that this kind of diet
cannot be healthy because it lacks those
nutrients our body needs
those nutrients coming from fruits and
vegetables
our body and our diet may be directly
linked
to those chronic diseases i mentioned
earlier
and i hear people often say i get it i
need to eat healthier
but this is one meal that doesn’t make a
difference
according to a 2006 study from the heart
health research institute
in sydney australia it showed that after
one high-fat meal one fast food meal
the arteries in our bodies can can clog
up
by up to forty percent after just one
meal
we are in total control to create a
healthy
or unhealthy environment within our body
the technology in our body is capable of
preventing diseases
it just needs the right inputs
we are in control and our everyday
choices
they matter so we need to treat
chronic diseases like other major human
threats and
our everyday choices have consequences
so
how does the perfect plate look like
what is the optimal input
that our body needs to function at the
highest capacity
according to the official harvard
medical school recommendations
it is plant-based the majority
of the plate is plants
50 of your meal should be fruits and
vegetables
the more variety the better for your
body
whole foods that are minimally processed
and have
the highest amounts of those nutrients
think about it like adding color to your
meal like the greens like zucchini
green beans broccoli like the orange
like carrots or maybe like yellow like
squash
not like french fries
another 25 should be whole grains
this one is easy instead of your white
pasta your white bread
swapping it out for a healthier grain
alternative whole wheat pasta
brown rice simple and easy and the last
25
of your meal is your choice of protein
according to harvard the more
plant-based your meal
and your plate the better so instead of
your typical
meat and fish think about a plant-based
alternative
nuts beans or plant-based meat option
three easy steps you can do me make your
meal healthier
three easy steps number one can i add a
color from a fruit and vegetable
number two can i swap to a healthier
grain and number three
can i choose a plant-based protein three
steps
simple and easy if i can do it coming
from a very neat heavy german
household you can do it too
changing the way we think about our food
and our food choices
doesn’t only affect ourselves according
to a special report by the u.n in 2019
a plant-based diet can help reduce the
greenhouse gas emissions in our
environment by over 52
50 the un concludes that
the actual answer to our climate crisis
is also on our plates i’m not a
scientist
i’m not a doctor i’m a cancer survivor
and i’m a student of research
my journey started on this cold
rainy day in this waiting room
full of greyhound men in the 70s
you don’t have to let it get that far
all this data is publicly available
one of the biggest threats to humanity
maybe right in front of us maybe what’s
on our plates
it’s time to take action right now
chronic diseases don’t have to be
chronic forever
we can prevent these with our lifestyle
choices
it is in our control i’m on a mission a
mission to redefine and refine what we
choose to put on our plates
and i invite you to join me
to think about food a little differently
and if you do
it will make a huge difference for
yourself humanity as a whole
and our planet that’s the new world
normal
i would like to live in thank you