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