20 things you should know about health

These 20 things will help you improve your health, understand your body and reduce your risk of chronic diseases.

1. Our genetics are exactly the same as those of hunter-gatherer days…so we need to try to move and eat like they did as they were free from chronic disease.
2. Our physical activity level has dropped by 60-70% when compared to that of people in 1900. That's bad.
3. Type II diabetes used to be called ‘Adult Onset Diabetes’ because our children didn’t get it, however, due to our environment and lifestyles, millions of children across the globe now have the disease and so we had to rename the disease Type II diabetes.
4. A standard fast food burger, medium fries and large soft drink is 56% and 73% of daily energy needs for men and women respectively. Our ancestors would have needed to hunt for hours and hours to catch that many kilojoules/calories.
5. Today when dining out or getting takeaway, people can easily eat as many kilojoules/calories in one meal that the average person requires in the whole day.
6. The American Journal of Public Health in 2002 found that chocolate chip cookies on general sale were 700% larger in portion size than recommended.
7. Due to the Western diet being so low in fruit and vegetables, colon cancer is growing rapidly and it is suggested that it will overtake lung cancer as the most prevalent cancer within 10 years.
8. Half the adults in the western world have high cholesterol (greater than 5.5mmol/l) and the CSIRO state that if your cholesterol level is 6.5 mmol/L or greater your risk of heart disease is about 4 times greater than that of a person with a cholesterol level of 4 mmol/L.
9. One third of the adults in the western world have high blood pressure (greater than 120mmHg).
10. Viseral fat (the fat that surrounds your vital organs and drains into blood vessels) is more dangerous than subcutaneous fat (common body fat) and you can’t tell how much visceral fat you have by looking at yourself. The only indicator is to get your cholesterol and triglycerides (blood fats) checked by your doctor.
11. There is no such thing as the person with the ‘fast metabolism’. If an unbalanced lifestyle doesn’t result in you putting on weight, they could be increasing visceral fat…no one gets a free pass, all our bodies were designed to consume a balanced diet and be active!
12. 100 limbs a week are amputated a week in the UK due to Type II diabetes.
13. 150ml/day of red or white wine can reduce risk of heart disease by 32%
14. Fish 4 times a week (114g/4oz) can reduce risk of heart disease by 14%
15. Dark chocolate (20g/0.7oz per day) can reduce risk of heart disease by 21%
16. Fruit and vegetables (400g/14oz per day) can reduce risk of heart disease by 21%
17. Garlic (2.7g/0.09oz per day) can reduce risk of heart disease by 25%
18. Almonds (68g/2.4oz per day) can reduce risk of heart disease by 12.5%
19. 30 mins of walking per day can reduce your risk of heart disease, diabetes and some cancers.
20. In a classic study from the UK, bus drivers are 250% more likely to die from a heart attack than bus conductors as the conductors were on their feet all day where as the bus drivers sit down all day.