top 10 harmful chemicals causing health problems & death

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top 10 harmful chemicals causing health problems & death

Postby Berry » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:26 am

Mr. Novick, you said, when giving answer to another question on your board,

JeffN wrote:"Yet at the same time, there are many very toxic chemicals that we seem to ignore. If you look at the top 10, or even 50, or even 100 chemicals that are causing health problems and death, do you think MSG would be in any of those lists? Yet, how many things in those lists, especially the top 10, do you think people are ignoring?"


Will you tell me please what are those top 10 toxic chemicals? where can I learn more about these ignored toxic chemical in our foods?
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Re: top 10 harmful chemicals causing health problems and dea

Postby JeffN » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:21 pm

Hi Berry,

Berry wrote:"Yet at the same time, there are many very toxic chemicals that we seem to ignore. If you look at the top 10, or even 50, or even 100 chemicals that are causing health problems and death, do you think MSG would be in any of those lists? Yet, how many things in those lists, especially the top 10, do you think people are ignoring?"

Mr. Novick, you said above when giving answer to another question on your board. will you tell me please what are those top 10 toxic chemicals? where can I learn more about these ignored toxic chemical in our foods?


Sure, but with a little "edit" to my comment.

My comment is in relation not only to specific "chemicals" but also behaviors, as many of our behaviors are as toxic if not more so, then many chemicals.

1) Tobacco (including second & third hand smoke)
2) Excess Calories ( obesity is now second only to tobacco)
3) Inadequate Fruits & Veggies (and all the beneficial chemicals in them)
4) Inactivity
5) Alcohol (a known carcinogen)
6) Saturated Fat
7) Cholesterol
8 ) Hydrogenated Fats/Trans Fats
9) Sodium
10) Inadequate Fiber
11) Excess refined concentrated sugar/sweeteners
12) Excess refined processed carbohydrates.

The above 12 are responsible for more death than anything else.

In regard to specific chemicals I would add in (in no particular order)

- Benzene
- Toluene
- Acetone
- lead
- Chromium
- Auto Emissions
- Diesel Emissions
- Carbon tetrachloride
- Polycyclic organic matter (POM), of which benzo[a]pyrene is a member. Sources of air emissions are diverse and include cigarette smoke, vehicle exhaust, home heating, laying tar, and grilling meat.

I would be interested to see what anyone else would add to the list.

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Re: top 10 harmful chemicals causing health problems and dea

Postby Nettie » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:47 pm

JeffN wrote: I would be interested to see what anyone else would add to the list.


We had a discussion in the Lounge Forum about this a while back. I came up with a list from research on the Internet. May or may not be completely accurate, I suppose, but it's a start.

http://drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic ... icals+life

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Re: top 10 harmful chemicals causing health problems and dea

Postby JeffN » Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:51 pm

Nettie wrote:
JeffN wrote: I would be interested to see what anyone else would add to the list.


We had a discussion in the Lounge Forum about this a while back. I came up with a list from research on the Internet. May or may not be completely accurate, I suppose, but it's a start.

http://drmcdougall.com/forums/viewtopic ... icals+life

Nettie


Many on our lists are similar and I tend to agree of the toxic nature of many personal care products, even those sold in places like Whole Foods. You have to be very careful when checking ingredients.

Thanks!!
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Postby Quiet Heather » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:38 pm

Looking at Nettie's list made me wonder, what do you think about aluminum? Do you think it's a good idea to refrain from using deodorants with it or to not use aluminum foil to wrap food or aluminum cookware? How about anodized cookware like Circulon? This is what I use, but I feel a little uneasy about it since it is aluminum.
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food chemicals

Postby AnnaS » Wed Apr 16, 2008 3:56 pm

If we're talking about chemicals that are often found in food, nitrosamines should definitely be on the list--very carcinogenic, yet found in many processed foods, especially processed meats.

Also, after reading Colin Campbell's "China Study" book I'd want to include casein, though maybe that should go in Jeff's first list of 12 common problematic items.

Also, dispersed through the environment we still have big problems with dioxins, very important health problem and most at risk are SAD eaters, eating at the top of the food chain where the dioxin accumulates.

Shouldn't mercury be on the list along with lead? They are telling pregnant women to limit their intake of canned tuna, for heaven's sake--that's really ominous!!!
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Re: food chemicals

Postby JeffN » Wed Apr 16, 2008 7:39 pm

AnnaS wrote:If we're talking about chemicals that are often found in food, nitrosamines should definitely be on the list--very carcinogenic, yet found in many processed foods, especially processed meats.

Also, after reading Colin Campbell's "China Study" book I'd want to include casein, though maybe that should go in Jeff's first list of 12 common problematic items.

Also, dispersed through the environment we still have big problems with dioxins, very important health problem and most at risk are SAD eaters, eating at the top of the food chain where the dioxin accumulates.

Shouldn't mercury be on the list along with lead? They are telling pregnant women to limit their intake of canned tuna, for heaven's sake--that's really ominous!!!


My list is based not just on chemicals or behaviors known to be harmful but those that are the ones that we can document are the leading contributors to death.

Mercury may be a concern, but I don't know of it killing anyone in significant amounts and in spite of the popularity of fish, Americans eat very little fish relatively speaking.

Casein is controversial as far as its actual impact on mortality, and while we nitrosamines are known to cause cancer in animals, again, the direct impact is on humans is not really known.

I would agree with and add Dioxin to the list.

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Re: food chemicals

Postby AnnaS » Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:03 pm

JeffN wrote:Mercury may be a concern, but I don't know of it killing anyone in significant amounts and in spite of the popularity of fish, Americans eat very little fish relatively speaking.


I thought that mercury compounds were among the most toxic and dangerous ones around...and since you have lead on the list (which also doesn't usually go around killing people, though it can, especially in compounds) it seemed to fit your list.

I'm sorry, I don't think I understood the question being discussed here.
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Re: food chemicals

Postby JeffN » Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:15 pm

AnnaS wrote:
JeffN wrote:Mercury may be a concern, but I don't know of it killing anyone in significant amounts and in spite of the popularity of fish, Americans eat very little fish relatively speaking.


I thought that mercury compounds were among the most toxic and dangerous ones around...and since you have lead on the list (which also doesn't usually go around killing people, though it can, especially in compounds) it seemed to fit your list.

I'm sorry, I don't think I understood the question being discussed here.


Sorry, if it is confusing.

My point is to try and pinpoint those things (chemical/behaviors) that we know (and can document) are the leading causes of death.

Mercury is highly toxic but it is not killing many people or if it is, we do not have the evidence of it. Most of its harm is in isolated incidents (industrial) where lead is still prevalent in the environment.

"Of the heavy metals, toxicity by chronic lead exposure is the most commonly encountered. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) conducted from 1988-1990 found that 0.4% of persons aged 1 year and older had blood levels of lead of 25 mcg/dL or higher. The data also noted that, among those aged 1-5 years, an estimated 1.7 million children had blood levels greater than 10 mcg/dL. The syndrome of childhood plumbism caused by the ingestion of lead is believed to affect more than 2 million American preschool-aged children. Lead toxicity has a significantly higher prevalence among the African American population and in lower socioeconomic areas. Reliable figures for the prevalence of mercury and arsenic toxicities are not available. These toxidromes are usually encountered from industrial exposures. Arsenic exposure, however, often occurs outside the industrial realm because of its uses as a rodenticide and a commonly employed homicidal and suicidal agent."

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Re: top 10 harmful chemicals causing health problems and dea

Postby Berry » Thu Apr 17, 2008 6:25 am

you give new ways to look at things. very helpful. thank you Mr. Novick.
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Re: top 10 harmful chemicals causing health problems and dea

Postby JeffN » Thu Apr 17, 2008 7:29 am

Berry wrote: you give new ways to look at things. very helpful. thank you Mr. Novick.


That is my hope and prayer. :)

We need to focus our time, energy and efforts (and $$) into eliminating and/or dramatically reducing those "known" killers first or they will kill us before any of the other things we are spending our time, energy and efforts (and $$) on, will.

No sense trying to fix a sprained ankle, when there is a cut artery.

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Re: top 10 harmful chemicals causing health problems and dea

Postby JeffN » Fri Mar 07, 2014 7:40 am

What would the list look like if they surveyed the top toxicologists?

"In order to determine the collective judgments of toxicologists on chemical risks, we asked the Society of Toxicology (SOT), the professional association of this scientific discipline, for permission to survey their members."

http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/2 ... bT9xnjMNss

http://www.cmpa.com/wp-content/uploads/ ... 2009-1.pdf

Most of the ones we hear about in the news all the time, are rated the lowest risk.


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Re: top 10 harmful chemicals causing health problems and dea

Postby JeffN » Fri Mar 07, 2014 11:13 am

Greetings..

I posted this in 2008.

JeffN wrote:
1) Tobacco (including second & third hand smoke)
2) Excess Calories ( obesity is now second only to tobacco)
3) Inadequate Fruits & Veggies (and all the beneficial chemicals in them)
4) Inactivity
5) Alcohol (a known carcinogen)
6) Saturated Fat
7) Cholesterol
8 ) Hydrogenated Fats/Trans Fats
9) Sodium
10) Inadequate Fiber
11) Excess refined concentrated sugar/sweeteners
12) Excess refined processed carbohydrates.

The above 12 are responsible for more death than anything else.


Let's look at the supporting data for that...


This one, came out way back in 1993

Actual causes of death in the United States.
JAMA. 1993 Nov 10;270(18):2207-12.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8411605

"The most prominent contributors to mortality in the United States in 1990 were:

- tobacco (an estimated 400,000 deaths),
- diet and activity patterns (300,000),
- alcohol (100,000),
- microbial agents (90,000),
- toxic agents (60,000),
- firearms (35,000),
- sexual behavior (30,000),
- motor vehicles (25,000),
- illicit use of drugs (20,000).

And concluded...

"Approximately half of all deaths that occurred in 1990 could be attributed to the factors identified. Although no attempt was made to further quantify the impact of these factors on morbidity and quality of life, the public health burden they impose is considerable and offers guidance for shaping health policy priorities."


This study came out in 2004

Actual causes of death in the United States, 2000.
JAMA. 2004 Mar 10;291(10):1238-45.

"The leading causes of death in 2000 were:

- tobacco (435 000 deaths; 18.1% of total US deaths),
- poor diet and physical inactivity (365 000 deaths; 15.2%) [corrected],
- alcohol consumption (85 000 deaths; 3.5%).

Other actual causes of death were:

- microbial agents (75 000),
- toxic agents (55 000),
- motor vehicle crashes (43 000),
- incidents involving firearms (29 000),
- sexual behaviors (20 000),
- illicit use of drugs (17 000).

And concluded..

"These analyses show that smoking remains the leading cause of mortality. However, poor diet and physical inactivity may soon overtake tobacco as the leading cause of death. These findings, along with escalating health care costs and aging population, argue persuasively that the need to establish a more preventive orientation in the US health care and public health systems has become more urgent."


The following study came out in 2009, not long after my post, and I think really highlights the above. Not exact, but similar.

http://www.plosmedicine.org/article/inf ... ed.1000058

The Preventable Causes of Death in the United States: Comparative Risk Assessment of Dietary, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Risk Factors PLoS Med. 2009 April; 6(4): e1000058. Published online 2009 April 28. doi: 10.1371/journal.pmed.1000058.

Background:

Knowledge of the number of deaths caused by risk factors is needed for health policy and priority setting. Our aim was to estimate the mortality effects of the following 12 modifiable dietary, lifestyle, and metabolic risk factors in the United States (US) using consistent and comparable methods: high blood glucose, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and blood pressure; overweight–obesity; high dietary trans fatty acids and salt; low dietary polyunsaturated fatty acids, omega-3 fatty acids (seafood), and fruits and vegetables; physical inactivity; alcohol use; and tobacco smoking.

Here is the full listing (the percentage is of the total of the 12)

467,000 --- Tobacco (23.6%)
395,000 --- Blood pressure (19.9%)
216,000 --- Overweight (10.9%)
191,000 --- Insufficient exercise (9.6%)
190,000 --- High blood glucose (9.6%)
113,000 --- High LDL (5.7%)
102,000 --- Excessive salt (5.2%)
84,000 ---- Inadequate Essential Fats (4.2%)
82,000 ---- Trans fats (4.1%)
64,000 ---- Excessive alcohol (3.2%)
58,000 ---- Low fruit and vegetable intake (2.9%)
15,000 ---- Low PUFA intake (0.7%)


In 2010, I discussed this study in this thread here...

http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... 50#p138350


Then, in 2013, the following article came out..

US Burden of Disease Collaborators. The State of US Health, 1990-2010: Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors. JAMA. 2013;310(6):591-606. doi:10.1001/jama.2013.13805.

http://jama.jamanetwork.com/article.asp ... id=1710486

Here is their 17 risk factors or risk factor clusters in 2010 each of which was associated with more than 0.1% of DALYs.

A) Risk factors and related deaths
- Dietary risks
- Tobacco smoking
- High blood pressure
- High body mass index
- Physical inactivity and low physical activity
- High fasting plasma glucose
- High total cholesterol
- Ambient particulate matter pollution
- Alcohol use
- Drug use
- Lead exposure
- Occupational risks
- Low bone mineral density
- Residential radon
- Ambient ozone pollution
- Intimate partner violence
- Childhood sexual abuse


B) Risk factors as a percentage of disability-adjusted life-years

- Dietary risks
- Tobacco smoking
- High body mass index
- High blood pressure
- High fasting plasma glucose
- Physical inactivity and low physical activity
- Alcohol use
- High total cholesterol
- Drug use
- Ambient particulate matter pollution
- Occupational risks
- Childhood sexual abuse
- Intimate partner violence
- Lead exposure
- Low bone mineral density
- Residential radon
- Ambient ozone pollution

The researchers also analyzed 14 key components of the American diet and their relation to disease, disability, and death. They found that the most damaging dietary risks in the U.S. are diets that are:

- Low in fruits
- Low in nuts and seeds
- High in sodium
- High in processed meats
- Low in vegetables
- High in trans fats

Other damaging dietary factors, ranked in order of importance, are diets that are:

- Low in omega-3 fatty acids (Good sources of omega-3 fatty acids are fish.)
- Low in whole grains
- Low in fiber
- High in sugar-sweetened beverages
- Low in polyunsaturated fatty acids


This one came out in 2015

Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 79 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks in 188 countries, 1990–2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013
Forouzanfar, Mohammad H et al.
The Lancet
September 2015

http://www.thelancet.com/pdfs/journals/ ... 40-6736(15)00128-2.pdf

Summary

Background
The Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor study 2013 (GBD 2013) is the first of a series of annual updates of the GBD. Risk factor quantification, particularly of modifiable risk factors, can help to identify emerging threats to population health and opportunities for prevention. The GBD 2013 provides a timely opportunity to update the comparative risk assessment with new data for exposure, relative risks, and evidence on the appropriate counterfactual risk distribution.

Methods
Attributable deaths, years of life lost, years lived with disability, and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) have been estimated for 79 risks or clusters of risks using the GBD 2010 methods. Risk–outcome pairs meeting explicit evidence criteria were assessed for 188 countries for the period 1990–2013 by age and sex using three inputs: risk exposure, relative risks, and the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL). Risks are organised into a hierarchy with blocks of behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks at the first level of the hierarchy. The next level in the hierarchy includes nine clusters of related risks and two individual risks, with more detail provided at levels 3 and 4 of the hierarchy. Compared with GBD 2010, six new risk factors have been added: handwashing practices, occupational exposure to trichloroethylene, childhood wasting, childhood stunting, unsafe sex, and low glomerular filtration rate. For most risks, data for exposure were synthesised with a Bayesian meta- regression method, DisMod-MR 2.0, or spatial-temporal Gaussian process regression. Relative risks were based on meta-regressions of published cohort and intervention studies. Attributable burden for clusters of risks and all risks combined took into account evidence on the mediation of some risks such as high body-mass index (BMI) through other risks such as high systolic blood pressure and high cholesterol.

Findings
All risks combined account for 57·2% (95% uncertainty interval [UI] 55·8–58·5) of deaths and 41·6% (40·1–43·0) of DALYs. Risks quantified account for 87·9% (86·5−89·3) of cardiovascular disease DALYs, ranging to a low of 0% for neonatal disorders and neglected tropical diseases and malaria. In terms of global DALYs in 2013, six risks or clusters of risks each caused more than 5% of DALYs: dietary risks accounting for 11·3 million deaths and 241·4 million DALYs, high systolic blood pressure for 10·4 million deaths and 208·1 million DALYs, child and maternal malnutrition for 1·7 million deaths and 176·9 million DALYs, tobacco smoke for 6·1 million deaths and 143·5 million DALYs, air pollution for 5·5 million deaths and 141·5 million DALYs, and high BMI for 4·4 million deaths and 134·0 million DALYs. Risk factor patterns vary across regions and countries and with time. In sub-Saharan Africa, the leading risk factors are child and maternal malnutrition, unsafe sex, and unsafe water, sanitation, and handwashing. In women, in nearly all countries in the Americas, north Africa, and the Middle East, and in many other high-income countries, high BMI is the leading risk factor, with high systolic blood pressure as the leading risk in most of Central and Eastern Europe and south and east Asia. For men, high systolic blood pressure or tobacco use are the leading risks in nearly all high-income countries, in north Africa and the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. For men and women, unsafe sex is the leading risk in a corridor from Kenya to South Africa.

Interpretation
Behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks can explain half of global mortality and more than one-third of global DALYs providing many opportunities for prevention. Of the larger risks, the attributable burden of high BMI has increased in the past 23 years. In view of the prominence of behavioural risk factors, behavioural and social science research on interventions for these risks should be strengthened. Many prevention and primary care policy options are available now to act on key risks.

From the above study
Changes in risks from 2000 to 2013
(top chart is 2000, bottom chart is 2013)

Image
Figure 5: Global DALYs attributed to level 2 risk factors in 2000 for both sexes combined (A) and global DALYs attributed to level 2 risk factors in 2013 for both sexes combined (B)
DALYs=disability-adjusted life-years

In regard to Dietary Risks

"The aggregation of the 14 specific components of diet accounted for nearly one tenth of global DALYs in 2013. At the global level, the most important contributors to the overall burden of diet are low fruit, high sodium, low whole grains, low vegetables, and low nuts and seeds."

On BMI

"Our estimates for the burden attributable to high BMI are substantially higher than those in GBD 2010 for two reasons. First, based on new published pooled cohort or meta-analyses, we added several new outcomes related to high BMI. Second, we have more accurately captured the fraction of the population with high BMI using the beta distribution compared with the assumption of a normal distribution. There remains some debate in the literature on the risks associated with overweight. Flegal and colleagues76 reported in a meta-analysis of studies reporting on broad categories of BMI that risk is lowest in the category of overweight.21 Pooled cohort analysis with more detailed BMI categories with a much larger number of person-years of exposure found a regular association with rising BMI from 23 onwards.77 Part of the discrepancy in the findings is also related to how many years of observation are excluded from the analysis to remove the bias of sick individuals having lowered BMIs. Stokes and colleagues showed that re-analysing NHANES follow-up data by maximum lifetime BMI suggested that people in the overweight category were at substantially elevated risk (relative risk 1·28) compared with normal weight individuals.78, 79, 80, 81 We believe that the balance of the evidence clearly supports our TMREL of 21–23 and that the pooled cohort studies provide the most robust relative risks available to date for this analysis. Regardless of this debate, however, the burden attributable to high BMI more generally is large and increasing at the global level. Intensified research and policy experimentation into the options to reduce BMI or to slow its increase is needed.


It has been 24 years since form the first one and little progress, if any, has been made.

As you can see, when you look at the these reports and my list, we may differ slightly on a few of the items and their exact ranking, but our lists are very similar.

I am going to crunch some numbers and come out with a new list called, The Real Dirty Dozen: The 12 Deadliest Dietary and Lifestyle Factors.

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Re: top 10 harmful chemicals causing health problems and dea

Postby JeffN » Fri May 09, 2014 6:27 pm

..

The Real Dirty Dozen: The 12 Deadliest Dietary & Lifestyle Factors & What You Can Do About Them.
http://www.drmcdougall.com/forums/viewt ... 22&t=42831

1. Smoking (including 2nd & 3rd hand smoke)
2. Excess calories/body weight
3. Inadequate diet (fruits, vegetables, intact starches)
4. Alcohol
5. Inactivity/Sedentary Lifestyle
6. Added Sodium/Salt
7. Saturated Fat*
8. Dietary Cholesterol*
9. Added Sugars/Caloric Sweeteners
10. Added Fat/Oils
11. Refined Flours/Grains
12. Hydrogenated/Trans fats

And one more...

13. Illicit Drugs and Some Prescription Drugs


What you can do...

1. Smoking (including 2nd & 3rd hand smoke)
- Don't smoke. If you smoke, quit. Avoid 2nd & 3rd hand smoke.

2. Excess calories/body weight
- Maintain a healthy weight with a BMI of 18.5 to 24.9 (a BMI of 18.5-22 may be optimal), and a waist circumference of <35 for women and < 40 for men, and a waist to height ratio of < 50.

3. Inadequate diet (fruits, vegetables, intact starches)
- Eat a diet based predominately on a variety of minimally processed whole plant foods (fruits, vegetables, starchy vegetables, roots/tubers, intact whole grains and beans).

4. Alcohol
- Don't drink. If you drink, and it is a problem, quit. If you do drink, limit the intake to occasional light drinking (<1 drink/day & <4 drinks/week).

5. Inactivity/Sedentary Lifestyle
- 150 to 300 minutes per week of moderate activity (or 60 to 120 minutes of vigorous activity) that includes aerobic and resistance exercise. The inclusion of some balance, flexibility work is also recommended.

6. Excess Added Sodium/Salt
- Total sodium from all sources to <1500 mg/day.

7. Excess Saturated Fat*
- Keep saturated fat to <7% of total calories, <5% is optimal

8. Dietary Cholesterol*
- Keep total cholesterol to < ~25 mg/day.

9. Added Sugars/Caloric Sweeteners**
- Keep added sugars/sweeteners (including fruit juice and natural sweeteners) to <5% of total calories.

10. Added Fat/Oils**
- Keep added fats/oils to <4% of calories.

11. Refined Flours/Grains**
- Less than 5% of calories.

12. Hydrogenated/Trans fats
- Avoid.

13. Illicit Drugs and Some Prescription Drugs
- Avoid illicit drugs. Avoid prescription drugs except for short term use when unavoidable.

* While these are found in several places, that are mostly a marker for animal product consumption. Limit animal products to no more than 5% of calories, regardless of saturated fat and cholesterol, is important.

** The total intake of added sugars, added fats/oils, refined flours, animal products, etc, if included should not exceed 10% of calories on any given day.

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Re: top 10 harmful chemicals causing health problems & death

Postby JeffN » Mon Nov 02, 2020 9:47 am

The Lancet: Latest global disease estimates reveal perfect storm of rising chronic diseases and public health failures fuelling COVID-19 pandemic
http://www.healthdata.org/news-release/ ... seases-and?

Publication date:
October 15, 2020

* Most comprehensive global study—analysing 286 causes of death, 369 diseases and injuries, and 87 risk factors in 204 countries and territories—reveals how well the world’s population were prepared in terms of underlying health for the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

* Global crisis of chronic diseases and failure of public health to stem the rise in highly preventable risk factors have left populations vulnerable to acute health emergencies such as COVID-19.

* Urgent action is needed to address the global syndemic of chronic diseases, social inequalities, and COVID-19 to ensure more robust health systems and healthier people, making countries more resilient to future pandemic threats.

* The Global Burden of Disease Study provides a roadmap to where need is greatest, with country-specific data on risk factors and chronic disease burden.

Highlights

Over the past decade, there have been particularly large and concerning increases (over 0.5% per year globally) in exposure to several highly preventable risks—obesity, high blood sugar, alcohol use, and drug use—which are contributing to the growing burden of NCDs, and highlight the critical need for stronger public health efforts.

The greatest cumulative impact on health comes from the striking rise in metabolic risks, which have risen 1.5% a year since 2010. Collectively, metabolic risks (namely high BMI, high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and high cholesterol) accounted for nearly 20% of total health loss worldwide in 2019— 50% higher than in 1990 (10.4%). They are also responsible for a huge number of deaths globally—with high blood pressure contributing to 1 in 5 deaths (almost 11 million) in 2019, high blood sugar (6.5 million deaths), high BMI (5 million), and high cholesterol (4.4 million).


Risks associated with the highest number of deaths worldwide for both sexes combined, all ages, in 2019:

1) High systolic blood pressure (10.8 million deaths)
2) Tobacco (8.71 million deaths)
3) Dietary risks (e.g., low fruit, high salt) (7.94 million deaths)
4) Air pollution (6.67 million deaths)
5) High fasting plasma glucose (6.50 million deaths)
6) High body-mass index (5.02 million deaths)
7) High LDL cholesterol (4.40 million deaths)
8 ) Kidney dysfunction (3.16 million deaths)
9) Child and maternal malnutrition (2.94 million deaths)
10) Alcohol use (2.44 million deaths)
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