EdX

Food as Medicine: Preventing and Reversing Chronic Disease (edX)

Offered by DoaneX, Doane University,
Food as Medicine: Preventing and Reversing Chronic Disease (edX)

Heart disease and many other common, chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, many autoimmune disorders, and even some cancers, are all caused by the same thing...the Standard American Diet. But the good news is that these diseases need never exist and if they do exist, they can oftentimes be reversed with a whole-foods, plant-based diet. In this course, you’re going to learn how the Standard American Diet causes these common diseases, what to eat to prevent and reverse those diseases, how to transition to a plant-based diet, plant-based meal preparation, and how to make positive changes to your lifestyle that last.

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According to the Global Burden of Disease study, a large, collaborative study that assessed risk factors for death and disability for 187 countries from 1990 to 2010, the number one cause of death and disability in the United States, is our diet, followed by tobacco use. Smoking is responsible for approximately 450,000 deaths per year while diet, the Standard American Diet, is responsible for close to 700,000 deaths annually.
Because chronic conditions like obesity, heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and many types of cancer are the result of inappropriate foods in the diet, by eliminating those inappropriate foods and replacing them with health-promoting foods, we are actually treating the cause of disease rather than just treating the symptoms.
Not only can we prevent diabetes, heart disease, and cancer, oftentimes we can actually reverse the disease with a whole-food, plant-based diet. People can actually eradicate their diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure without pills or procedures but simply by changing what they’re putting in their mouths three times a day.

What you'll learn
At the end of this course, learners will be able to:

  • Identify how the Standard American Diet causes common diseases,
  • Explore what to eat to prevent and reverse those diseases,
  • Utilize the tools to transition to a plant-based diet,
  • Prepare plant-based meals,
  • Apply SMART goals to make positive lifestyle changes.
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