Most deaths in the United States

are preventable and related to nutrition.

According to the most rigorous analysis

of risk factors ever published -

The Global Burden of Disease Study, funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation-

the #1 cause of death in the United States

and the #1 cause of disability in this country

is our diet,

which has bumped tobacco smoking to #2.

Smoking now only kills about a half million Americans every year,

whereas our diet now kills hundreds of thousands more.

So if most death and disability is preventable and related to nutrition

then obviously nutrition is the #1 thing taught in medical school. Right?

It's the #1 thing your doctor talks to you about.

How could there be such a disconnect

between the science and the practice of medicine?

Let's do a

thought experiment.

Imagine yourself a smoker back in the 1950s.

See, the average per capita cigarette consumption

was about 4000 cigarettes a year.

Think about that.

In the 1950s the average person walking around

smoked a half pack a day.

The media was telling you to smoke

and famous athletes agreed.

Even Santa Claus cared enough

about your throat to want you to smoke.

I mean, you want to keep fit, and stay slender,

so you make sure to smoke

and eat lots of hot dogs to keep trim,

and lots of sugar to stay slim and trim,

a lot less fattening than that apple there...

I mean, sheesh.

Though apples do connote goodness and freshness,

reads one internal tobacco industry memo,

which brings up many possibilities

for making youth-oriented cigarettes.

They want to make apple flavored cigarettes for kids.

In addition to staying fit and slender

and soothing your throat for digestion's sake

you smoke.

I mean no curative power is claimed by Phillip Morris

but hey, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Better to be safe than sorry and... smoke.

Like eating, smoking was a family affair.

Gee, Mommy, you sure enjoy your Marlboro!

You're darn tootin'.

Just one question Mom,

"Can you afford not to smoke Marlboro?"

In the 1950s your kids were giving you cigarettes.

Even your dog was giving you cigarettes.

"Blow in her face and she'll follow you anywhere."

No woman ever says "No".

"They're so round, so firm, so fully packed."

After all, John Wayne smoked them...

until he got lung cancer and died.

Back then even the paleo folks were smoking,

and so were the doctors.

This is not to say there wasn't controversy

within the medical profession.

Yes, some doctors smoked Camels,

but other physicians preferred Luckies,

so there was some disagreement.

Eminent doctors on high and impartial medical authority

call for Phillip Morris.

Even the specialists couldn't agree

which cigarette was better for your throat;

so best to stick to the science…

and more scientists smoke this brand.

This should not be rocket science—

but even the rocket scientists had their favorite,

for the man who thinks for himself.

We know why the AMA may have been

sucking up to the tobacco industry,

refusing to endorse the Surgeon General's report on smoking

after they were handed a $10 million check from the tobacco industry.

But why weren't more individual doctors speaking out?

There were a few gallant souls ahead of their time

writing in as there are today,

standing up against industries killing millions.

But why not more?

Maybe it's because the majority of physicians themselves...

smoked cigarettes,

just like the majority of physicians today...

continue to eat foods that are contributing

to our epidemics of dietary disease.

What was the AMA's rallying cry back then?

Everything in moderation.

Extensive scientific studies have proven

smoking in moderation... oh that's fine.

Sound familiar?

Eating the standard American diet today,

is like being a smoker back in the 1950s.

Most everyone you know eats this way.

It's normal—it's what they feed people in hospitals...

for gosh sake!

But you don't have to wait until

society catches up with the science, again

Sometimes it takes a whole generation

for things to change in medicine.

The old guard of smoking physicians and medical school professors

die off and a new generation takes its place,

but how many patients need to die in the interim?