Aaron Hartman, MDFunctional Medicine Specialist | Clinical Researcher

The Statistics of Preventing Disease with a Real Food Diet

2 Jun 2025 · 1 min

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Short presentation by Aaron Hartman, MD arguing that most chronic diseases are largely preventable through diet and lifestyle. Key claims: ~80% of heart disease and ~70% of most cancers can be prevented by diet/lifestyle; about 80% of chronic health issues relate to processed foods and 60% to ultra- or mildly-processed foods. The speaker also asserts nutrient losses from food processing and notes U.S. bread fortification beginning in the 1940s (folic acid added to prevent neuropathies), with manufacturers not fully restoring all removed nutrients.

Questions this video answers

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80% of heart disease and 70% of most cancers can be prevented by diet and lifestyle alone. 80% of all chronic health issues have a relationship to processed foods and 60% to ultra processed and mildly processed. And you look at what we consume, a significant amount is ultra processed. And also when you look at nutrient deficiencies and you realize that when they process foods, they remove trace minerals, they remove B vitamins, they remove a bunch of things. And your fortified bread, for example, they're taking out when they make bread. This actually goes back to 1940s. Actually processed bread in America was seen to be called neuropathies and nerve damage. So the government mandated bread to be fortified or it couldn't be put back in their food system. So that's when manufacturers start putting in folic acid so that you wouldn't get the neuropathy or nerve damage, but they didn't put everything else back in. So that's kind of an interesting thing.