Why Don’t People Eat Healthier?

In this video, Dr Michael Greger offers some research-based answers to the question: Why don’t people eat healthier? He cites optimistic bias as one of the main reasons, which is a tendency to underestimate risk factors of unhealthy behavior. For example, research indicates that 90% of cancers are preventable. Nevertheless, people continue doing the things that cause cancer because of this bias to underestimate the risk factor of the behaviors.

Dr Greger believes that avoiding guilt is a major reason for this bias. In other words, if someone develops cancer, knowledge that it could have been prevented would lead to a feeling of guilt over their condition. But Dr Greger suggests we stop ignoring facts as a way of avoiding feelings of guilt and instead embrace the facts in order to empower us to take control of our lives and prevent cancers and other risks to our health. His advice is regular exercise and eating an entirely whole food plant-based diet. This advice is in alignment with the very good diet God designed for us: “Then God said, ‘I give you every seed-bearing plant on the face of the whole earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it. They will be yours for food.’” (Genesis 1:29, NIV). It is also in alignment with the advice Paul gives about properly maintaining our bodies as temples for the Holy Spirit: “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19, NIV).