World Health Day is celebrated each year to draw attention to specific health topics all over the world. This year’s theme was chosen to champion the right of everyone, everywhere to have access to quality health services, education, and information, as well as safe drinking water, clean air, good nutrition, quality housing, decent working and environmental conditions, and freedom from discrimination.
Access to good nutrition is a basic human right, but many struggle to access nutritious food, leading to health issues worldwide. Even in affluent countries, heavily processed, nutritionally poor options contribute to health disparities and chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. We need to prioritize food security, fair distribution, and nutrition education to address these disparities. Let's advocate for better global nutrition access on World Health Day to ensure everyone can live healthy lives, free from the burden of chronic diseases. – Dr. Kendra FitzPatrick, DNP
For World Health Day Sarah would like to bring your attention to the fact that here in the US there has yet to be a ban on some artificial food dyes. Sarah noticed a huge difference in her son who was 8 years old when diagnosed with ADHD when she took artificial food dye completely out of his diet their whole world changed. He was calmer and did better in school. It is the reason why she got into helping individuals with nutrition because of the impact it had on her family’s life. In January 2022, several countries-imposed restrictions or bans on certain artificial food dyes. This is because some studies have found that certain artificial colorings, especially those containing additives like tartrazine, have been looked at to trigger hyperactivity and inattention in susceptible individuals. While more research is needed to establish long term health consequences the FDA has acknowledged that artificial food dye does contribute in some ways to health issues and to use cautious consideration of food dye consumption of children with ADHD, and alternative natural food colorings may be explored as a potential mitigation strategy.
-Sarah Eno, FNTP
