Which of the following conditions or diseases is a leading diet related cause of death in the US?

One of the oldest medical texts in the world is the Ebers Papyrus, a 110-page-long compilation of treatments and cures written in around 1500 BC. The text, found between the legs of a mummified body in an Egyptian tomb, has instructions on which plants to consume to treat various diseases, giving 811 prescriptions for a wide range of disorders from mental illnesses to crocodile bites.

Later came "the Hippocratic Corpus" often attributed to the ancient Greek physician Hippocrates, who is widely regarded as the father of modern Western medicine (although scholars today think the collection was written by numerous healers who followed Hippocrates). Remedies included honey to treat insomnia and infected wounds, winter cherry to improve eyesight and cure toothache, basil used to soften the bowel and help with inflammation, and gum arabic for birth control. In total, 40% of the remedies in the collection were made from 44 plants – 34 of which were also consumed as food.

The use of foods to help ensure a long life has been addressed in traditional Chinese, Mediterranean and Ayurvedic medicine and many more ancient texts. Even today, these continue to inspire contemporary wellness trends. And in some parts of the world, indigenous people and tribal communities continue to utilise hundreds of edible plants as medicine by including them in their diet.

The majority of the world's population, however, rely on modern healthcare systems in which food has a relatively small role to play in treating or preventing disease. Instead, food has been largely vilified as an underlying cause of metabolic and cardiovascular diseases through overconsumption and poor diet. But there is now growing consensus that a healthy diet may not only be a way of staving off these health problems, it has the power to treat diseases too. 

How can we improve the diets of people around the world to prevent disease? Might food once again be used as medicine?

Many everyday edible plants have inspired medicines that you might find at home. Their abilities to synthesise compounds that are useful to us make them helpful chemistry aides. "Plants are actually brilliant chemists, they've already done much of the work for humans," says Melanie-Jayne Howes, a research leader in phytochemistry and pharmacognosy (the study of drugs from natural origin) at the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew in the UK.

"Rather than having to start from scratch to synthesise a new drug, which can involve a lot of time and effort, and a lot of chemical resources, it can be more efficient to use a plant chemical as the starting material to design and develop a drug, because the steps involved to produce that particular drug may be reduced," adds Howes.

The first discoveries of certain chemicals in edible plants that inspired the development of new drugs might have been accidental or serendipitous in some cases, or based on how those plants were used traditionally, but their occurrence in widely grown edible crops can help scientists source them more easily. 

Below you will see some examples of common crops and the medicines that are derived or inspired by their chemistry.

(The information provided below is intended for general interest and is not intended to be used as medical advice. If you have a medical condition listed below, always consult your doctor.)

Leading Causes of Death

Data are for the U.S.

Number of deaths for leading causes of death

  • Heart disease: 696,962
  • Cancer: 602,350
  • COVID-19: 350,831
  • Accidents (unintentional injuries): 200,955
  • Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 160,264
  • Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 152,657
  • Alzheimer’s disease: 134,242
  • Diabetes: 102,188
  • Influenza and pneumonia: 53,544
  • Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 52,547

Source: Mortality in the United States, 2020, data table for figure 4

  • Deaths and mortality

More data

  • Deaths: Final Data for 2019 pdf icon[PDF – 3 MB]
  • Deaths: Leading Causes for 2019 pdf icon[PDF – 3 MB]
  • Trends in Leading causes of death from Health, United States
  • Death Rates by Marital Status for Leading Causes of Death: United States, 2010-2019 pdf icon[PDF – 332 KB]
  • Deaths, percent of total deaths, and death rates for the 15 leading causes of death: United States and each State

More data: query tools

  • CDC Wonder – Underlying Cause of Death

Page last reviewed: January 13, 2022

  • Diseases and Conditionsplus icon
    • Anemia or Iron Deficiency
    • Arthritis and Boneplus icon
      • Arthritis
      • Osteoporosis
    • Cancer
    • Cardiovascularplus icon
      • Cerebrovascular Disease or Stroke
      • Cholesterol
      • Heart Disease
      • Hypertension
    • Dementia and Mental Healthplus icon
      • Alzheimers Disease
      • Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
      • Depression
      • Mental Health
    • Diabetes
    • Digestive and Liverplus icon
      • Digestive Diseases
      • Chronic Liver Disease and Cirrhosis
    • Kidney Disease
    • Oral and Dental Health
    • Respiratory and Allergiesplus icon
      • Allergies and Hay Fever
      • Asthma
      • Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
  • Infectious/Immuneplus icon
    • AIDS and HIV
    • Viral Hepatitis
    • Infectious Disease
    • Influenza
    • Measles, Mumps, and Rubella
    • Pneumonia
    • Sexually Transmitted Diseases (STD)
    • Chronic Sinusitis
    • Whooping Cough or Pertussis
  • Family Lifeplus icon
    • Marriage and Divorce
  • Health Care and Insuranceplus icon
    • Access to Health Care
    • Ambulatory and Hospital Careplus icon
      • Ambulatory Care Use and Physician office visits
      • Emergency Department Visits
      • Hospital Utilization
    • Therapeutic Drug Use
    • Electronic Medical Records
    • Health Expenditures
    • Health Insurance Coverage
    • Immunization
    • Long Term Careplus icon
      • Adult Day Services Centers
      • Home Health Care
      • Hospice Care
      • Nursing Home Care
      • Residential Care Communities
    • Screeningsplus icon
      • Mammography
      • Pap Tests
  • Disability and Risk Factorsplus icon
    • Substance Useplus icon
      • Alcohol Use
      • Illicit Drug Use
      • Smoking
    • Weight Status and Sizeplus icon
      • Body Measurements
      • Obesity and Overweight
    • Nutrition, Exercise, and Sleepplus icon
      • Diet/Nutrition
      • Exercise/Physical Activity
      • Sleep Health
    • Disability and Functioning
  • Injuriesplus icon
    • Accidents or Unintentional Injuries
    • All Injuries
    • Assault or Homicide
    • Suicide and Self-Inflicted Injury
  • Life Stages and Populationsplus icon
    • Age Groupsplus icon
      • Adolescent Health
      • Child Health
      • Infant Health
      • Older Persons Health
    • Birthsplus icon
      • Birth Defects or Congenital Anomalies
      • Births and Natality
      • Birthweight and Gestation
      • Method of Delivery
      • Multiple Births
      • Teen Births
      • Unmarried Childbearing
    • Deathsplus icon
      • Deaths and Mortality
      • Leading Causes of Death
      • Life Expectancy
      • Maternal Mortality
    • Race and Ethnicityplus icon
      • Health of American Indian or Alaska Native Population
      • Health of Asian or Pacific Islander Population
      • Health of Black or African American non-Hispanic Population
      • Health of Hispanic or Latino Population
      • Health of Mexican American Population
      • Health of White non-Hispanic Population
    • Sexplus icon
      • Mens Health
      • Womens Health
    • State and Territorial Data
  • Reproductive Healthplus icon
    • Contraceptive Use
    • Infertility
    • Reproductive Health

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What are the top 4 diet

Indeed, diet-related chronic diseases - such as obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer, dental disease, and osteoporosis - are the most common cause of death in the world and present a great burden for society.

What are 3 diseases that can be caused by poor diets?

How Does Poor Nutrition Affect Us?.
being overweight or obese..
tooth decay..
high blood pressure..
high cholesterol..
heart disease and stroke..
type-2 diabetes..
osteoporosis..
some cancers..
Heart disease is a cause of death that is directly related to nutrition.

What diseases can be caused due to diet?

At a Glance. Researchers found that eating too much or too little of certain foods and nutrients can raise the risk of dying of heart disease, stroke, and type 2 diabetes. These results suggest ways to change eating habits that may help improve health.