According to many health experts, food choices have more influence on long-term health that any other factor. While food is necessary for living, what we eat may affect our risk of suffering chronic diseases, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some types of cancer--all leading causes of death.

The National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion reports that an unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity account for at least 300,000 deaths each year in the United States alone. These factors (unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity) drastically increase the chances of developing chronic diseases.