The citizens revolting against their own governments signal that people want a change. There are many such signals.  Terrorist explosions have been orchestrated in many countries in defiance of government policies.  In United States the 'Tea Party' revolt in the 2012 election was a sign that people wanted a change in the way their government representatives were functioning in Washington.  More recently, there have been numerous revolts against police arresting persons implicating racism and injustice.  Football players at University of Missouri initiated student revolts against their president and administration that has spread to other campuses.  Internationally, people in the Arab countries and Asia have revolted against their governments.  There have been numerous theories as to what has caused such revolutions in the world. 

My explanation is of such world changes is two fold: suppression by dictatorships and education.  Although the end of WW II brought some stability to the world, change took place slowly.   Many third world countries had weak education, poor health care and weak economies.  As a result, these countries began reforms in education, housing and sanitation and a whole generation of young persons became better educated.

Enlightened persons begin to think!  Education frees the enslavements of mind and body. Girls in many economically repressed countries are now going to school and learning to read, write and do math.  Even a low quality education invokes thinking and reasoning processes that stimulate one to aspire for better living conditions and a better level of wellbeing.  Education is a game changer.  

Change comes in evolving stages.  Slow at first, but like a snowball rolling downhill, becomes a bigger snowball.  Such an evolution occurs in many aspects of society.  Not just justice, freedom and equality of opportunity, but also in better education and health care and aspirations for higher quality of personal health.  What was acceptable as change for grandparents 50 or 60 years ago is today outdated for most grandchildren. Today's youth have been motivated by the technology of television, the internet and iphones to make them want more and to be better than their parents.  Although the timing of their ambitions may not be perfect as many cannot get good paying jobs upon graduation, their hope for a better life does not diminish.  What was good for their grandparents and parents has been raised a notch by their grandchildren.  The young want change now and not tomorrow. 

These expectations and changes for more and better living conditions have many implications.  Although the world today is experiencing an earthquake in morality changes, it is slow in bringing about health changes. There are many aspects of personal health that are misfiring, like the epidemics of obesity, diabetes, drug addiction, high death rates in cancer and cardiovascular diseases.  Promises to bring cancer under control have been a disaster.  So have attempts in getting individuals to implement preventive health practices.

Lets just consider an important aspect of health .... nutrition.  Although the Greek doctor, Hippocrates, observed long ago that "food is man's best medicine," our modern era has yet to appreciate his wisdom.  Food is generally overlooked in United States as a determiner of health, in spite of such acknowledgement.  Oh, but everyone knows that a good diet is important for health. Well, not so!  Most medical doctors ignore this idea as most of them have not had a real nutrition program in medical school.  So it is no small wonder that they do not ask their patients what they eat or drink and instead prescribe medications.

The USA federal government institutions like the National Institutes of Health neglect to allocate essential funding for controversial and unconventional health-nutrition research.  For example, the controversy about the mineral ratios like Ca:Mg and bioavailability of both.  And whether the idea of "whole food concept" is synergistically true.  Or can a vitamin like D or C work by itself or do these need helper co-factors and co-enzymes?   The impact of probiotics and bacteria in the colon in structuring a high immune level.  Then there is the issue of excluding some recognized essential nutrients like organic sulfur and boron from the Recommended Daily Allowances, when these nutrients were identified in the 1960's as essential for life.  And let us not overlook the chlorination of water when there are better ways to make drinking water safe.  The practice of fluoridation is putting a poison into many of our water supplies that destroys the absorption of iodine, an essential nutrient. 

These few examples are enough to illustrate that health of people has been given a low priority in United States.  We either do not know very much about nutrition and wellbeing or do not care about the health of people.  Medical schools are offering an outdated medical curriculum to their prospective doctors that prepare doctors for medical emergencies to deal with health problems of the 20th century but certainly not health in the 21st century.  Medicine is not health and therein lies the problem!  Nutritional insufficiencies are also acerbated by lack of congressional priority for food, nutrition and health.  Well, congress does have various pork barrel subsidies for farmers but none for people in general.  And yes, health and nutrition for profit are mired in the political alphabet soup that is congress. This does not mean that it is good to give food and nutrition a low priority.

Yes, we need change in the money and power greedy political congress.  With all the escalading changes taking place in the world, as well as during this presidential election year, it is time to seriously consider a revolution in nutrition, the food industry and health of all people.  What we eat and how we eat does make a difference!  We are what we eat --- a sick society.