Living Better: What it takes to get healthy in America

Good health depends on more than daily exercise and a healthy diet. Access to safe housing, good schools and a decent job are important too. (Si-Gal/Getty Images)

When COVID-19 hit, Americans watched the news in horror as the death count rose and rose again, with thousands of deaths a day throughout multiple waves. Deaths from the virus were sudden and tragic, but today we're living through a slower pandemic that also brings a tragic loss of lives every day — from preventable, chronic diseases.

These deaths are often hidden in plain sight. For instance, nearly a thousand deaths a day are linked to diet-related disease — heart disease, complications from Type 2 diabetes and liver disease. And diet now outranks smoking as a leading cause of death around the globe. Chronic stress fueled by poverty and racism also contributes to the toll of preventable deaths.