Step One Foods reflects on visit to Washington, D.C.

Back in 2018, the Step One Foods team, together with Fire Chief Koering of the St. Louis Park Fire Department, hit the pavement in our nation’s Capital. On average we covered 7 miles per day on Capitol Hill as we moved between representatives’ offices in the House and Senate Buildings. Our goal was to raise awareness regarding the shockingly high cardiometabolic risk besetting first responders and how Step One Foods could help change this.

In a pilot study, we had already demonstrated that we could measurably improve cardiometabolic health in firefighters in as little as 30 days - and we were anxious to spread the good news.

Most people may not realize this, but firefighters are much more likely to die of a cardiovascular event than from injury on the job. In fact, they are at 3X higher risk of dying from heart disease on the job compared to other professions. Meanwhile, on average, law enforcement officers experience their first heart attack at the age of 49, nearly 20 years earlier than the rest of the population. Why? Turns out, the same diet-driven risk factors that plague Americans in general, are also highly prevalent in first responders. On top of that, the effect of those diet-driven risk factors is massively magnified by the stress and physical demands inherent in the work itself. 

We had the opportunity to present our findings not only to our state’s legislators, but to the Congressional Wellness Caucus, an event attended by members of multiple legislators’ offices from both sides of the aisle. We also had a chance to introduce the work of Step One Foods to senior staff on the Senate Agriculture Committee as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It was a busy 48 hours. 

To each of these groups, our message was the same. To really impact health and reduce the burden of cardiometabolic disease, we have to address the root cause - diet.  And that health can improve quickly when people are given the right tools to help improve their nutrition. We advocated for concrete solutions to improve the nutritional intake of first responders, and left each meeting feeling energized by the fact that we had made a strong case for our approach. After all, we were encouraging our government to help take better care of all those who risk their lives to take care of all of us. Plus, we were universally met with enthusiastic nods and expressions of support. We thought we had it solved.

Six years later, it pains me to say that nothing has changed. First responders continue to experience cardiometabolic disease at shocking rates - with no support for improved nutrition. Meanwhile the rest of us are just as burdened by high cholesterol, high blood pressure and excess weight. To my mind, this means we can’t wait for the government to take action - it just takes too long. We must take action ourselves.  

Step One Foods has been independently evaluated and found to lower LDL cholesterol by 9% in 30 days. Over time, that translates into a 9% reduction in cardiovascular events - so 9% fewer heart attacks, 9% fewer angioplasties, 9% fewer bypass surgeries, 9% fewer strokes. It’s not the whole solution, but we’re here to help you take concrete action that can make a real health impact - with or without legislation.