Leading Causes Of Death

I was discussing the dangers of GMOs and trans fats with someone who commented that he does not see people around him dropping dead of cancer. 

According to several doctors (including Joseph Mercola, Mehmet Oz, Robert Lustig...), refined sugar (a common GMO unless from sugar cane) is a primary contributor to heart disease, cancer, diabetes and high blood pressure.  There are over half a million people who died of cancer in 2009 alone.  Over another half million people died of heart disease.  The list below are the leading causes of death in the US in 2009 according to the CDC.  What this means is that over a million people died of preventable illnesses in 2009 alone!  So let's stop pretending; poor diets can kill.
 

• 1.       Heart disease: 616,067
• 2.       Cancer: 562,875
• 3.       Stroke (cerebrovascular diseases): 135,952
• 4.       Chronic lower respiratory diseases: 127,924
• 5.       Accidents (unintentional injuries): 123,706
• 6.       Alzheimer's disease: 74,632
• 7.       Diabetes: 71,382
• 8.       Influenza and Pneumonia: 52,717
• 9.       Nephritis, nephrotic syndrome, and nephrosis: 46,448
• 10.   Septicemia: 34,828