Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Changes in the american diet
Bad eating habits in America
Changes in the american diet
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Changes in the american diet
The topic I plan to research is the Paleo Diet vs Standard American Diet. The purpose of this paper is to present how the shift in the standard American diet to an emphasis on grains, sugars, refined and processed foods, as well as dairy and the major government subsidized crops (soy, corn, wheat, dairy, etc) has made our society less healthy and reverting back to Paleo is the alternative. I do believe that the audience will be a mix of some who agree with me, some who disagree with me, some and who don’t know enough about it to decide without further reading and research. There are people who think that milk is the foundation of nutrition (and I don’t), and there are people who think that going about life eating processed foods isn’t harmful to their health because they don’t know any better and “everyone does it”.
As for the tone, I don 't plan to sugar coat the downsides of eating a typical American diet. I intend to have a bit of shock value in the major points that would convince the reader to think differently
…show more content…
This campaign has misinformed Americans about what is good for their health. The government has gone as far as putting vitamins in our foods and flouride in our water because they believe they know what 's best, but the evidence is we are a sick and glutinous society despite these "healthy" mandates from the government.
I have been learning all I can about the effects of nutrition on my personal health (and my family) over the past 10 or so years. By trial and error, reading books, and through various internet forums and asking a lot of questions I have already learned a great deal on this subject. Changing my own diet had such a dramatic impact on my health I am convinced it would do that for more people if they could separate themselves from the status quo and the addictive nature of the ingredients in our "regular"
In the argument “Bad Food? Tax It, and Subsidize Vegetables” by Mark Bittman, it talks about taxing unhealthy food and promoting vegetables. With the use of different strategies like emotions, credible research, solutions to problems, and much more he effectively assures that a diet change is what Americans need and will benefit from.
Escape from the Western Diet, by Michael Pollen, is about the argument of what is best for people to consume in order to avoid certain ailments caused by what they eat. There are many who believe certain factors such as eating too much fat or refined carbohydrates or missing certain nutrients are to blame for the poor state of health of westerners. The reason for that is that it provides for a quick easy answer to dieting issues. The author believes that all these things may have some contribution to poor health but the overall nemesis is the western diet itself.
When we think of our national health we wonder why Americans end up obese, heart disease filled, and diabetic. Michael Pollan’s “ Escape from the Western Diet” suggest that everything we eat has been processed some food to the point where most of could not tell what went into what we ate. Pollan thinks that if America thought more about our “Western diets” of constantly modified foods and begin to shift away from it to a more home grown of mostly plant based diet it could create a more pleasing eating culture. He calls for us to “Eat food, Not too much, Mostly plants.” However, Mary Maxfield’s “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating”, argues differently she has the point of view that people simply eat in the wrong amounts. She recommends for others to “Trust yourself. Trust your body. Meet your needs.” The skewed perception of eating will cause you all kinds of health issues, while not eating at all and going skinny will mean that you will remain healthy rather than be anorexic. Then, as Maxfield points out, “We hear go out and Cram your face with Twinkies!”(Maxfield 446) when all that was said was eating as much as you need.
Nutrition and health have become more popular in today 's society. Our generation is becoming more and more indebted to the idea of being healthy and eating nutritious meals. However, in “The American Paradox,” by Michael Pollan he argues that our unhealthy population is preoccupied with nutrition and the idea of eating healthy than their actual health. He also mentions the food industry, nutrition science and how culture affects the way we eat and make food choices. While Pollan is right about all these factor that affect our eating habits, there is more to it than that. Convenience, affordability and social influence also affects our food choices making them inadequate.
In recent studies, it was discovered that most of the foods that Americans consumed are foods which had gone through so many processes and thereby losing most of its nutritional values. Unhealthy nutrients are also been added to foods as additive during production to either preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance. An individual cannot simply trust what he or she is consuming at a fast food restaurant or even a cheap prepared meal at a grocery store. Processed food or western diet needs to be replaced and totally taken out of the American life and diet; this will help the Americans to live a healthier life, and spend less on medical bills.
Most of the critics agree with the movie and highly recommend the film, although other critics challenge the film, saying it has inflated the facts blaming a single nutrient, sugar, may lead to overweight and obesity. In 1977, the United States Government produced a document titled, “Dietary Goals For The United States.” This document set the dietary goals we know today. The recommended carbohydrate consumption in 1977 was 55%-60%, with a 15% sugar intake. In 2010, that is the most current, it is recommended to consume 45%-65% and 5%-15% sugar intake. The film mentioned that carbohydrates that include processed starch has the same effect as pure sugar. According to Hardvard T.H. Chan under the School Of Public Health, when the public consumes food containing carbohydrates, the body digest it into sugar. The critics Steve Dorfman, Michael Sauter and David Templeton all agree that the government, the media and the sugar industry plays an important role in the rise of the American obesity epidempic. They also make valid points that the average American consumes more sugar than before. Although Jerry Hagstrom and the International Food Council Foundation states the film Fed Up inflated claims, the facts presented are significant enough to be noticed. The U.S. government policy effectively regulates the safety of the food industry, although the long
Hungry for Change is a thought provoking documentary produced by James Colquhoun and Laurentine ten Bosch that delves into the implications of eating a modern diet. Using pathos, facts and figures, and association, Hungry for Change delivers a meritorious performance that engages viewers and leaves them questioning their own diet and lifestyle choices. The film’s use of rhetorical and advertising strategies and its ability to captivate viewers make this an effective, life changing documentary.
Americans should eliminate their regular consumption of animal products and processed foods. This type of diet leads to preventable and expensive health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity and even death. Most Americans don’t realize that the majority of the food being advertised to them is literal garbage that’s infusing their bodies with toxins on a daily basis. As Americans, we take pride and joy in our food, given the fact that it’s so darn tasty. We find comfort in eating a cheeseburger with French fries and slurping down a 44-ounce cola. However, what we eat has a far more detrimental effect on our health than most of us are aware of. To some, making the switch to a raw food diet might seem to be taking a drastic measure.
The Western Diet mainly consists of fried foods, refined grains, sugar, high carbohydrate and fats, and meats (3). It has been hypothesized that having a Western Diet increases one’s chances for developing depression. There has been a great deal of research into why the western diet increase’s one chance of having depression. A common sense reason maybe that the Western Diet consisted of large amounts carbohydrates, fats and sugars which promotes obesity and then causes depression (1). More scientific evidence suggest that having a improper diet like the Western Diet negatively affects peripheral and central dopamine, which are neurotransmitters (chemical which transmit signals across the synapse from the nerve cell to the target cell) directly linked to the mental health of the brain and are negatively affected by high fat diets (4). Research has also suggested that having a poor nutrition status such as lacking folate (a natural water form of vitamin bg which is crucial for many of the bodies processes) and key vitamins like vitamin b12 significantly increases the risk of depression in elderly people (5). Research into the topic of dietary habits and mental health is very crucial with the growing rates of obesity and depression in the United States compared to the rest of the world. Thus, does having poor dietary habits increase the likelihood of having depression? The likelihood of developing depression has been linked to the type of diet one consumes such as the Western Diet, Diets Low in Fat and Carbohydrates and weight control diets like binge eating.
Proper nutrition is important in maintaining a long and healthy life. Most Americans are rushed due to their busy work schedules, and do not take the time to plan their diets properly. Like me, most Americans are unaware of the importance of eating a healthy diet and consume too many foods without the proper nutrients. Throughout my life I have been fortunate. I have not had any major health problems, and have been able to consume most foods without having to worry about gaining weight. These last two years, however, I started to gain weight and have become concerned with my diet. Changing my poor eating habits has been difficult for me, however, having this assignment has taught me that it is not as difficult as I previously imagined.
For years, I have been eating what I want. Food choices are a significant factor that affects our health. What we like or crave, often, is the determining variable in what we eat. Finding the right balance of food choices is the key factor in improving our health benefits. Choosing nutrient-dense foods will provide more nutritional value than foods that are found to be low in nutrient density. Making the right choices in foods, however, is extremely difficult. Often, I find myself enthralled in the latest fad, not considering the subtext of the foods I am eating, such as nutrients, vitamins, healthy fats and unhealthy fats, cholesterol and minerals. The diet project underlined a three-day food entry intake that provided a dietary analysis report
Eating is extremely important, it is also important to eat healthy. Most Americans eat without any concerns; they are not questioning or researching what they are feeding themselves or their family. A lot of that has to do with their financial stability, not having the time to prepare a meal due to their time-consuming work schedule, also lack of knowledge and education on what they are consuming. In this bibliography, I will go over all three articles and explain what they are about.
Those who wish to lose weight seem to have a handful of options when it comes to the diet they can try. Each diet has a particular lifestyle it is trying to promote and in order to get the best results one must adhere to it as religiously as possible.
Most Americans do not care enough to take a look at the nutritional values of the food that he or she is consuming. That is why America has the highest percentage of obesity in the world. This is a serious problem because one in every three adults is obese, and one in every six children is obese. There are many factors that go into the regular American diet, but most of those factors are not appealing nor is it healthy. Americans put way too much processed food into their daily diet. Some would say that other countries diets superior the American diet because of nutritional values that it carries. Other countries have proven that an active lifestyle is a huge element in the average weight of the country. There are many things that Americans could change about their diets and lifestyle that would help them to become healthier.
For many years, I ate whatever I wanted without regard to the nutritional value of the garbage I was putting in my mouth. About six years ago, at the age of 44, I found myself feeling fatigued all the time. I had no energy and couldn’t even walk around the mall without giving out of breath. I also started having a lot of aches and pains. Even though my blood pressure was in the normal range, my cholesterol levels were not. I am only five feet three inches tall, and at that point in time, I weighed 148 pounds. I felt like I was carrying around a ton of bricks. I decided to make a change and started making good, healthy decisions about what I was putting in my mouth. I gave up fried foods, over-processed foods (especially anything with trans fats), foods and liquids high in sugar, and paid special attention to my sodium intake. I started reading the food nutrition facts on everything that had one. Some people might say I became a fanatic about food labels, but I think it is essential to understand what you are putting in your mouth. Actually, it didn’t take long, I memorized the nutritional values of many of the food products I buy on a regular basis, Of course, if I’m interested in a new product, I still read the nutrition facts for that product. I stick to bak...