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Few lines on Food as Medicine
Few lines on Food as Medicine
Food as medicine essay
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The video, Food as Medicine, provides us with a look into the growing movement on how foods can be used to heal chronic illnesses and disease. It takes us into the lives of three people with chronic illnesses and their journey to discovering how their dietary choices will either build better health or continue to destroy it. The video also explores how our current healthcare system makes little effort to address the growing body of evidence on just how important diet and nutrition is in our overall health. The video touches on how our society’s culture creates an environment that doesn’t support health and wellness. According to Sarah Ballantyne, Ph.D., improving our healthcare outcomes requires the “need to change our education on food, change the food supply, change how our food is grown, change our access to food, and change the cost of foods so that healthy foods are subsidized.” Kent Thornburg, …show more content…
It is unfortunate that it takes some sort of health crisis for the majority of people to start to make changes to their diet/lifestyle. The video brings out an excellent point and one which I had to endure; even though we have books and the internet with all kinds of information to educate us, sorting through and determining what is right for one’s unique situation more than likely requires professional guidance and support in order to be successful. As with the three individuals in the video, making lasting changes is often very difficult, but it is knowing either how bad you will feel after eating unhealthy foods or knowing what diseases they can cause that will be the driving force in making changes stick. It was not until I took the time to cook with whole foods and listen to my body’s response to them that I started to develop a healthy relationship with food and manage to stay on
When it comes to the topic of eating healthy, most of us will readily agree that we all need to. Where this argument usually ends, however, is on the question of how and why. Whereas some are convinced that we don’t need to all be eating healthy foods that are over priced to stay healthy, and others maintain that there is no other way. Bill Gifford talks about a proper diet throughout the book, but one chapter in particular really stands out when it comes to how diet affects our bodies and ultimately our heath. In the chapter Phil Vs. Fat, Gifford tells a story about a man who beats all odds when it comes to changing his life. Our new friend Phil was morbidly obese and had become highly diabetic. Through exercise and eating a more refined diet, he was able to completely reverse his body and his health. Gifford continues to emphasis on Phil’s great feat when he writes, “The doctor was astonished: Bruno’s insulin resistance was gone, his blood values
There are many different beliefs about the proper way to eat healthy. People are often mislead and live unhealthy lifestyles as a result. Both Mary Maxfield and Michael Pollan explain their own beliefs on what a healthy diet is and how to live a healthy lifestyle. In the essay, “Escape from the Western diet” Michael Pollan writes about the flaws of the western diet and how we can correct these problems to become healthier. In the essay, “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating”, Mary Maxfield criticizes Michael Pollan’s essay about eating healthy, and explains her own theory on how to be healthy. She believes that Pollan is contradicting himself and that what he is stating is false. Mary Maxfield ponders the
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.
The consequences of obesity are clear: various metabolic problems, high cholesterol, insulin resistance and high blood pressure. Risk of heart diseases more as we gain more fat. Sleep apnea can also result, as well as joint problems. Obesity is not only a result of lack of exercise, but of the kind of food people consume. The film “Fed Up” does not address whether “real food” as solution to this endemic is feasible, assumes that people have the time, money and energy to control their health by buying, preparing and cooking real food, and leaves the audience wondering whether their laziness that prevents them from investing time, energy and money to cook and consume slow food at home. However, health is not just a personal battle left to individuals; the food industry and the government should take more part in conscienscious research and education to provide truly healthy choices at reasonable
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.
...e has a very sensitive and personable narrative throughout the book that transcends to showing how caring of a person she is. That aspect, who the writer is, is very important to me especially when discussing such important topics that needs to be coming from someone I trust and believe in. Since food and eating habits is something that every human all has in common it is a very good book that is able to affect anyone on a personal level. For me it has drawn an even further connection to the things I have learned in this course. My family has always been health conscious because my mother has been having health problems for 20 years so the importance of health and exercise is something that I have been raised with. With textual evidence the class and this book has presented to me I am very confident in my health habits and choices today and for the rest of my life.
As Americans influenced so much by pop culture, convenience, and the latest trends in society, we either pay too little attention to the foods we consume or obsess too much about every little thing that goes into our bodies. This often leads to our detriment as we drift farther and farther away from our cultural identities and lose pleasure in eating. In the novel, In Defense of Food, Michal Pollan criticizes this aspect of American culture, revealing fallacy after fallacy of the dietary ideas consumers, journalists, the government, and even scientists believe in and promote. The main idea is that Americans have been focusing too much energy nitpicking at an activity that is designed to come to humans as common sense, resulting in the opposite of what we desire: a growing epidemic where Americans have become “fatter, sicker, and more poorly nourished.”
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.
There is no surprise that food is important in all aspects of our lives—it is shared amongst families, celebrated as a major part of our culture, and crucial to our daily routine that keeps us fit, healthy, and active. Today’s western culture glorifies a skewed perspective on how food is supposed to fit into our lives. Somehow this perception has led us to believe we no longer have the time or money it takes to prepare a wholesome, healthy meal that is shared at the dinner table with family. Instead, we are trained to want a meal that is fast, cheap, and easy. This meal is usually highly processed and filled with sugars and fats. This has led us to a problem of epidemic proportions characterized by the rapid increase in obesity and diabetes.
When some people are aware of the types of foods that are inadequate or substandard, they can take initiative to eat healthier. Although the food industries manufacture and process food products that are not healthy, everyone has to be responsible and accountable for the foods they purchase. Even though the government. Additionally, the public has to understand that the government is in business to earn a profit. For example, the parents in the documentary are responsible for the foods their children consume since they are the guardians and decision-makers of the household. When the parents do not monitor their children’s eating habits, they will consume any food since they are hungry. If everyone would stop buying unhealthy foods, the government would probably stop making unhealthy foods. The benefits of eating healthier foods can decrease illnesses and enhance quality of
The poor food choices that men and women make is the cause of many illnesses, disease and chronic health conditions. Men and women generally have different thoughts and choices on the topic of healthy food. People’s bad health may be genetically occurred or their exposure to their past nutritional education was not helpful, but their bad health is primarily based upon the poor choices that the individuals choose in daily life.
First of all, magic foods are a rich source of nutrients, minerals, and vitamins that provide many benefits to one’s body and mind. These foods are hiding in plain view at every grocery store in the country; most individuals stroll past them on a daily basis without realizing they are as valuable to one’s body as a gold mine is to one’s wallet! Diseases and sicknesses are a daunting reality most everyone will face in his or her lifetime, but these horrors can be prevented with a simple healthy diet. No symptoms of illness and no doctors may sound like a fantasy to many; moreover, by substituting junk food with some of the magic foods, that dream will become a reality. Take nature’s heart medicine for example: salmon is one of the best omega-3 fatty acids in the world to date. Amazingly, only a couple of four to six ounce servings of this fish a week has been found to reduce your risk of dying from cardiovascular disease by seventeen percent (Cleary, Dworkin-McDaniel, G...
The human body is a complex, living organism that has taken thousands of years to comprehend and fathom on the simplest level. Today, most Americans view the human body as something constantly rebelling, breaking down, aging or malfunctioning. With every ache and pain or cough and sniffle, the body demonstrates its downfall and weaknesses. In combating these ailments, the majority of our powerless nation depends on prescription drugs, shots, surgeries and other medical treatments for any chance of recovery or improvement. All the while wondering about the source of such diseases and health disorders. Meanwhile, the average diet consists of fast foods, candy bars, and carbonated beverages loaded with preservatives, artificial sweeteners, salt and empty calories. Although the consumption of certain foods cannot account for every chronic disease and illness one hundred percent, the nutrition derived from food plays an important role in how the body functions.
In today’s society, the foundation of a healthy lifestyle is the sort of food consumed, the nutritional content and the physical fitness that food does to the human system. In essence, food is needed in the human system for growth and development, for the sustenance of life, and nourishment of the body.
Since a long time ago, human has acknowledged the health benefits of foods. However, with the development of chemical drugs and pills, they have forgotten that the food they eat are directly linked to their health. Foods, in facts are the best medicines and therefore we should take into account carefully how we perceive and use them. Firstly, choosing the right diet and the right food to eat can help improve health and body functions. Secondly, using food for health benefits has been a norm and that scientists are looking forward to create foods that can fight diseases. Not surprisingly, there are some similarities and differences in the views on the health benefits of foods between two different generations. And last but not least, foods with health benefits have been industrialized (nutraceuticals and functional foods), which raised the concern on how the government should regulate them.