Nutrients are substances that are required for our body in order to grow and become healthy. The nutrients in our food are classified as proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and fibers. Proteins are found in food like cereals, bread, milk, and cheese, which provide growth and repair parts of our body. Fats can be found in margarine, butter, cheese, and snack foods. They act as a layer to keep out the cold and to protect us against injuries, but consuming too much isn’t healthy for the body. Carbohydrates can be found in breads, rice, and pasta, and is one of the sources that provide us with energy. During the five days of food log, the worst nutritionally food I consumed was 2 slices of cheese pizza. The pizza contains the most amounts of fat, carbohydrate, sodium, cholesterol, calcium, and iron. Fat in pizza is saturated, meaning it can raise the level of cholesterol in the blood which can increase the chance of having heart diseases. It’s also a primary risk factor of cardiovascular diseases, which is found to be that half of all men and a third of women will get at a time in their life. On the other hand, the best food nutritionally was Macaroni and tomato sauce. It contains macaroni, shrimps, corn, fres tomato, tomato sauce, mushrooms, and fish. This meal is complete, meaning it has all the nutrients my body requires in a meal, which is protein from fish and shrimps, fats from the oil being used, carbohydrates form the macaroni, and vitamins, minerals, and fibers from tomatoes and corns. Eating tomatoes, even though it’s only a part of the meal, is a healthy choice because it wards of cancer, especially lung and stomach cancer. Furthermore, tomatoes reduce the risk of heart diseases because they contain niacin, f... ... middle of paper ... ...ach day. Nowadays, I always forget to drink. Therefore, this constant behavior won’t be too effective in repairing my bones after the damage. Thirdly, I would like to decrease the amount of time I spend on the computer to only 4 hours during weekends, and 2 hours maximum during the weekdays. Spending too much time on the computer is generally unhealthy, even for work purposes. It can cause back pains, stiffening of the muscles in your arms, fingers, and neck, dry eyes, and headaches. Finally, I would like to eat at least a plate of fruit each day. I am currently consuming only about 2 fruits per week, which isn’t enough because I’m not receiving all the vitamins my body requires. If I make these changes, I could grow a little bit taller, be stronger when I’m on defense or offense during my basketball practices or match, and my digestive system would function better.
Michael Pollan, an American author, journalist, activist, and professor of journalism at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism (Michael Pollan), writes in his book In Defense of Food, the dangers of nutritionism and how to escape the Western diet and subsequently most of the chronic diseases the diet imparts. In the chapter “Nutritionism Defined” Pollan defines the term nutritionism. Pollan’s main assertion being how the ideology of nutritionism defines food as the sum of its nutrients, and from this viewpoint Pollan goes on to write how nutritionism divides food into two categories, with each macronutrient divided against each other as either bad or good nutrients, in a bid for focus of our food fears and enthusiasms. Finally, Pollan concludes that with the relentless focus nutritionism places on nutrients and their interplay distinctions between foods become irrelevant and abandoned.
Michael Pollan has develop his own algorithm on proper eating. His algorithm is to “Eat Food, Not too much, Mostly Plants”. His explanation of eat food is to consume real food and to avoid the fake processed foods. His meaning of not too much is to be aware of how we eat our food and to have portion control. Lastly, Pollans explanation of mostly plants is to choose the best types of foods, rather than focusing on nutritional value. Unlike Pollan, Mary Maxfields theory on how to eat healthy is to “Trust Yourself. Trust you body. Meet your needs.” You can eat whatever you want or need and have to trust that your body will tell you what it needs. A flaw with both Pollan and Maxfield is the fact that they both want to dismiss the fact that our bodies needs nutrition. Pollan claims that in his formula under mostly plants that we should focus on the best type of foods and not the nutritional value in the foods. Maxfield believes we should disregard nutrition and healthy food altogether. However, multiple studies state that getting the proper nutrition is a crucial part of are overall health. For example, a lack of calcium can cause weak bones resulting in higher risk of bone
Nutritionism and Today’s Diet Nutritionism is the ideology that the nutritional value of a food is the sum of all its individual nutrients, vitamins, and other components. In the book, “In Defense of Food” by Michael Pollan, he critiques scientists and government recommendations about their nutritional advice. Pollan presents a strong case pointing out the many flaws and problems that have risen over the years of following scientific studies and government related warnings on the proper amount of nutrients needed for a healthy diet. Pollan’s main point is introducing science into our food system has had more of a negative impact than a positive one, we should go back to eating more of a traditional diet. I believe food science has given us
Lifestyle changes – Diet and exercise are the ways to healthy living and improved energy. Exercising at least 30 minutes each day and eating a healthy diet high in fiber and rich in nutrients will decrease constipation, bolster your immune system, and help maintain good thyroid functioning (Almandoz & Gharib, 2012).
Now, when considering one wants to prevent or treat Osteoporosis, it does not mean to cut yourself off of foods with small portions or extreme dieting. It is a common misconception that when a person wants to be healthy they must eat in smaller portions, and while this does have some truth, one must consider when it comes to eating healthy, it means to eat healthy by adding nutritious portions of fruits, vegetables, protein, carbs, and of course, calcium intake for the bones in one’s diet. Also, one must not deprive themselves of having a “cheat day” once a week with chips and candy. But it is a good start to begin adding calcium fortified foods and supplements, such as milk. People should at least aim for 1,000 to 1,200 milligrams a day of calcium. Low-fat cheese, milk, yogurt, orange juice, graham crackers, and calcium supplements are a beneficial contribution in accessing calcium to the body (Vander, 2003). Of course, Osteoporosis develops during old age, due to the gradual decline in exercising, calcium in bones, and weight loss. However, Osteoporosis is also genetically found in some people with a long history of family members who have had bone fractures. Also, many factors affect and can cause Osteoporosis and one of them is smoking. Because smokers have poor lungs, it can be difficult to exercise. Another is not going out too much,
The human body is like a machine that needs fuel to be able to accomplish certain tasks. Too much fuel or to little fuel can have a great impact on how the machine runs. Food is the fuel that runs the human body. Making the right food choices is crucial to a person’s health. Making unhealthy food choices can lead to the development of chronic diseases such as diabetes or cancer. Along with making the right food choices, it is also important to eat those foods in proper portions. Every person is different, so their portions will also be different. There are several factors that influence a person to eat food. Such as hunger, emotions, environment, availability, family and many more.
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.
Nutrition is a very controversial and confusing topic. One day coffee is bad for you, but the next day it is good. Alcohol is detrimental for our health one day, but the next day red wine is the elixir of life. There are dozens of diet plans and they promise a leaner and healthier body. There is the 3-Hour Diet that involves constantly eating small portions of anything we want to eat. The latest diet craze, the Paleo Diet, is based upon eating foods that our “hunter-gatherer ancestors” would have thrived on during the Paleolithic era. And there is the Blood Type Diet, the South Beach Diet, the Macrobiotic Diet, the Mediterranean Diet, and the list goes on. But who and what should we believe? Well, there is an optimal diet for humans and the answer might surprise many.
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
The food tracker benefited me in so many ways. I total three days out and all calculated 4800 calories. The food tracker allowed me only 2000 calories a day and wanted me to target at least 150 min/week in physical activity. The recommendations for my calories were very direct and limited to only a certain amount that I could manage. It help me manage my daily food intake, inform me of the calories and fats I was placing into my body, and educated me on the need foods needed from the food pyramid. My son even loved placing the items we ate into the system to look at “our numbers” (he it calls that).
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.
In the book, In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan explores the relationship between nutrition and the Western diet, claiming that the answer to healthy eating is simply to “eat food”.
Food contains nutrients, like minerals and vitamins, which can have a direct affect on different parts of the body. Eating enough of a certain nutrient, you can boost and strengthen these parts, and if you don’t get enough, you can start damaging your body. The most obvious example is calcium. Without enough calcium in your body, your bones can become unhealthy and weak. In certain instances, a lack of calcium can lead to diseases such as osteoporosis. By ensuring you eat enough calcium, you are preventing osteoporosis from occurring in your body. Examples like calcium are plentiful. Vitamins can strengthen your
Overall the foods we consume either benefit or harm our bodies; effecting us greatly. We do not always chose foods wisely with overall health in mind. A balanced diet is essential to long term health. In addition high energy dense meals are positive. Daily diets are unique for everyone and depend greatly upon certain factors such as available, cost, and if there is a chronic health condition.
Nutrition is one of the most important factors that influence health. By selecting proper nutrition and properly structured menu you enable your body to get all the necessary nutrients needed for normal functioning. In order to facilitate the selection of food or aid in the selection of food to ensure good health, the so-called food pyramids are formed.