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Food is essential in everyone’s daily life. Keeping an eye on my personal eating diets is very helpful to live a healthy life. The food diary is recorded once a week, with information of the food I eat during the day and my initial observations. My experience is very enlightening. There are evident changes of my eating and living habits, which leads me to comprehend the interactions between student life and the backstory of food better.
I believe that I could be regarded as a healthy eater before I came to Canada. Thanks to my parents, under their cares and supervisions, I always ate sufficiently: three meals per day, with adequate amounts of fruits and snacks. Yet, this usual “healthy diet” has become hard to maintain since I move to Toronto.
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That is because I am accustomed to what I am eating right now. And to try something new can be dangerous sometimes because other than judging the food quality by its look, I do not know what else should be considered when buying the new food. It is basically impossible for me to know how the farmers grow the food. Labels and advertisements always mislead me as well. I was surprised to learn that the apple juice with labels “made in Canada” was in fact originally from China. At least the main ingredients – apples were made in China. I feel like being tricked by the labels and advertisements. Thus written in my food diary, I always struggle with the issue of whether to continue to eat the meat and the bread which has passed their best before days or not. I have no idea if the food has been kept in the storage for a long time before being put on the labels and served on the …show more content…
But food itself should not be blamed for creating problems. The food production is in fact the real main cause. Frozen dinner is designed to the sake of conveniences. However, the growing processes of the food need careful inspections. The use of large amount of pesticides and fertilizers is destroying the land and the water. What about organic frozen dinners? Though organic food is grown in more green and sustainable ways, not to mention the other facts, the waste gas produced by transportation has eliminated most of the environmental benefits. Most importantly, both of inorganic and organic frozen dinners have two common problems on packages and storages. The plastic trays are often thrown by us without many cares, but then these trays actually remain in landfills for decades or even centuries. The fridges which have been used to keep these frozen dinners in supermarkets have released chemicals which have brought direct effect to the greenhouse.
In fact, I really enjoy cooking. I can be at least confident about what I am ingesting when I cook with “visible” ingredients. Having healthy food is extremely important in living a healthy lifestyle. However, as a student, there are so many different aspects affecting my habits and decisions. Therefore, plan well in advance and manage time wisely become very crucial for me to live a healthy life. Keeping a food diary helps me to find
Time is another big struggle for college students. I know the feeling of applying for classes because it’s tough to decide on if there’s time to get from one class to one another; also if there’s time to get a bite to eat. Wendell Berry’s “The Pleasures of Eating: In What Are People For?” article suggests taking pleasure in eating a few ways to help anyone be a healthier eater, but “time” is an obstacle for the solutions. First off, both Berry and actually Pollan suggest students grow their own food in gardens. Specifically, Berry says to “Participate in food production to the extent” and “You will be fully responsible for any food that you grow for yourself, and you will know all about it. You will appreciate it fully, having known it all
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
Eating is an instinctual habit; however, what we decide to put in our body is a choice that will affect our way of living. In “The American Paradox,” Michael Pollan, a professor of journalism at University of California, Berkeley, disapproves of the way Americans have been eating. The term “American paradox” describes the inverse correlation where we spend more of our time on nutrition, but it would only lead to our overall health deteriorating. According to Pollan, our way of eating that had been governed with culture, or our mother, was changed by the entities of food marketers and scientists, who set up nutritional guidelines that changed the way we think about food. Nutritional advice is inaccurate as it is never proven, and it is not beneficial
For some time, scholars and writers have continuously debated as to what constitutes or defines the idea of healthy eating, mainly because of the increase in the number of people diagnosed with ailments associated with bad eating habits. It has quickly become the forefront of issue, particularly in the United States. In recognition of this on-going debate, this composition seeks to compare and contrast two well-known authors concerning how we think about and consume food. In Michael Pollan’s discussion, “Escape from the Western Diet,” he discusses the negative sides of nutrition science, including conflicting theories surrounding the elements of healthy food consumption and why solutions are essential for the Western diet and lifestyle. “Escape from the Western Diet,’’ is among the articles that talks about the eating habits of individuals in the society. In the article, Pollan points out not only the numerous conflicts concerning what types of diets – including carbohydrate-based, the inclusion of omega-3s, other nutrition-specific needs - that are believed to directly affect general health or specific illnesses, but also how western nutritionism compares to other countries diets affect longevity outcomes. In the end, Pollan suggests that the United States must seek solutions that move towards more natural, unprocessed, plant-based lifestyles that ensure that individuals are making what they consume a primary
Michael Pollan makes arguments concerning the eating habits of the average American. Pollan suggests, in spite of our cultural norms, we should simply “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly Plants.”
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 also plays an important role in student health. Proper nutrition promotes optimal growth and development of children. Researchers generally find that a higher quality diet is associated with better performance on academic test scores and that nutritional status can directly affect mental capacity among school age children (Frisvold). Teaching students about the benefits of good nutrition will help them stay healthy throughout their growing years. “My plate” is one of the easy and interactive tools they can avail to assist them in making healthier food
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.
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
Moreover, the controversy over cafeteria food is whether or not it is healthy for all students from elementary schools to colleges. Numerous factors lead to unhealthy eating in schools and on campuses. Sometimes options with better nutrition are offered, but when there are, they tend to be less appealing than the unhealthy foods which turns to obesity. Many schools are undergoing budget cuts and changes, and healthy food tends to take a back burner when deciding where the limited amounts of money should go (Gupta). Unfortunately, when schools do have healthy ingredients, the food is usually prep...
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...
America is a capitalist society. It should come to a surprise when we live like this daily. We work for profit. We’ll buy either for pleasure or to sell later for profit. It should come to no surprise that our food is made the same way because we are what we eat. We are capitalist that eat a capitalist meal. So we must question our politics. Is our government system to blame for accepting and encouraging monopolies?
People eat food every day without thinking twice about it, because it is a necessity for us to live. How often do you think about what is in the foods that you eat? How many calories does it have? Are there any vitamins and minerals in it? Is it high in fat? For most of us and especially college students who live a busy life on the go, the answer to that question is probably no. Since becoming a recent graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania Academy of Culinary Arts, I have been more interested in food and what people are eating. Also since more young Americans are becoming obese I want to find out what they are eating and where. Going to college and seeing how students have poor eating habits I want to find out why they are eating this way. Is it because they are away from home for the first time? Or is it because that is the only food that is available for them? I also want to find out if students would eat healthier if it was provided for them? My hypothesis is that students eat unhealthy because it is more convenient for them. There is usually no time to cook a homemade meal and most college students are always in a hurry so it is easier to pick up takeout. Also most college students don’t know how to cook. I also believe that most college students don’t care if the food is unhealthy for them, as long as it tastes good. Hopefully, in the following pages I will uncover the wide world of college eating.
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”.
...veryday foods require a lot of energy and release a lot of greenhouse gases to produce. This is the reason we should stop wasting the foods, consume less meat, and eat more locally grown food.