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Writing Assignment: Food Intake Analysis
Obesity rates in the US have reached epidemic proportions
Obesity rates in the US have reached epidemic proportions
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Recommended: Writing Assignment: Food Intake Analysis
Almost everyone in America has a basic understanding that what you eat has implications on your overall health. However, whether we choose to pursue a healthy lifestyle or not is a different discussion. Although there are many factors that determine what food we eat, we usually do not choose the best options for the advancement of our health; as evident by America’s obesity epidemic. Three principles of nutrition are balance, variety, and moderation. Most Americans obviously disregard moderation, and consequently the other two. Because of our disregard to the three principles, we are nutrient deficient. To improve our nutrition we must first understand the correct nutrition to intake. After being enlightened on nutrition and recording personal data on …show more content…
My goal is to continue keeping track of my dietary journal to make sure I regulate what nutrients I need and what nutrients I need to decrease for overall health. In addition to improving my overall health, I want to improve my body mass index (BMI). At 5’9 and 165pds my bmi is at 24.4. This is a normal BMI. I am very comfortable in my appearance but would like to decrease my BMI for a better cosmetic appearance and sit at a healthier weight for my body. My goal weight is below 160 pounds. With my actual calorie intake around 2100 calories, I plan to decrease my consumption to 1600 calories a day to try and loose one pound a week. My current diet fails to meet the three principles of balance, variety, and moderation. I need to be more mindful of my fat intake to make sure I am balancing carbohydrates, protein, and fat at the recommended proportions. Also, I need to create new menus for breakfast and lunch instead of my typical meals that lead to no variety. Through the intake analysis, I recognized what I was doing wrong and what I need to do to fix my dietary intake to achieve optimal
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.
The population in the United States as of 2009 was 307,006,550 the younger population is projected to slightly increase and eventually plateau though the older population has been steadily increasing and projected to continue on an upward trend (Vincent & Velkoff, 2010). The lack of a healthier diet is something that has been highlighted in the media for the past decade and more often than not we are seeing the effects of overindulging and the consumption of highl...
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 his essay “The American Paradox”, Michael Pollan illustrates his conclusion that Americans who focus on nutrition have a higher probability of decreasing their well-being. Pollan defines the American paradox as “a notably unhealthy population preoccupied with nutrition and the idea of eating healthily.” For most of our human history, our parents and culture have influenced our diet. However, today the idea of what to eat has been based on the opinions of scientists, food markets, and nutritionists. I agree with Pollan’s argument that being preoccupied with what we eat makes us unhealthy, however, we need a balance and a sense of responsibility in what we eat.
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
The diet that I am currently on is not as nutritious as it should be. By looking at the Dietary Recommended Intakes for my age and comparing it to my current dietary habits, I hav...
Nutrition is essential to human’s life, but still people need to take care the quantity and quality necessitated. Most research studies agreed the way e...
Nutritionism is an ideology that believes that the nutrients in foods are the key to understanding them. Nutritionism believers are so focused on the nutrients that food contains that they forget about all other aspects of food. The problem is that consumers rely on packaging to tell them what nutrients a food provides, since nutrients cannot be obviously seen, and they rely on science to tell us what nutrients are good and which are “evil”.
Whitney, E., Debruyne, L. K., Pinna, K., & Rolfes, S. R. (2011). Nutrition for health and health
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.
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.
Holistic nutrition is increasingly becoming popular in healthcare practice due to the growing detoxification culture amongst the people with the aim of improving individual health. Consumption of toxic elements toxifies the body, the consumption of processed food products is the primary cause of diseases amongst the people. There is increased use of Holistic Nutrition by both healthy people and people with health conditions with the aim of achieving optimum body function and health. The increased use of holistic nutrition in the community improves health outcomes and reduces poor health outcomes that are caused by poor lifestyle choices of using processed food products. Holistic nutrition provides a natural approach of ensuring positive health
As they always say HEALTH IS WEALTH! Your food selection today, makes you enjoy for the moment and affects your health tomorrow and in the future!
Proper nutrition is one of the most essential elements to being healthy and living a long life. People deal with food every day, and food has been a part of life since the beginning of civilization. What we eat becomes our diet, and our diet plays a major role in deciding how healthy we are and how well our body functions. Without proper diet, our body cannot carry out the functions it needs to perform. Most people have some common knowledge on what is good and what is bad for the human body to consume. Fruits, vegetables, nuts, and grains are some common items people think of when they think of healthy foods. However, it is not enough just to know what foods are good for your body, it is also important to understand why certain foods are good for you and what they do to help the body function.