In the quest for overall health and wellness, one of the first things typically assessed is a person’s diet. It is common knowledge that nutrition is one of the most important factors in determining the future of one’s health and numerous studies are published every year on how to eat and be healthy. Nevertheless, the nutritional guidelines recommended by the government are continually changing and much of the published research into the science of nutritional health is often contradictory. “In the United States, a lifestyle pattern at odds with health---inclusive, but not limited to, poor dietary choices---is linked to a growing disparity between life span, the length of life per se, and health span, defined as years of healthy life. Globally, lifestyle-related chronic disease constitutes an enormous and growing burden” (Katz & Meller, 2014, p. 84). In response, more and more diet plans keep entering into the health scene as companies’ attempt to cash in on the billions of dollars spent by patients looking to cure chronic illness with nutrition. …show more content…
With all the diet options available to choose from, how can anyone be sure which is one right? At present, it’s possible that we may not have all the answers. However, scientific research does provide some insight as to what may or may not be best for
In “Bad Food” – What’s the Best Food? Tax it, and Subsidize Vegetables”, Mark Bittman suggests that the people of America should stop eating unhealthy foods so often. In the article, Bittman tells his audience that people with “heart disease, diabetes and cancer are all in large part caused by the standard American Diet” (page 35). He also states that eating healthy can result in a better health care system, saving millions of lives. The big issue is Americans eating unhealthy every day, but proposing a plan to help stop it from happening.
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
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.
While growing up we learn that the best way to stay healthy and look great is through proper dieting and regular exercise. As we get older and feel the pressure of obtaining perfect looks, the sensationalism of fad dieting can seem like a dream come true. With the desire of a tiny waist plaguing America, it can be difficult to decide between healthy dieting an exercise, or extreme fad diets promising fast results. When choosing which method will work best for you can be stressful, it is important to think about what is really best for your body. Each form of dieting has different long term results, can affect your overall health, and can have an effect on the rest of your appearance.
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.
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...
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...
"Global Dietary Changes Threaten Health." World Health Federation. Medtronic Foundation, n.d. Web. 30 Nov. 2013. .
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.
All over our televisions our minds are brainwashed with the ideal healthy diet. Our media pushes a healthy lifestyle on every thirty second clip of a commercial. The vibrant green vegetables, the crunch of the various peppers, the crisp sound of an apple being bit into flow from our television speakers and their images dance long the forty two inch flat screen. Being healthy is a subject our culture has become obsessed with. Since the beginning of the downfall of America’s health and the ever continuation of our waistlines expanding beyond repair of last seasons jean button that popped off at Thanksgiving, we have been on a one track mind mission to fix our nations disgusting eating habits.
There are plenty of people that do not pay close attention to the nutrition labels on food or do not understand what’s in the food that we eat. If we are expecting the parents, adults, or some of the children to be healthy and are not able to read the nutrition label, how can we expect them to have healthy lifestyles? In order for this new generation be healthy and active. We need to provide them with the support and resources they need. In order, to have a healthy routine. We should be able to offer the support that needs to be able to receive a better outcome for our future generations and as well as the current one.
Therefore, understanding the consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle can help encourage healthier choices. There are a number of diseases that can result from living an unhealthy lifestyle such as type two diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers. Type 2 diabetes is defined as a chronic condition that affects the way the body processes blood sugar. Cardiovascular disease which includes heart attacks, high blood pressure and high cholesterol, damages blood vessels, places high levels of stress on the heart and ultimately may lead to a stroke. Due to living an unhealthy lifestyle an individual also increases the chance of being diagnosed with prostate, esophagus, kidney or pancreatic cancer. It is clear that there is a connection between lifestyle choices and chronic disease. According to the article “Chronic Diseases As a Result of Poor Lifestyle Choices” the author, Pan Koenig states that “A diet of fast food, highly processed or salty foods and large amounts of starchy carbohydrates such as bread, pasta, cereal, baked goods, sweets, sugary drinks, alcohol excess, overeating and lack of exercise are the primary causes of obesity”(5). It is clear that eating unhealthy foods will give an individual harmful diseases. Therefore, to prevent a life full of pain and disease an individual must begin to change and improve their quality of life today, but one cannot accomplish this on their own
When I was involved in sports I often ate very nutritious foods because I want to stay as physically fit as possible and eating right helped me do that. However, now that I don’t play sports and am a lot more concerned with school and work, making nutritious choices tends to fall to the back burner. Doing this assignment and taking this class in general have made me want to make more thought through decisions about what foods I chose to put into my body. I know eating a balanced diet makes people feel better mentally and physically, so it’s something I have been working on making a priority in my life once
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.
But, food might not only sustain life, it can also give particular disease if you had the wrong selection. Knowledge about food nutrition and proper selection is too pricey to disregard. The key to have a better and healthy lifestyle is to consume a variety of foods at the right amount to meet your body’s calorie needs. Eating with a healthy meal plan will show you how much you need from each food group I gave you above to sustain your body with the daily nutrients intake that promote not only good health but longer lives. I suggest you will make your own food plan to help your fitness grooming easy to