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Thesis on the american diet
Thesis on the american diet
The pros and cons of high fructose corn syrup
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The American diet is full of on-the-go amenities from an array of different meals; however, is this fuel actually causing harm to the body in the long run? What is in the American diet that sets American’s health apart from other parts of the world? The documentary Forks Over Knives states that “We spend 2.2 trillion dollars a year on health care, over five times more than the defense budget. In fact, we pay more per person for healthcare than any industrialized country in the world, yet we’re sicker than ever” (Forks Over Knives). Studies are finding that the excessive consumption of sweeteners, meats, and dairy products are many of the leading causes of American’s health failure. Michael Pollan, a writer for New York Times and author of New York Times bestseller The Botany of Desire and named best book of the year by Borders, Amazon, and the American Booksellers Association, discusses some of these harmful effects along with many other facts in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma. Pollan discusses how corn syrup has consumed our nation in chapter six of his book. He discusses how high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has snuck its way into the food of the American’s every meal. As restaurants line roads and food lines pantries, HFCS lurks in almost every meal. Marlene Bishop, editor of Chocolate, Fast Food, and Sweeteners: Consumption and Health, states: “In the last 35 years, high fructose corn syrup has replaced the use of sucrose by food manufactures in the US due to its steady price and availability (White, 2008)" (3). Because of the excess corn and low price to make HFCS, it continues to pour into the ingredients of the American’s diet. In 1980, HFCS was introduced to the human diet and quickly took off with its high achie... ... middle of paper ... ...York, NY: Happer & Row, 1979. Print. Hippocrates. "A Quote by Hippocrates." Goodreads. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. Horovitz, Bruce. "Chick-fil-A Wings in New Direction after Gay Flap."Washington Post. The Washington Post, 09 Apr. 2014. Web. 12 Apr. 2014. Melina, Vesanto, M.Sc., R.D., and Brenda Davis, R.D. Becoming Vegetarian: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Vegetarian Diet. Rev. Ed. ed. Toronto, Ontario: Wiley, 2003. Print. Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2006. Print. Simon, David Robinson. Meatonomics: How the Rigged Economics of Meat and Dairy Make You Consume Too Much-- and How to Eat Better, Live Longer, and Spend Smarter. San Francisco, CA: Conari, 2013. Print. Simon, David Robinson. "Strange Ways." Meatonomics: The Bizzare Economics of Meat and Dairy. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Apr. 2014.
In recent studies, it was discovered that most of the foods that Americans consumed are foods which had gone through so many processes and thereby losing most of its nutritional values. Unhealthy nutrients are also been added to foods as additive during production to either preserve flavor or enhance its taste and appearance. An individual cannot simply trust what he or she is consuming at a fast food restaurant or even a cheap prepared meal at a grocery store. Processed food or western diet needs to be replaced and totally taken out of the American life and diet; this will help the Americans to live a healthier life, and spend less on medical bills.
“Don’t eat that, it has high fructose corn syrup”. It causes weight gain, they say. Is high fructose corn syrup as bad as it is portrayed to be? What the between difference in using HFCS and table sugar? HFCS and its alleged link to weight gain is a major controversy in America. There has even been court cases about this matter.
High-fructose corn syrup is fructose produced from corn and concentrated for use as a sweetener for such commercially made food items as fruit-flavored drinks, carbonated beverages, baked goods and spaghetti sauce. High-fructose corn syrup is close to naturally occurring fructose found in fruits and vegetables, but this sweetener is slightly higher in fructose. In addition, the fructose is "free," meaning it is not bound to glucose the way it is found in nature. While HFCS serves as a cheap and readily available sweetener, it has also been linked to the epidemic of obesity that has plagued the world since shortly after HFCS was introduced to the market. Though there are likely many causes for the obesity crisis, this discussion will focus
When asked about a certain food, the first thing that might come to mind is the taste, the look, or the texture. What does not come to mind is the ingredients that make the food for what it is. Today, many food items contain the ingredient high fructose corn syrup. While some people may cringe when they hear those words, others will explain the true meaning behind HFCS. Based on several articles, the truth of the matter is that high fructose corn syrup is just another replacement for sugar.
As a leading producer of high fructose corn syrup, they are processing corn in a way that makes it unhealthy. According to the Mayo Clinic, as the increased use of HFCS in soda and fruit flavored drinks so has there been an increase in obesity and type 2 diabetes. They do go on to say that there hasn't been a study that can directly link them. There are however more companies offering their products without HFCS everyday. Many food companies, including restaurants and grocery stores have moved toward more healthy products. The consumer today is far more informed than they ever have been in the past. In 1950 there were more than 700 food additives in use in food being sold at the time, only 428 were known to be safe for consumption. These additives add shelf life and flavors to products for companies around the world and are able to cut costs giving the consumer a choice to eat or drink
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.
The video, Botany of Desire, and the story, Apple Juice: Product of Michigan China, of Kelsey are very interesting and useful. Both stories have apple in common; however, they tell two different aspects of apple.
The Japanese first developed high fructose corn syrup. When they saw that it is more cost effective than other sugars, other companies started to use high fructose corn syrup in their products. High fructose corn syrup is a sugar made of fifty-five percent fructose and forty-five percent glucose. Compared to normal table sugar, which is fifty percent fructose and fifty percent glucose, it doesn?t seem like much. Yet the fructose in high fructose corn syrup is less attached from normal sugar. This fructose that is free from the glucose part is more harmful to the body. It was first introduced in 1970 but it hasn?t been actively used until the late 1900?s. Yet because we started to use high fructose corn syrup, it is now causing a lot of problems. It has many negative side effects after consumption, and most of the consuming is done in the United States. Two of the main problems caused by high fructose corn syrup are obesity and type two diabetes. Some of the other branches of these problems are liver and heart disease, osteoporosis, an increase in triglycerides, and many other kinds of health problems. Since high fructose corn syrup is very common in our daily diets, ranging for drinks to desserts, it is becoming a huge problem. (Severson, K. 2004)
As we know, Government’s policies often will result in the change of price on agricultural products accordingly affect people’s dietary under their budget constrains; in order to promote healthy food to the public, government should set up price floor on certain agricultural products, such as corn and soybean. In the book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan raises the concern of obesity as a health risk to our nation. According to the surgeon general, “obesity today is officially an epidemic; it is arguably the most pressing public health problem we face, costing the health care system an estimated $90 billion a year (102)”. Cheap corn price is the main culprit that leads to this nationwide obesity. Food industries are willing to transform cheap corn into value-added consumer products, such as McDonald’s chicken nuggets and Big Macs, in order to maximize profits. This will make our dietary contains much more calories than before. In addition, the byproduct from corn, such as high-fructose corn syrup, has become the leading source of sweetness in food industries since it can provide same level of sweetness with a low cost. Simultaneously HFCS improves the taste of the foods, thereby increasing our consumption on those high calories foods. All these factors eventually lead us to a Republic of Fat. Government’s policies have put a very negative repercussion on people’s dietary. Because In 1970s, the US government embraced a cheap-food farm policy and dismantled the prevent overproduction policy (103). After that, American farmers were producing far too much corn, which directly causes the price of corn decreased in the next few years. As a result, the price of unhealthy foods and drinks decrease significantly since
The astounding finding by doctors is that ⅓ americans are obese the surplus of processed and sugary foods is killing us with diseases, that also are making it harder to buy healthy alternatives. The obesity rate is taxing on the mental and physical level. Alot of people do not know how much sugar affects the calorie count (if you count them) and the reaction it causes after it is digested. It is a natural drive to keep calorie packed foods for survival but we are starting to find we can differentiate the survival food and good foods. It was good for ancient times for food shortages happened. But they're cheap now and in abundance out the wazoo. They cause (the sugar added in our foods) diseases like type 2 diabetes, fatty liver diseases, belly fat, joint pain worsening
Every garden has their own purposes that make gardeners devote a great amount of time to take care of them. Gardeners are coming up with their own unique ways of taking care of their gardens, especially when they make profits out of it. In his book, The Botany of Desire, Michael Pollan claims the best gardeners of his generation have devoted themselves to growing cannabis, popularly known as marijuana. Intrigued with Pollan’s argument, I completely agree with him. Marijuana growers are the best gardeners because they perfected the plant in growing them indoors, they make good business out of it, and the plant itself fills the need of humans for transcendent altered states of consciousness.
In Michael Pollan's chapter of Botany of Desire, he talks about genetic modification; injecting genome into the DNA of other crops with the sole purpose to change their characteristics. Pollan genetically modifies a potato and is named the “NewLeaf”. Pollan’s research question is about creating a New Leaf Potato by injecting a bacterium called Baclilus Thuringiensis (bt) in the potatoes DNA. By doing this, it allows the potato to defend itself from their biggest threat, which is the Colorado beetle. Throughout this chapter, Pollan shows the reader that he has an opinion on genetically modified crops and how it can not only affect us today, but also in the future. He gives us some historic background regarding the New Leaf potato with the intention to get across his concern of monoculturalism. Pollan realizes that his potato is considered a pesticide when he comments: “the small print on the label also brought the disconcerting news that my potato plants were themselves registered as a pesticide with the environmental Protection Administration” (190). Throughout the chapter, he also brings in farmers from different areas and methods of plantation to give an opinion on the genetic modification and the future of these crops.
Most Americans do not care enough to take a look at the nutritional values of the food that he or she is consuming. That is why America has the highest percentage of obesity in the world. This is a serious problem because one in every three adults is obese, and one in every six children is obese. There are many factors that go into the regular American diet, but most of those factors are not appealing nor is it healthy. Americans put way too much processed food into their daily diet. Some would say that other countries diets superior the American diet because of nutritional values that it carries. Other countries have proven that an active lifestyle is a huge element in the average weight of the country. There are many things that Americans could change about their diets and lifestyle that would help them to become healthier.
We are all familiar with sugar. It is sweet, delicious, and addictive; yet only a few of us know that it is deadly. When it comes to sugar, it seems like most people are in the mind frame knowing that it could be bad for our health, but only a few are really taking the moderate amounts. In fact, as a whole population, each and everyone of us are still eating about 500 extra calories per day from sugar. Yes, that seems like an exaggerated number judging from the tiny sweet crystals we sprinkle on our coffee, but it is not. Sugar is not only present in the form of sweets and flavourings, it is hidden in all the processed foods we eat. We have heard about the dangers of eating too much fat or salt, but we know very little about the harmful effects of consuming too much sugar. There still isn’t any warnings about sugar on our food labels, nor has there been any broadcasts on the serious damages it could do to our health. It has come to my concern during my research that few
“You are what you eat”, goes a famous saying. If that were truly the case, then a lot of Americans would appear to be unhealthy, chemically treated, commercially raised slabs of animal flesh. While that is not a particularly pleasant thought, it is nonetheless a description of the typical American omnivore who survives on the consumption of Big Mac’s and greasy French fries. It is true, and what have the average Americans done about this problem? Asked for seconds and tell themselves that they won’t eat much for tomorrow’s meal.