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Negative effects of fast food
Fast food and its health effects
Essay on processed foods and its effects on humans
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Many of the foods Americans consume on a daily basis serve as a catalyst for a slow and painful demise riddled with preventable disease. This is due to the fact that people simply do not feed the body what it is designed for. Low fat products flavored with dangerous sugars and high fructose corn syrup line the shelves of grocery stores everywhere, with “heart healthy” labels proudly displayed on the colorful and flashy boxes. The cereal grains, legumes, dairy products (if not tolerated), hydrogenated fats and overly processed foods with refined sugars that are considered cultural staples, which form the foundation of the Standard American Diet (SAD), are more than likely the cause of unfortunately common health issues such as leptin resistance, chronic inflammation, heart disease and metabolic syndrome which is a cluster of risk factors such as: insulin resistance, obesity, abnormal cholesterol readings, and more. Furthermore, not eating properly can cause a suppressed immune system, lack of energy, disrupted sleep patterns, low metabolism, acne, food allergies, bloating, and a host of other issues thought to be normal in today's day and age. Life was never meant to be this way; fortunately there is hope from this unnecessary chaos in the form of the Paleolithic diet. So, to stop the madness Americans should trade in the unnatural SAD lifestyle for a virtually illness free Paleolithic way of eating.
So, what exactly prompted the beginning of the processed foods people know and disastrously love today? Taking a look back at life years earlier during the Paleolithic Era, Homo sapiens relied on gathering fresh, organic produce or hunting to maintain life. People were predominately non-agrarian nomads at this time and in...
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Bosma-den Boer, Margarethe M. et al. "Chronic inflammatory diseases are stimulated by current lifestyle: how diet, stress levels and medication prevent our body from recovering." Nutrition Metabolism. (2012). Academic Search Elite.
United States Department of Agriculture. "Why Is it Important to Eat Grains, Especially Whole Grains?" Choose My Plate. Web. 1 March 2014.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-mark-hyman/gluten-what-you-dont-know_b_379089.html
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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.
In “Bad 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 have “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 to 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.
In the book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan challenges his readers to examine their food and question themselves about the things they consume. Have we ever considered where our food comes from or stopped to think about the process that goes into the food that we purchase to eat every day? Do we know whether our meat and vegetables picked out were raised in our local farms or transported from another country? Michael pollen addresses the reality of what really goes beyond the food we intake and how our lives are affected. He does not just compel us to question the food we consume, but also the food our “food” consumes.
He claims that a better diet requires spending more time and resources on food, just like the people of the past did. Pollan attributes their surpassing health to this practice, but in his article “How Junk Food Can End Obesity”, David Freedman paints a different story. Freedman describes how examinations of ancient non-Western remains revealed “hardened arteries, suggesting that pre-industrial diets…may not have been the epitome of healthy eating” (514). This discovery seriously undermines Pollan’s assumption that we should follow the lead of our ancestors because even though they spent a greater amount of resources on food and ate absolutely no processed foods, they still suffered from some of the same diseases which Pollan claims his eating habits will curb. As an opponent of processed foods, or “foodlike products” (Pollan 426), Pollan advocates eating whole foods. As many people have a similar opinion, he is not alone in this, but he is misinformed. Freedman reveals that after examining the nutrition labels on various unprocessed, whole foods, he found that many contained more fat, sugar, and sodium than processed foods (512). If unprocessed foods underwent the same scrutiny as processed foods, perhaps this common misconception could be prevented. The basic premise of Pollan’s essay is that a better diet will lead to better health. While we could all benefit from a better diet, “findings linking food type and health are considered highly unreliable (Freedman 518). Freedman discusses the multitude of nondietary factors such as air quality and exercise that render such studies untrustworthy. Pollan might be a well-respected author of nutrition books, but this does not mean that his theories are free of
Thanks to many researchers, such as Loran Cordain, mankind has successfully developed the Paleo diet, a dietary plan modeled after the paleolithic age that consists of lean natural meats, vegetables, fruits and nuts. Unlike,the diets previously mentioned the Paleo diet has all the essential nutrients such as protein, Vitamin D and B-12, that make humans develop lean muscle, have more energy, lose weight, and be able to live a healthy lifestyle. For these reasons, the Paleo way should be the diet of choice in order to make America healthy again.
Legumes: Why legumes? Although they are considered as healthy and many cuisines and scientist categorize them in group of healthy food, legumes have same nutrients like grains, and therefore you should avoid them. They are also high in carbohydrates that...
Hunter-gatherer societies are healthier and more beneficial towards one’s body than an agricultural based society but due to the large populations around the world there is no possibility society can convert back. The only reasonable action that can be taken to live a healthier life is if the pesticides used to grown fruits and vegetables, the fattening products used on the animals consumed, and no other artificial product or chemical is used on the food consumed.
When we think of our national health we wonder why Americans end up obese, heart disease filled, and diabetic. Michael Pollan’s “ Escape from the Western Diet” suggest that everything we eat has been processed some food to the point where most of could not tell what went into what we ate. Pollan thinks that if America thought more about our “Western diets” of constantly modified foods and begin to shift away from it to a more home grown of mostly plant based diet it could create a more pleasing eating culture. He calls for us to “Eat food, Not too much, Mostly plants.” However, Mary Maxfield’s “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating”, argues differently she has the point of view that people simply eat in the wrong amounts. She recommends for others to “Trust yourself. Trust your body. Meet your needs.” The skewed perception of eating will cause you all kinds of health issues, while not eating at all and going skinny will mean that you will remain healthy rather than be anorexic. Then, as Maxfield points out, “We hear go out and Cram your face with Twinkies!”(Maxfield 446) when all that was said was eating as much as you need.
...ensity and Energy Costs." The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 79.1 (2004): 6-16. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
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...
“What are we going to eat?” is a big question that we ask ourselves three time a day. We are eating the same kinds of foods over and over again. Most of our foods come from the supermarket, but many of us do not know where the foods origins. Most people don't realize the nutrition facts behind the fact. They are just simply filling up the stomach. As Michael Pollan, the author of Omnivore’s Dilemma, states: “Industry food system is most important reasons that make people unhealthy and obesity. Yet, eating organic food are considering healthier than industry food.” I believed although industry foods have less nutrition, and bad effects on human, individual responsibilities serve as the most important factor of the obesity in United States.
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.
Ungar, Peter S., and Mark Franklyn Teaford. Human Diet: Its Origin and Evolution. Westport, CT: Bergin & Garvey, 2002. Print.
Food has been a common source of necessity in our everyday lives as humans. It helps gives us nutrition and energy to live throughout our life. Over several decades, the development of making foods has evolved. They have changed from natural to processed foods in recent years. Nowadays natural ingredients are barely used in the making of foods like bread, cheese, or yogurt. The food industry today has replaced natural food making with inorganic ingredients. The cause of this switch is due to processed foods being easier, cheaper and faster to make. Artificial nutrition and processed foods have been proven to last longer in market shelves then natural foods. Also, due to artificial additives in processed foods they help satisfy consumers taste more than natural ingredients. The method of producing processed foods is common in today's food industry and helps make money faster and efficiently for companies. Examples of this can be found in all markets that distribute food. Even though processed foods may be easier and faster to make, they are nowhere near as healthy for consumers compared to natural foods. Natural foods are healthier, wholesome, and beneficial to the human body and planet then processed foods.
"Why Is It Important to Eat Vegetables?" MyPyramid.gov. United States Department of Agriculture, 01 Oct. 2009. Web. 06 Feb. 2014. .