The dietary guidelines for health introduced in the 1970s called for reduced fat intake and increased consumption of whole grain food items. Since the 1970s, however, North Americans have steadily become heavier, more prone to diabetes, and less healthy. This phenomenon has sparked a revolution against the consumption of wheat, including whole grains. Even though the whole grain category is dubbed by nutrition experts to be “less bad”, whole grains are still genetically modified to suit the needs of business rather than people's nutritional needs. The modification of wheat has transformed a benign food source into a nutritionally bankrupt yet addictive ingredient that causes blood sugar to spike; for this reason, modern wheat should be avoided in a healthy diet.
Agribusinesses have dramatically modified the structure of wheat in order to produce higher yielding crops without considering the health risks of these alterations. Food corporations tend to favor wheat the is the most cheaply produced, so the high yielding “frankenstein” wheat is used. This wheat has been modified to su...
Food is an essential part of everyday life without it one could not survive. Every day we make choices on what we put in to our bodies. There are countless varieties of food to choose from to meet the diverse tastes of the increasing population. Almost all food requires a label explaining the ingredients and the nutritional value allowing consumers to make informed decisions on what they are consuming. However, many may not be considering where that food is coming from or how it has been produced. Unfortunately, there is more to food than meets the eye. Since 1992, “ the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ruled, based on woefully limited data, that genetically modified foods were ‘substantially equivalent’ to their non-GM counterparts” (Why to Support Labeling). GM food advocates have promised to create more nutritious food that will be able to grow in harsh climate conditions and eventually put an end to world hunger in anticipation of the growing population. There is very little evidence to support these claims and study after study has proven just the opposite. GM crops are not only unsafe to consume, but their growing practices are harmful to the environment, and multinational corporations are putting farmers out of business.
However, the outcome was different from his desired result due to strong protest from the dairy and livestock industry, so the Congress instead urged people to buy lean meat and less fat food so the dairy and livestock industry do not go out of business. This created the fat-free boom in the market in the 1980s. However, food companies began to put more sugar in their products because the taste was bad when they reduced fat in the food. Now, the sugar intake of Americans has doubled compared with before. In the American market, there are approximately 600,000 different food products, and 80% of those include sugar. Although sugar is written in various forms and names, one suggests that it’s bad in any form, especially if taken too much. Sugar consumed naturally through fiber-rich fruit or vegetable should be fine, but the added sweeteners stimulate the hormones that increase insulin. High insulin prevents people from thinking they are full, and thus crave more food. This causes many diseases. Of course one meal high in sugar will not kill them, but the problem is that people generally exceed daily sugar intake in one meal alone when consuming process food. We eat more processed and convenient food instead of fruits, vegetables, and
From a general perspective, fad diets enhance poor weight control over the long term. People are more focused on quick weight loss that they fail to learn and develop proper eating plans that would be useful perpetually. Additionally, there is an enhanced risk of developing chronic diseases such osteoporosis, high blood pressure, cancer, and congestive heart failure. Several fad diets remove or limit the intake of whole grains, dairy products, vegetables, and fruits, which are all useful in preventing several chronic
Gluten is a protein found in common grains such as wheat, barley, and rye. Those affected with allergies to these foods (the most serious allergy being Celiac Disease) must follow a strict gluten-free diet in order to experience relief from their symptoms. Despite eliminating the ingestion of the allergen, gluten-free individuals begin to suffer from adverse side effects. In recent years, many Americans have begun to live an entirely gluten-free lifestyle with no medical necessity to do so. Many believe it to be a healthier diet, and even more believe it is an effective weight-loss tool. With this growing fad of adopting a gluten-free diet, under the false pretenses of varying health benefits, many Americans are exposing themselves to unnecessary health risks, over-priced and narrowly available foods, and an overall depletion of dietary needs.
Food, everybody has to eat food. In this century there are millions of different foods that can be eaten. But sometimes while Americans indulge in the luxury options of foods, I wonder if they ever really pay attention to how bad many foods are for their bodies. I think everybody should turn to organic foods to help them live healthier lives. The reason that foods are so bad for the body to consume is because foods are packed with GMO’s. GMO’s are “genetically modified organisms” which are plants or animals that have been genetically engineered with DNA from bacteria, viruses, or other plants and animals. These experimental combinations of genes from different species cannot occur in nature, naturally (“GMO Facts,”2014).
Walking down the streets of the United States, it seems impossible to avoid the sight of a major problem that is growing at extreme and fatal rates. This problem is known as obesity, which can lead to many other health problems such as diabetes and high cholesterol. One of the many causes for this is an unbalanced diet filled with foods high in fat and sugar. When given the choice, it is safe to say that many would be quick to grab a chocolate bar over a chai kale smoothie when hunger strikes. Many food companies have tried to follow the trend of the love of sweet foods by adding a fatal ingredient to their products. This ingredient is sugar.
Whitman, Deborah. "Genetically Modified Foods: Harmful or Helpful?". Cambridge Scientific Abstracts. Available online at http://www.csa.com/hottopics/gmfood/overview.html. Accessed November 9, 2003.
A study that was supported by the Genetically Modified Organisms Breeding Major Projects of P.R. China grant 2011ZX08011-005 and 2012ZX08011003, consisted of a 90 day observation of 84 rats and compared the differences in their GI health due their differences in diets; the control groups consuming non genetically modified rice while the other five groups consumed various concentrations of genetically modified rice. (Yuan et al.) Yanfang Yuan and his colleagues conducted this study at the China Agricultural University in the College of Food Science and Nutritional Engineering. Consuming genetically altered foods may cause miniscule changes to the body, however, none of these changes are harmful and very few of them stray from the effects that non-genetically altered foods will cause. Therefore, consuming genetically altered foods has no abnormal effects on one’s overall well-being. (Yuan et al.
This paper discusses genetically modified (GM) foods, the interesting history, and their development. It shows how GM foods have experienced rapid growth over the last ten years. Within the history of these foods, there has been a great deal of controversy and debate of the benefits and risks of GM foods and the production process. Analyzing the current situation around GM foods, this controversy will likely continue for many years to come.
As we have been learning in class, there are four main chemicals of life: carbohydrates, lipids, nucleic acids, and proteins. Gluten is a protein found in wheat barley, rye, and some oats. In today’s society, people are debating the questions, “Is gluten an okay choice?…And… Should we eliminate it from our diet?” Research on this can help answer some of the many questions we have about gluten.
There are many positive views on the genetic altering of corn. Consumers always look for the shiny, beautiful food with delicious taste. By genetically engineering corn, it can become sweeter and have a better overall appearance. (16) Along with this pleasing appearance, comes its improved resistance for insects, disease, and other pests. This means that new forms of corn now possesses the ability to overcome pests and even weeds that once weakened or killed the young plants. As a result, corn can be grown where there used to be a lot of infestation. (13) In the process, this would also kill insects. Furthermore, corn has more nutritional benefits. Corn now has additional vitamins and minerals because of genetic engineering to provide greater
This couldn’t be farther from the truth. Studies conducted by nutritional and science journals have shown that people who ate whole grain-rich diets had a 20-30% reduced risk in developing type 2 diabetes and people who ate low-carb diets had higher risk of mortality than those who ate more carbs. Carbs are good for you, but try to moderate yourself, as mentioned above, as overeating carbs can lead to weight
Food advertisements, supermarket displays, and restaurant menus increasingly highlight foods, particularly bread, as being gluten-free. Gluten consists of two proteins, gliadin and glutamine, which combine and help produce light and fluffy bread (Lord, 2012). Wheat is bred for its high gluten content which serves efficiently well for all bakers and chefs. Today, gluten is becoming a problem in society since allergic reactions to the protein have increased. Bread is a worldwide staple food and gluten is a predominant aspect within the dough mixture. Gluten free bread is basically fixed as it was thousands of years ago without the fermentation of yeast and the mixture of sourdough.
“Genetically modified foods are a "Pandora's box" of known and unknown risks to humans and the environment. They have been forced onto the American public by multinational biotech and agribusiness corporations without adequate oversight and regulation by the United States government (Driscoll, SallyMorley, David C).”Genetically Modified Food is food which has been chemically altered by scientists during the production process to give the food more nutrients, better appearance, and a longer shelf-life (Rich, Alex K.Warhol, Tom). The importance of this issue is that these GMO’s can actually have a negative effect in our society in general. It could mutate in a negative way and cause cancer or other diseases. Genetically modified food should be strictly controlled due to its various detrimental effects on the environment, human health, and potentially insect/animal effects.
Such products may range from isolated nutrients, dietary supplements and specific diets to genetically engineered designer foods, herbal products, and processed foods such as cereals, soups and beverages. In the United States, the term nutraceutical is commonly used in marketing and has no regulatory definition. One of the most important growing trends in food industry today is the demand for all natural food ingredients free of chemical additives. Increase in health awareness caused major changes in food, pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries. The nutraceutical market has grown multifold both in developed and developing countries. People are becoming more concerned about their well being and are shifting to nutraceutical products to prevent the onset of any chronic disease like diabetes, heart ailments, hypertension,