Issues in Food and Nutrition Essay "The evolution of the human diet is of great interest to anthropologists, biologists and nutritionists alike. The evidence base each discipline utilises in their research is varied, both in nature and quality. Critically discuss the evolution of the human diet and evaluate the methodologies employed by different disciplines in developing this knowledge," Every human being has a primary purpose and is always trying to fulfil their needs and wants. This has been to satisfy the structural and functional needs providing energy and nutrients so that the body has a constant balance. The human diet is based around behavioural influences by both culture (developing world) and technological (developed world) Over the …show more content…
Group sessions on Healthy Toddler Nutrition have been set up. The Nutrition Society plays a key role in the development of these methodologies. Food refusal is a major problem that has evolved, so nutritionists have adopted an approach of setting up home visits to support families with their child's eating problems. "Sure Start" centres have been set up also by the Nutrition Society for mothers to be educated on basic food issues. Technological advances have also aided the role of nutritionists. Computerised nutrient analysis helps to calculate nutrient intake in relation to the statistical data. However there is a major challenge for nutritionists to develop better methods for rapidly screening and assessing dietary intakes. With patient care a prime objective. However these developments have been improving as the human diet has evolved but the methodologies implemented need to continue to keep addressing the problem in diet and nutrient intake. Nutritionists still have to be high skilled, well instructed and work in cooperation with biologists, anthropologists, and dieticians. " the focus on the study of human beings and their way of life,"(Shils 2000) Anthropologists have tried to find distinct separation between the food as a biological necessity and also the cultural factors that condition its …show more content…
The same objectives, recommendations and guidelines are still being set out. This is evident in a report released from The Department of Health on the 12th December 2002, the report stated; "The Plan will address food production, manufacture and preparation, access to healthier food and providing information for consumers about healthy eating and nutrition. It will build on existing work to improve diet and nutrition including:reforming the Welfare Food Scheme, the National School Fruit Scheme, the Five-a-Day programme to increase fruit and vegetable consumption, work with undustry to reduce salt, fat and sugar in the diet, local action to tackle obesity and increase physical activity and the hospital nutrition policy. The Food and Health Action Plan will pull together all of the issues that influence what we eat. Action will involve all sections of the food chain including food growing, food processing, manufacture, retailers, caterers and consumers" Galen of Pergamus who was a personal physician of the emperor Marcus Aurelus, quotes: "You should do a lot of exercise and not overeat" (HUNT 1994) So how much has the Human diet evolved ? not a lot if were still trying to reiterate a point that was evident thousands of years ago. The discussion of the human diet is massive. There has been so much changing, and so much more information being found that makes it impossible to point at the exact changes of "the evolution of the
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.
For some time, scholars and writers have continuously debated as to what constitutes or defines the idea of healthy eating, mainly because of the increase in the number of people diagnosed with ailments associated with bad eating habits. It has quickly become the forefront of issue, particularly in the United States. In recognition of this on-going debate, this composition seeks to compare and contrast two well-known authors concerning how we think about and consume food. In Michael Pollan’s discussion, “Escape from the Western Diet,” he discusses the negative sides of nutrition science, including conflicting theories surrounding the elements of healthy food consumption and why solutions are essential for the Western diet and lifestyle. “Escape from the Western Diet,’’ is among the articles that talks about the eating habits of individuals in the society. In the article, Pollan points out not only the numerous conflicts concerning what types of diets – including carbohydrate-based, the inclusion of omega-3s, other nutrition-specific needs - that are believed to directly affect general health or specific illnesses, but also how western nutritionism compares to other countries diets affect longevity outcomes. In the end, Pollan suggests that the United States must seek solutions that move towards more natural, unprocessed, plant-based lifestyles that ensure that individuals are making what they consume a primary
As the Western world experiences increasing occurrences of certain diseases, society is focusing not only on finding the source of this phenomena but also on finding a solution to the problem. In his essay “Escape from the Western Diet”, Michael Pollan places the blame on the Western diet, arguing that people need only to change their eating habits in order to prevent many chronic diseases. While the author makes a compelling argument, his usage of logical fallacies, his questionable credibility, and his apparent bias weaken his point; nonetheless, I agree with his overall surmise that the western diet should be improved.
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
Eating nutrients and healthy foods determines health and are essentials for living a better life. Based off of past knowledge
Wardlaw, G.M. and Smith. Contemporary Nutrition: Issues and Insights. 5th Edition. Boston: McGraw-Hill, pp 85, 2004.
Holland, M. Steps to Successful Hands-on Nutrition Activities. Nutrition Action. 13 (3), 524. Retrieved from Healthy Child Care Library of Articles: http://healthychild.net/NutritionAction.php?article_id=524
Since 1916, the United States Department of Agriculture (the government agency responsible for all U.S. policy regarding agriculture, food, and farming) has revised their recommendations several times. Unfortunately, money talks and the USDA’s recommendations are based on outdated science and are influenced by people with business interest. Even so, its recommendations are considered almost “holy” by physicians, nutritionists, and dieters, but in reality, they are the root cause of the problem. A single visit to our local public school cafeteria and it will become clear that they do not have the best interests of the children at heart. What they are feeding our innocent children is preposterous. Doctors, the people we trust and expect to be “the experts”, do not know much about the subject of nutrition. A vast majority of medical schools in the U.S. require just 25-30 hours or less of nutrition training, and some do not require at all. So doctors must rely on the ...
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.
Escape from the Western Diet, by Michael Pollen, is about the argument of what is best for people to consume in order to avoid certain ailments caused by what they eat. There are many who believe certain factors such as eating too much fat or refined carbohydrates or missing certain nutrients are to blame for the poor state of health of westerners. The reason for that is that it provides for a quick easy answer to dieting issues. The author believes that all these things may have some contribution to poor health but the overall nemesis is the western diet itself.
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. Nutrition experts in the United States and Canada have a list of standards with four list values. These list values are called the Dietary Reference Intakes. The DRI committee sets these values for vitamins, minerals, calories, and nutrients.
Ungar, Peter S. Evolution of the Human Diet: The Known, the Unknown, and the Unknowable. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2007. Print.
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
Furthermore, nutritional analysis of recording or reporting food intake data presents a main source of inaccuracy when determining habitual nutrient intake and it does not contain comprehensive information on the interpretation of results from dietary surveys (Macdiarmid, & Blundell, 1997). Therefore, biochemical markers of nutrient intake are now a valuable tool in validating dietary assessment methods (Bingham, 2002). For example, the double labelled water technique and 24-hour urine nitrogen and potassium are routinely used and potentially independent of the errors associated with dietary survey methods (Bingham, 2002).
In the book, In Defense of Food, Michael Pollan explores the relationship between nutrition and the Western diet, claiming that the answer to healthy eating is simply to “eat food”.