Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Blood glucose regulation
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Blood glucose regulation
The nutritional pickle so many Americans are now in is largely a result of “an oversimplification of dietary recommendations that created a fat phobia,” Dr. Frank B. Hu of the Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health told me.
Starting in the 1970s, when accumulating evidence from animal and human studies showed that a diet high in saturated fats and cholesterol was an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, dietary guidelines urged people to eat less fat.
Although health advice focused on saturated fats from high-fat animal foods, many people generalized the advice to mean all fats, choosing in their stead a panoply of reduced-fat and fat-free foods rich in carbohydrates, from crackers to sweetened yogurts. They especially increased their consumption of two kinds of
…show more content…
Starchy foods with highly processed grains that have been stripped of dietary fiber act more like sugar in the body. They are rapidly digested and absorbed, raising blood levels of glucose and prompting the secretion of insulin to process it. When consumed in excess of the body’s need for immediate and stored energy, refined carbs and sugars can result in insulin resistance and contribute to fatty liver disease.
Alas, potatoes, the nation’s most popular vegetable, act like sugars and refined carbohydrates. They have what is called a high glycemic index, the ability to raise blood glucose rapidly. Potatoes, Dr. Hu explained, are made of long chains of glucose easily digested by enzymes in the mouth and stomach, and the fat in French fries slows the process only slightly.
The concept of a glycemic index, proposed in 1981 by David Jenkins and his colleagues in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, has since been validated repeatedly and is now accepted as a good way to distinguish between the kinds of carbohydrates that are health-promoting or at least neutral and those that have negative health
In the article “Paranoia about Fats is Driven by Junk Science” by Jill Richardson discusses the idea of how many Americans’ have false beliefs on the consumption of fats. Many think fats are bad and unhealthy for our diets, when in reality; we need them to maintain a healthy diet. For me and just like many others, I had the wrong impression on fats. Since many products today contain the label fat-free, I always believed that this was bad for diets. Since reading this article, it helped me take into account that eating omega-3 and omega-6; such as fish, greens, seeds, and oils are part of a well-balanced diet. This can be related to chapter 3, as omega-3 fatty acids are essential in preventing
According to Pollan, the dietary advice made by nutritionists deprives us from the pleasure of eating, expressing our identity, and connecting to our family
The less severe disadvantages surrounding the diet consist of physical weakness, low energy level, slower reaction times, headaches, and dehydration. These less dangerous, yet clearly relevant reactions are due to the elimination of carbohydrates from the diet. Blood sugar levels become very low when carbohydrates are not ingested, causing physical pain and weakness as well as a slower reaction time. Headaches also occur as a natural response mechanism that act as signals for the body that carbohydrates are needed in order to prevent further problems. Moreover, when the body breaks down stored fats t...
Americans are viewed by Pollan as “a notably unhealthy people obsessed by the idea of eating healthy”(Our National Eating Disorder). An example of this obsession is the current epidemic of carbophobia.
Up to 40 percent of normal weight people have the same metabolic dysfunction as those who are obese. So, 51 percent of the U.S. population is sick with metabolic dysfunction,” (Fed Up). Obesity has become an epidemic in America over the past thirty years. This is largely due to over consumption of foods with added sugars. Sugary foods contain a large amount of calories in a small amount of food. People overload on calories before we even feel full. Ann Marina of Livestrong explains, “Refined sugar is composed of simple carbohydrates, which are converted into glucose for energy. Any unused glucose is stored as fat cells in your body.” Added sugar has an addictive quality, making it easy to eat a lot at once. Income also has a lot to do with sugar intake and obesity. With the recession and many people experiencing money troubles, people often settle for the cheapest foods to feed their families. The cheapest foods happen to be fast foods and foods containing added sugars. The obesity epidemic is a sad truth in America today, but people are becoming more conscious of what they are putting into their bodies when they gain knowledge about the effects of sugar. With the consumption of added sugars, our bodies develop insulin resistance, which is the leading cause of metabolic syndrome, obesity, cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes. Dr. David Reuben, author of "Everything You Always Wanted To Know About Nutrition",
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.
In contrast with the “good fat”, there is also a negative, which is the “bad fat”. Saturated fat, which is considered the “bad fat”, has been linked to high cholesterol and heart disease. It is mostly found in milk and other milk products. Therefore, the low fat diet encourages its participants to reduce saturated fat for it is the main cause of high cholesterol level. On the other hand, even though low carbohydrate diets do not state that carbohydrates are bad; they do state that it causes weight gain; this idea gives most Americans that it is bad because it causes a person to gain weight.
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.
Saturated fat and cholesterol and an increased risk of heart disease. Fiber and a reduced risk of cancer. Fruit, vegetables and grain products that contain fiber and a reduced risk of heart disease.
Food science has also done some damage to people’s diets by replacing fresh food in our supermarkets to aisles of boxed and frozen food that lack nutrients in them This problem was noticed in 1977 when a document called Dietary Goals for the United States was created after rates of coronary heart disease had soared in America since World War II. In 1977, the lipid hypothesis, it proposes that dietary or saturated fat causes heart disease by raising the concentration of cholesterol in the blood. Government has been changing the Dietary Guidelines for the United States quite often which proves not even scientists know everything about nutrition. Nutritionism has led to the creation of processed foods which has been
Since our health is controlled by our diet, we highly need to consider the type of food we consume. Most of us shop for food that is tasty, but not necessarily healthy. Most our food today has a large amount of fat, salt, and other ingredients that can be unhealthy.
Consumers are now watching what they eat, and want to avoid products that contain ingredients that have become deemed as fattening.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has always informed the public about the dietary guidelines they should follow in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle. But all the information that they receive are completely misunderstood. “The American Heart Association and the U.S. 2010 Dietary Guidelines provide recommendations for added sugar intake, as it is theorized that added sugars in the diet, particularly sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), have contributed to the rise in obesity prevalence due to research suggesting that they contribute to excessive energy intake [23-25]” as mentioned by (Hedrick, 2012). Although, these sugars are recommended if children and adults consume massive amounts of these sugars then consumption of the massive amounts of these sugars can become harmful to the body. (Hedrick, 2012) also mentions “Additionally, the U.S. 2010 Dietary Guidelines suggest one half of grains consumed should be whole grains [29], due to associations with heart health [30,31]”. You can stroll through some city neighborhoods in America and see why the results
One way the population of America can overcome the issue of obesity is by simply eating healthier. Further explained, people can start making healthier decisions on what they decide to eat. An example would be choosing to eat an apple over a bowl of ice cream. This is often easier said than done. Sugars and sodium counts are very high inside the foods that can only satisfy a sweet tooth. The ingestion of carbohydrates, saturated fat, and trans fat are very easy to overlook. The food pyramid is a great visual of what people should be eating daily in order to maintain a healthful way of life. Whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and protein should become the main focus at every meal. Another way to eat healthier is to follow the suggested serving size by eating smaller portions. By law it is required for food-producing companies to place a label on their products with a listing of the serving size and ...
Saturated fats come from animal sources like steak, hamburger and pork. Unsaturated fats are derived from plants. There are also trans fats that are considered poison for the body. They raise the bad cholesterol in your body, and should never be included in a healthy diet. There are also fatty acids like omega-3 and omega-6 that are good for a healthy body.