The article, “What The World’s Healthiest Diets Have In Common,” by Anna Almendrala is a health-comparison of different cultural diets around the world. To start off, Almendrala claims that North Americans have bigger portion sizes, eat faster than other cultures, and do not put as much emphasis on eating seasonal, locally grown foods. I agree with this claim because from what I observe, it is true. Americans tend to enjoy and lean toward bigger portions. McDonald’s “Big Macs” and large sodas are one example of this. From a very young age, many children in our culture are told to eat everything on their plates, and by the time they are adults, they have been trained to eat this way. The problem comes when the sizes of servings (as well as plates themselves) have dramatically increased over time. The amount of food we eat, combined with unhealthy habits such as eating at such rapid paces, result in indigestion and slower metabolism rates, which in turn aid the rise of obesity, diabetes, and other metabolic-related diseases. Almendrala also claims in her introduction that there is no one ‘ultimately healthy’ diet that all should follow, but notes that there is one similarity among most healthy countries. This common thread is that the people of these countries walk more. I also agree with her in that physical activity is very crucial to one’s health. I think many Americans should …show more content…
It also focuses on eating seasonal, locally grown foods. The research on this cultural diet shows that it can “help people lose weight, lower their cardiovascular disease risk and reverse diabetes” (Almendrala). I believe that non-processed, natural foods like fruits, veggies, and nuts are what our bodies were, and still are, meant to eat from the