In this book, Michael Polland highlights the main issues in today’s “Western Diet,” breaking down the factors contributing to our unhealthy food consumption. Nutritionism is an idea that we are constantly surrounded by, but how much of it do you really understand? How much of it is truth, and how much is simply manipulation? If you were to look back in time, you’d see the progression of the modern meal, straying further and further from actual food itself.
In recent decade, the United States has seen supermarkets continuously get filled with packages labeled with things like “Low sodium” or “No Trans Fats.” Companies stick these labels on their food to match the current fads of what is good for you and what is not. In his essay Unhappy Meals, Michael Pollan advocates a return to natural and basic foods, and deplores nutritionism. Pollan argues that nutritionism does not actually tell people what is healthy or not, and that the only way to be sure you are eating healthy is to eat natural, fresh food.
Relevance between Food and Humans with Rhetorical Analysis In the modern industrial society, being aware of what the food we eat come from is an essential step of preventing the “national eating disorder”. In Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma, he identifies the humans as omnivores who eat almost everything, which has been developed into a dominant part of mainstream unhealthiness, gradually causing the severe eating disorder consequences among people. Pollan offers his opinion that throughout the process of the natural history of foods, deciding “what should we have for dinner” can stir the anxiety for people based on considering foods’ quality, taste, price, nutrition, and so on.
In Michael Pollan’s essay “Escape from the Western Diet,” he directly to Americans about the western diet and why he believes they need to escape from it. The reason Americans should escape the western diet is to avoid the harmful effects associated with it such as “western diseases” (Pollan, 420). To support his view on the issue, Pollan describes factors of the western diet that dictate what Americans believe they should eat. These factors include scientists with their theories of nutritionist, the food industry supporting the theories by making products, and the health industry making medication to support those same theories. Overall, Pollan feels that in order to escape this diet, people need to get the idea of it out of their heads.
Today’s society is surfaced with various problems, one of them being our diet along with obesity. The health of our country’s people has become a national problem. One’s diet is based upon their choices, but even then there are many controversial views upon what is healthy and what is not. Two essays that I read uniquely present their views on this topic. First, there is “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating” by Mary Maxfield and then there is “Don’t Blame the Eater” by David Zinczenko.
Food is required in order to live as well as maintain a healthy lifestyle. Potassium, fiber, fat, calories, sodium, along with a bunch of vitamins are required for human body. Calories give us vitality to move around and do our day to day work. From past food industry in United States has grown so much.
Main Argument and Thesis The main point of the article is that diets can often be dependent upon geographic surroundings. Diets can provide essential nutrients and minerals in various ways. Supporting Evidence The authors, Patricia Gadsby and Leon Steele, support their main point through using nutritional evidence, referencing scientific studies, and providing dialogue from multiple individuals.
Eating Healthy Michael Pollan, a health food spokesperson, made some interesting critiques on how he believes that there is an American paradox such as, “a notably unhealthy population preoccupied with… the idea of eating healthy” (Maxfield, 442). The idea taken from Michael Pollan’s quote is that he believes the definition of healthy eating has more to do with how it is “driven by a well-funded corporate machine” (Maxfield, 442). He is also claiming that the food industry is benefiting on our lack of knowledge on how to eat properly when it comes to being healthy. In her article Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating, Mary Maxfield directly attacked Pollan’s claims, pointing out the hypocrisy in his words because he is sharing
Supersize Me: It’s Time to Stop Blaming Fat People for their Size, Alison Motluk argues that we live in an “obesogenic society,” one that promotes weight gain and an increasingly unhealthy lifestyle. We do live in a society that makes it easy for people to become obese. For starters, the convenience and the relative ease it is to go to a fast food restaurant, and pick up breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Also the portion size that is offered at restaurants is enormous. We live in a society where most parents do not have the luxury to stay home and prepare healthy meals.
When the dinner bell rings in America, many families are not flocking to the table, but running to the car and the call of the “Golden Arches”. In today’s over-scheduled world, food has now become an afterthought and America is paying the price, literally. Obesity is now an epidemic and a crisis that is not slowing down. The nation is not only paying the price with sky-rocketing medical bills from the effects of the American diet, but also with the deteriorating health of its citizens and for the first time in history, a generation with a shorter life expectancy than the generation before. Food today looks nothing like the food of just 40 years ago, and now instead, is making people sick and obese.
Mama's Famous Loaf Bread and Terrific Risotto Food is ubiquitous. Every individual requires its nutrients to live their lives. It chemically provides the human body with the needed glucose in order to convert ATP to useable energy in cells. This means a person literally cannot live without it.
“Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food” (Hardy, 2006). The Greeks followed this idea by the philosopher Hippocrates, but today’s society does not take the message seriously. A majority of people eat harmful foods and do not receive the nutrition they need to stay healthy. There are a number of reasons why nutrition is lacking. A lot of teens and college students eat snacks that are not healthy such as chips, pop, candy, etc.
Nutrition Topic: Nutrition Organization: Topically Specific Purpose: To inform my audience the importance of proper nutrition I. INTRODUCTION A. Attention getter: Did you know that more than two thirds of adults are considered to be overweight or obese in the United States? If obesity rates stay consistent, about 51% of the population by the year 2030 will be obese.
In general, a healthy diet can help to maintain a healthy body weight or improve overall health and decrease the risk of many diet-related chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and some cancers. There is a good evidence proved that eating a healthy diet can reduce the risk of obesity and illnesses such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, osteoporosis and some types of cancer. The foods that people consume contains several different types of nutrients, which are all required for the vital processes of human body. Impact and contribution of a healthy diet to a positive lifestyle are according to people’s lifestyle, behavioral and habits. Examples, eating habits, health awareness, physical activity, lifestyle practices, and others that will influence people’s lifespan and lifestyle.
One of the most important ways to stay healthy is to have healthy food and eat them in an appropriate time. Healthy eating is the cornerstone in preventing the health from many conditions, such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer and blood pressure. Junk foods should be avoided as they do not have any nutrients, so no point in eating them. Instead of having these fast and unhealthy foods, the diet should contain leafy vegetables, fresh vegetables, fruits, milk, and fish as these are plenty in nutrients.
