All Humans Love Food?

In life, many people participate in various daily events and activities that help them enjoy being who they are. People may enjoy getting together with friends, going to the mall, going to an amusement park or simply finding relaxation in nature. However, a big part of everyone’s life is of course eating and many people find pleasure in doing so. Eating is a very enjoyable and delectable must for everyone but should be done so, like everything in life, in a smart and intelligent way. Being smart and perceptive when eating is a large part of nutrition.

As a culture and as individuals, we no longer seem to know what we should and should not eat. When the old guides of culture and national cuisine and our mothers’ advice no longer seem to operate, the omnivore’s dilemma returns and you find yourself where we do today—utterly bewildered and conflicted about one of the most basic questions of human life: What should I eat? We’re buffeted by contradictory dietary advice: cut down on fats one decade, cut down on carbs the next. Every day’s newspaper brings news of another ideal diet, wonder-nutrient, or poison in the food chain. Hydrogenated vegetable oils go from being the modern alternatives to butter to a public health threat, just like that. Food marketers bombard us with messages that this or that food is “heart healthy” or is “part of a nutritious meal”. Without a stable culture of food to guide us, the omnivore’s dilemma has returned with a vengeance. We listen to scientists, to government guidelines, to package labels—to anything but our common sense and traditions. The most pleasurable of activities—eating—has become heavy with anxiety. The irony is, the more we worry about what we eat, the less healthy and fatter we seem to become.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze my personal dietary intake as a way of better understanding the ways in which the foods I consumer are helping or hurting my overall nutrition and health. This project is about understanding how consuming too much or too little of particular nutrients can be unhealthy and do harm to one 's body over time. Even more, this project is about dispelling some of the myths that are present about nutrient consumption in order to have a more scientific understanding of what is considered healthy in food and nutrient consumption.

The food we eat and how it impacts our day is a substantial part of being a human being. Food is very effective in a vast majority of ways and can impact a person variously in negative and positive ways. The food we eat is definitely linked to the healthiness and lifestyle that we acquire. In “Escape from the Western Diet”, by Michael Pollan and “Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating” by Mary Maxfield, to the very interesting point of views are sought out, and I am firmly behind one of them. One author believes that the food we eat is an extreme determining factor in how our lives are lived, and the other believes the food we consume has no actual impact on the well being of human lives.

In “Escape from the Western Diet” Michael Pollan argues against the scientific theories of nutrition, and discusses the harmful effects, and chronic diseases associated with the Western Diet. Pollan offers an alternate view of a healthier lifestyle to escape the western diet that simply suggests that we “stop eating and thinking that way.” (Pollan 423) He explains that the food industry has changed the wholeness of our food, which causes us to eat unhealthier things such as fast food. He approaches a solution to these contradictory theories and science by focusing on a personal approach to eating that is based on the individual's view of food. Pollan three rules to create a healthier lifestyle are to “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants” (Pollan 426) which suggest to eat “real” food in a new balanced and healthy way that creates a pleasurable approach of eating. I agree with Pollan’s concepts about the western diet and his rules of eating simpler.

In today’s world, one cannot watch a thirty-minute television show without being bombarded with commercials promoting the latest, “Breakthrough Health Kick.” The Paleo Diet, Atkins Diet, South Beach Diet, along with a vast number of diets on the market has skewed the idea of healthy eating. The textbook, Nutrition from Science to You, states, “Healthy eating means you need to balance, vary, and moderate your nutrient intake.” Sadly, when I took two days to analyze my own diet I found a lack of balance, variety, and the ability to eat in moderation.

Americans love to eat, but do we actually understand how to eat healthy? In today’s world, everyone wants to be healthy, nonetheless, it seems no one knows how. With the nutritional knowledge of present-day, society’s health should be getting better instead of worse. However, there are so many different ideas regarding food that the public may feel confused. Michael Pollan points out many worthy causes in his book In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto; he tends to overuse quotes and research and uses unseemly portrayals, but he also implements excellent information to make a valid argument.

The purpose of this paper is to argue that Michael Pollan’s theory, to “eat food [but] not too much Mostly plants” is a good way to eat because it helps people to live longer. Michael Pollan, author of the 2007 article, “Unhappy Meals” and the book In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto, argues for "eating food. Not too much. Mostly plants"(Pollan). People are "better off eating whole fresh foods than processed food products" (Pollan). He argues that nutrients are not food and he is right. Nutrients are located in food and food is nutrients. Fresh foods are natural byproducts of the earth. People "should avoid food products that make health claims"(Pollan) because a health claim on a food product is a good indication that it's not really

Since the beginning of time, food has been a staple in every living, breathing creature’s life. Food is a necessity and is direct fuel for the body, for nourishment. The type of diet a person consumes is crucial in determining overall health and even longevity. We are often told that in order to maintain a healthy lifestyle, we must eat a balanced diet, which consists of eating a proportionate amount of a variety of foods. For many people, it becomes difficult to consume all of these right foods on a daily basis. A busy lifestyle often hinders a person from getting this healthy, balanced diet. In many situations, unhealthy food options are just way more convenient. As a college student, I have to fight the urge to ritualistically eat Chick-Fil-A

Making food choices is a major component in the health and well being of our bodies just a few

Many individuals do not recognize the elements of food they consume, whether they’re healthy or unhealthy. In America, we are surrounded by supermarkets and restaurants who sell good and bad foods, which are hard to avoid. We develop cravings such as foods that contain high sugar and fat. This leads to chronic health issues. Whole foods are converted to processed foods, deceiving a person trying to follow a diet. Some believe that we can eat anything and our bodies will filter it out naturally despite what we see in public and hear in the news. According to my independent research, eating all types of food and thinking it will allow our body to figure out what should properly be digested is a strong risk to take.

Approximately three percent of the world’s population live an average of eight years longer than the rest. These group of people are also known to have a decreased rate of heart attack, cancer, and other chronic diseases. It is said that the best thing a person could have is their health, so why do these illnesses continue to be our number one killer, and what are these three percent doing differently? The only way to maintain this perfect health most of us dream about is to go vegan, the healthiest lifestyle on the planet.

The United States has an unprecedented record in trying to outrank all others. However, one thing they do not outrank others in is heart disease; though it is the country’s leading cause of death. In 2014, there were approximately 614,348 deaths alone from heart disease (CDC). With heart disease there is also high blood pressure; subsequently, high blood pressure is one of the top contributors of heart diseases. In a recent study, the Japanese reviewed this in over 258 cases and came to the conclusion that a plant-based diet is associated with lower blood pressure (Vegetarian Times 26). All of the vegetables, fruits, and whole grains attribute to the lower blood pressure, as well as to lower accounts of heart disease. Also, since Americans eat surpluses of meat, huge amounts of cholesterol and TMAO come with it. The average American consumes two to three times over the recommended amount of protein

As different crazes and fads are appearing each day, we have come to expect them to simply fade away as the hype passes. However, veganism has stood the test of time in our fad society and is still increasing in popularity. Originally only thought to be a religious lifestyle, many people from different walks of life are becoming vegans. However, this poses many questions and sparks heated debates, mainly from omnivorous people who believe that veganism is against life’s natural order. Vegans, then, argue against an omnivorous lifestyle by bringing up facts about humans’ biological makeup and how humans are, contrary to popular belief, herbivorous by nature, not omnivorous. While both sides present good arguments to some, the veganism lifestyle contains more benefits and less harmful cons than an omnivorous lifestyle.

The difference between a healthy and a dangerous diet rely on the way we decide to do it: