How Important Is Nutrition In America

The traditional American diet was simple, it was homemade, it was composed primarily of minimally refined ingredients, it was low in added sugars and fats, with the fats coming primarily from animal sources, and required effort to produce, by comparison, the contemporary American diet is much more diverse it's composed a lot of “palatable” sometimes artificial materials, its commercially engineered and sold, it's composed of refined ingredients, it's high in added sugars and fats with the fat coming primarily from seed oils, and requires minimal effort to procure(Pillsbury). At the same time as modern medicine is conquered the leading killers of the 19 century such as infectious diseases modern culture has created a whole new set of epidemics that we must now cure.

We could institute a national, comprehensive program that would make us a world leader in preventing chronic or “lifestyle” diseases, which for the first time in history kill more people than communicable ones. By doing so, we’d not only repair some of the damage we have caused by first inventing and then exporting the Standard American diet, we’d also set a new standard for the rest of the world to follow (Bittman 299).

Pollan defines the American problem as “unhealthy people obsessed by the idea of eating healthily.” (Pg. 3) The vast majority of consumers in our society are ones that envision themselves as striving towards a healthy lifestyle, yet many of these consumers don’t realize that in their attempts at eating healthy they are on a slow decline. A large sum of the population garners their information on which foods to eat from their daily news sources, trying new fad diets and picking up any food that Buzzfeed or the Huffington Post tells them will better their health (Pg. 1). This behavior in turn leaves those desperate for a slimmer and healthier bodies utterly confused and desolate.

The overall health of the nation should concern every American within the United States. The populous has acquired a bad habit of turning to convenience foods because of availability, taste and comfort. Thus to re-direct the health of the nation, people need to stop crippling their health by convenience foods and replace it with healthy, natural choices, otherwise the health of all will continue to decline.

The United States health care system ranks 37th in the world. Statistically, it’s bizarre how United States is amongst one of the most advanced nations in the world and the fact that it spends more on its healthcare

In Michael Pollan’s essay, “The American Paradox”, Pollan argues that American’s hold falsified ideas if one is more focused on nutrition. Americans have too much going on in their head with trying to be healthy, that they do not actually become healthy. The notion that “a notably unhealthy population preoccupied with nutrition and the idea of eating healthy” (Pollan 268) is what Pollan defines as the “American paradox”. The amount of time spent focusing on healthy eating habits decreases the joy one contains. Pollan identifies many issues that contribute to what is wrong with the way Americans think about eating today. For instance, we spend too much time and money trying to be healthy, we have strayed away from the past as new inventions occurred and last being we listen to “flawed science”. Despite the fact that many may say they see positive results from focusing on nutrition and health, Americans actually receive negative outcomes from nutrition and health.

The problem with food production in America is the mistreatment of livestock, the overproduction of corn in America, and the amount of corn feeded to the animals ; these issues affect consumers’ health because of the amount of diabetes has been increasing over years. Michael Pollan in "When a Crop Becomes King” he explains that the government pays for corn to be grown a lot more then it should be ,David Barboza in the article “If You Pitch it , They will Eat It” the way companies just want to get into kids mind by tricking them into telling their parents to buy them unhealthy food just for the toy it comes with, In “Pleasures of Eating,” Wendell Berry most of the people just rather be eating out then making food. There is uncertainty about the way food is produce because we cannot control people on what they

Journalist and novelist Michael Pollan writes about the trials and tribulations surrounding food in North America and raises questions regarding Western diet, which is mostly comprised of refined sugar and high fructose corn syrup and corn in general. He reiterates that chemically generated food is creating disease in North Americans; If we eliminate these factors and adopt the eating habits of less industrialized places in the world will we in our lifetime see rates of heart disease, type two diabetes and obesity decline dramatically? The western diet has evolved drastically in the last sixty years, so much so that people have become codependent on the government, dietitians and food agencies regarding their health and what to consume. The land is suffering from pesticides and singular plant farming, the alternative to this is to buy organic but at a higher price. Media has influenced the consumer to read the label and accept and trust the daily vitamin percentages on the box, as this is what is best for them. Money is the key factor in all of this and the government, scientific research and media know that, therefor the public is in for a shock when they realize that the very labels that are supposed to save them have fooled them.

One of the most unhealthy diets in the world is that of an American. It is made up of processed foods and a good amount of television. America easily has the most fast food restaurants in the entire world. Leave it to McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Burger King or any other fast-food restaurant to serve extremely cheap and even unhealthier food at any time during the day or night. ”It tastes good so why not?” That seems to be the question many people are asking now-a-days. Because it is so easily accessible and processed, it is made to be very tasty and extremely unhealthy. Many Americans find his or herself indulging on the these fatty foods of America on a day-to-day basis. While it may taste good at the time, it has a terrible effect on your body

It is no secret that healthcare spending in the U.S. is spiraling out of control. According to the Commonwealth Fund, The U.S. spends an “average of $9,086 per person annually, and life expectancy was 78.8 years.” (The Commonwealth Fund, 2015). While 78 years may seem like an excellent life span, it pales in comparison to other developed countries.

Many people in America believe that we should eat healthier foods. However, a large portion of the advertising created for food in America is focused on unhealthy foods and products, many of which are nutritionally poor and easily accessible to much of the population. This results in a contradictory ideal towards improvement of health, where individuals will constantly eat unhealthy foods and struggle to lose the weight that they will knowingly gain. If people in the modern American society were to focus more on consuming organic foods and products, people would be healthier, reducing high medical costs and improving the overall well-being of Americans. The benefits of organic foods should also be introduced to children in schools so they

Health in the U.S. is a big problem. The biggest problem in the U.S. is eating healthy foods.Most people in the U.S never pay attention to foods. They just eat what seems good they never know what the food will do to your body in the inside. For example if you eat too many greasy you will have a chance of getting pancreatitis. Pancreatitis is when the body has to much greasy and you can no longer digest food properly thought the stomach. Then that results in a chance of getting pancreatitis cancer or you might get diabetes type 2.("Pancreatitis Causes, Symptoms, Treatments, Tests." WebMD. WebMD. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. .). Ever body should now how to eat healthy or you might get pancreatitis and that will ruin your life forever.Every single person should eat healthy.

People who regularly eat this way have more than just food in common. In fact, most people who constantly eat the previously mentioned American diet, suffer from some sort of physical, mental, or emotional illness, whether it be chronic headaches, poor gut health, obesity, diabetes, asthma, chronic fatigue, ADHD, anxiety, or any of the other thousands of health problems. Many people suffering from these illnesses are led to believe that there is no direct cure and that they will just have to cope with their illness. However, what most of those people do not realize is that many of the diseases they are plagued with are often caused by the chemicals that make up their food. Even if the chemicals do

The age old saying, “You are what you eat” still rings true today. Fresh fruit and vegetables have been replaced by french-fries and hamburgers. Children today do not know how to eat healthy. We, as a nation, spend hours and hours bombarding children with fast food commercials, sugary cereal commercials and cavity causing drink commercials. We than spend a fraction of that time telling kids these things are healthy only in moderation.

When something is detrimental to our health, we strive to avoid it whenever possible to extend our lives. We know that exposure to known cancer causing agents such as asbestos and lead paint is harmful; therefore, we do not expose ourselves to the risk and we certainly do not eat it. This seems simple; however, what do we do when that harmful vice is food? We cannot stop eating; instead, we must closely examine what we are putting into our bodies. When faced with the choice of a burger or grilled vegetables, most would choose the burger. These choices have lead us down a path littered with food related diseases, illnesses and rising healthcare costs. The state of Americans health is declining due to increasing obesity, diabetes and