What is Heathy Eating - Essay Example

College What is Healthy Eating? Food is anything living things consume and is digestible to give energy and nourishment to the body. Healthy eating is a fundamental aspect in today’s world. Eating determines what a person becomes. As it is said, “What you eat is what you become”. Most people feed on everything and anything in the market without taking into consideration the effects that come along with these foods. Therefore, it is very important to eat healthy as there are many benefits related to a healthy diet. Many nutritionists and food experts have come up with ways to give information about healthy eating. Information is widely accessible in form of; books, talk shows, magazines, journals and programs. However, most people are ignorant and only take time to access this information when they are in need, especially in cases where one is sick. This should not be the case as healthy eating should be more of a routine to all for healthy living. People of all ages are to feed healthily. Healthy eating involves a variety of things to consume. Water is one of the major components of good diet. Nutritionists recommend eight to ten glasses of water per day for everyone. Water lacks calories and thus the body does not need to digest it, rather it absorbs and keeps the body clean. It reduces sugar levels and washes off toxics found in the body. We all need water for the body to carry out its metabolic processes and other bodily processes. Other main aspects of healthy foods are vitamins, proteins and carbohydrates. Vitamins mainly include fruits and vegetables. Vegetables contain fiber that makes it easy for the body to digest bulk. Vegetables ought to be included on a daily basis. Examples of essential vegetables include spinach, carrots, lettuce, cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli. Fruits contain most of the vitamins required in the body. People need fruits daily as they too boost digestion of other foods. Examples of fruits include lemons, watermelons, pineapples and mangoes. Proteins are necessary for building the body. Most anorexic people suffer from lack of proteins. Therefore, it is vital for people to ensure there is protein in their diet for growth. Both animals and plants yield protein products. The main proteins recommended by food experts include beef, cheese, eggs, beans, peas, chicken and milk. Carbohydrates are the main source of energy in the body. The consumption of carbohydrates greatly contributes to the general energy amounts in the body. Examples of highly consumed carbohydrates include bread, maize, sugar, rice and pasta. A healthy diet includes three meals a day with water included. Nutritionists recommend a heavy breakfast inclusive of all the main types of food. This is because the body needs energy to run during the day’s activities. A glass of fresh juice or fruits, cereals, bread, needs to be part of people’s morning meal. The mid day meal needs to light to boost energy for the rest of the remaining hours of the day before dinner. Dinner includes foods that provide energy and nourishment and time taken being two to three hours before retiring to bed. Gottlieb, Robert, and Anupama Joshi. Food Justice. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2010. Print. This scholarly book attempts to portray the path that has led to Americans eating fast foods instead of natural wholesome foods that are healthier. Just like most health books and journals, this book focuses on every individual and their eating culture. The book explains why most Americans eat junk and they feel bothered when the junk is not available. Convenience of these fast foods contributes to their wide market and high demand. People claim to be too busy to find time to shop for healthy foods and cook. The book also tells on how farmers who grow the healthy foods lack market as the whole society is turning to the fast food way of eating. The book fits in the topic of healthy eating because people actually know of the healthy foods but choose otherwise. Healthy eating is not common and everyone has the opportunity to make a choice. The book is effective in that the society knows the major reason fast foods are resulting to their suffering from diseases. Herald Publishing Association, Aileen Ludington and Hans Diehl: Health Power; Health by choice not by chance copyright 2000. This is a health-based scholarly book that majors on all areas about one’s health from diseases, food, weight, remedies of diseases through natural means and a healthy mind set. The book aims to reach people of all ages and focuses on sensible living through healthy eating. It widely shows how the lifestyle of most people is the main source of the major diseases. For example in the book, details on cancer show that most people’s eating habits have contributed to their acquiring the killer disease. It discusses nutrition in depth and concludes that eating healthy is the only medicine to healthy living. It offers options on how to control one’s weight. It gives one ideas on how to think positively, and the virtues that contribute to good health. The book gives a wide understanding of the choices one has to make in order to live long and healthy. The book’s several reviews show the positive impact on the readers. Katz, Solomon H, and William W. Weaver. Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. New York: Scribner, 2003. Internet resource. This book is a combination of a lot of health information. The book is an archive source and aimed to help general readers and students studying health and catering. This book has wide information and arrangement of the many topics on health is chronological in alphabetical order. The book gives most recipes on various food types served in America in terms of culture. The exact content of nutrient in each ingredient used as opposed to other recipe books. The book is entertaining as it offers wide photography of the different food types. An order of meals and the recommended eating times is available in the book. The book fits all readers and is an interesting piece. Healthy eating coverage in this book is wide and details analyzed with on facts. The reviews on the book are many therefore offering its rich information to most Americans. Sierszen, Michael E, Gregory S. Peterson, Anett S. Trebitz, John C. Brazner, and Corlis W. West. "Hydrology and Nutrient Effects on Food-Web Structure in Ten Lake Superior Coastal Wetlands." Wetlands. 26.4 (2006): 951-964. Print. This article, which gives a journalist’s view, majors on trade of seafood by residents, who live in areas near the sea and other water bodies. The intended audience is the consumers who feed on these foods often. These people may be the sellers who are the business owners and the buyers. The article gives clear facts on the components of seafood. Mostly, seafood has nutrients compared to other foods grown in other areas. The authors of the article focus on the importance of seafood consumption due to the high nutritional value added to the body. Healthy living involves more of naturally nutritional foods. With this information, the question on healthy eating connects with the article widely. The influence of this article is major and taken positively by both consumers who eat seafood and those who do not are now aware of its great benefits. Simon, Michele. Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back. New York: Nation Books, 2006. Print. This book shows the concerns of most Americans on the many health issues. It comes out as a rhetorical journal as questions raised and discussed in depth. The book intends to educate the Americans who now realize that obesity and other diseases caused by unhealthy eating are rampant. It discusses widely the many unhealthy food industries that have come up such as junk- only shops that contribute to bad health. It also shows what the industry of food is currently offering to the Americans at large. The book creates awareness on the right kind of foods to eat though they are all kinds are available in the market. Clearly, the book fits as a knowledgeable source as people realize the importance of healthy eating. This book is effective in that people know the right kinds of food to buy and feed on. Ullrich, Helen D. Health Maintenance through Food and Nutrition: A Guide to Information Sources. Detroit, Mich: Gale Research Co, 1981. Print. This is a combination of anthropology journals, articles and texts on healthy living. It aims to reach out to every one through its wide coverage on health. Most of the journals and articles in this book have similar information but different views on diets that are right for people. Most of the old age members of the society need to maintain their health through eating the correct types of foods and at the appropriate time. Its audience is the old and those people who need a youth full look for example the celebrities. The information displayed in this book of many articles includes. The merits of using nutrition as a way of maintaining health as opposed to what other experts claim. The book also shows diseases prevented through healthy eating and efforts to make in preventing the illnesses. Due to the many articles and journals presented, most people choose to use the information as it covers many issues in a single volume. Washington: Island Press/Shearwater Books: Ann Vileisis: Kitchen literacy: how we lost knowledge of where food comes from and why we need to get it back, Copyright 2008. As the title of the trade book suggests, the contents of this book aim to create an understanding to the people about where their food comes before cooking it. This intends to reach the ignorant society both the sellers and buyers. The book explains how reluctant people are to find out the sources of their food. Most consumers buy their food from shops and markets without really knowing the many processes the food takes before it gets to them. Consumers fail to think of the possibilities of their food’s pollution for instance toxics during growing especially hormones used to induce farther growth and processing in the factories. This ignorance contributes to illnesses caused by bacteria, which the consumers are unaware of and other negative effects. The diseases may not come up immediately after consumption of these foods but gradual intake leads to these diseases. This book serves as an eye-opener to many as people take more caution before purchasing food. Watson, Ronald R, and Victor R. Preedy. Bioactive Foods in Promoting Health: Fruits and Vegetables. Amsterdam: Academic Press, 2010. Print. This historical book explores the major uses of fruits and vegetables to improving health. This book intends to educate people who have certain ailments due to weak immune systems and get infections easily. The book explains how these vitamins present in the fruits and vegetables help prevent various known diseases. The body needs boosters to protect it and maintain the health of an individual. These boosters come from vegetables and fruits. Bioactive foods hence increase the immunity of individuals. It focuses on the key foods to eat and the amounts required to result in good health where diseases are absent. In this topic on healthy eating, the book encourages maximum consumption of both fruits and vegetables to remain healthy. It encourages feeding on fruits and vegetables like tomatoes, garlic for heart related health issues and carrots. The book is effective due to the major variety of information a reader acquires from it. Winant, Todd, and Steve Akash. Earth Voice Food Choice: Health, Environment, Economy and Human Survival. Venice, CA: TMW Media Group, 2009. This film speaks of earth as the source of people’s food and basic needs. It intends to reach to all people in order to create awareness on its major themes. It shows the importance of eating foods that are healthy for consumption and that add value to the body. It also shows the harmfulness of eating junk and other unhealthy foods that risk the health of the people. It serves as a caution to the people in real life to watch what they eat and avoid foods processed by many chemicals. It brings out the diseases that come up mainly due to unhealthy eating habits. It aims to ensure people protect themselves from harm that comes through illnesses. This film fits the question of healthy eating as it provides basic information required on the same. The movie is effective as it clearly ensures that by the end of it, people are careful of what they eat. www.easyhealthoptions.com/.../the-remarkable-healthpower of antioxidants This is a website on nutrients containing anti oxidants. The main aim of this website is to offer information on the types of foods with the anti oxidants. These foods provide extra energy for the body especially when people involve themselves in strenuous activities. The main audience for this website is people with aggressive occupations. This is because their bodies need cleaning and freshening up every now and then to re-boost them. The website gives example of foods that contain these anti oxidants such as; cabbage, cauliflower and fruits like strawberries, plums. All these help the body to reduce damage of cells. Healthy eating involves bodies with the correct cell count to manufacture the food consumed. This website is readily available for all and easily accessible. Work cited Gottlieb, Robert, and Anupama Joshi. Food Justice. Cambridge, Mass: MIT Press, 2010. Print. Herald Publishing Association, Aileen Ludington and Hans Diehl: Health Power; Health by choice not by chance copyright 2000. Katz, Solomon H, and William W. Weaver. Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. New York: Scribner, 2003. Internet resource. Sierszen, Michael E, Gregory S. Peterson, Anett S. Trebitz, John C. Brazner, and Corlis W. West. "Hydrology and Nutrient Effects on Food-Web Structure in Ten Lake Superior Coastal Wetlands." Wetlands. 26.4 (2006): 951-964. Print. Simon, Michele. Appetite for Profit: How the Food Industry Undermines Our Health and How to Fight Back. New York: Nation Books, 2006. Print Ullrich, Helen D. Health Maintenance through Food and Nutrition: A Guide to Information Sources. Detroit, Mich: Gale Research Co, 1981. Print. Washington: Island Press/Shearwater Books: Ann Vileisis: Kitchen literacy: how we lost knowledge of where food comes from and why we need to get it back, Copyright 2008. Watson, Ronald R, and Victor R. Preedy. Bioactive Foods in Promoting Health: Fruits and Vegetables. Amsterdam: Academic Press, 2010. Print. Winant, Todd, and Steve Akash. Earth Voice Food Choice: Health, Environment, Economy and Human Survival. Venice, CA: TMW Media Group, 2009. www.easyhealthoptions.com/.../the-remarkable-healthpower of antioxidants Read More