Why Is Eating Healthy Important - Essay Example

? 14 April The healthy food: This paper is primarily based on contemplating one of the most extraordinarily huge subject which interestingly also holds equally extraordinary amount of importance in the present age. That subject is based on the healthy food which may appear to be very simple and ordinary as the name implies but which in reality, is capable of producing huge consequences in both positive and negative terms. During the last years given a fast and steady increase in the rate of sedentary life style associated diseases, much thought and consideration has been put by researchers, scholars, intellectuals, and physicians in this particular subject. Many efforts have also been made to raise awareness in the public especially in the American public about the benefits of eating healthy food because choosing one’s food from the wide range of food choices available to one today is not any easy task and special thought should be put into the matter of what one should eat and what not. This is because many serious health problems like obesity, blood pressure, and cardiac diseases are directly related to high consumption of junk food which is definitely fraught with fats and very harmful for workers who need more energy to pay attention while at work. “Poisoned by processed food diets, workers suffer from repeated sick days and poor cognitive performance at work (inability to focus, failure to learn, failure to create new ideas, etc.)” (Adams). Knowing this alone that what type of foods could be considered healthy and why choosing such foods is important in life cannot be considered enough, because there is a large percentage of public out there which keeps on consuming unhealthy food despite knowing everything about the harmful consequences in terms of body and health. What is more important is that people should be convinced to consume healthy food and act against the common societal practice in such a way that they would feel literal enjoyment, satisfaction, and confidence in choosing food options which are healthy, harmless, tasteful, and energy-boosting. In his widely acclaimed book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Michael Pollan argues why eating healthy is important and the way he argues about eating healthy always is helpful in convincing the public about the negative consequences of junk food which range from artificial sweeteners and burgers to sugar coated candies and soft drinks. (Pollan) presents his arguments by projecting logic in them and uses appropriate rhetorical devices wherever necessary to make the readers stand by his opinions on what should be considered healthy and what should be absolutely avoided. Just in the introductory part of the book does Pollan ask the readers that what items should be included in their dinners and he asks such a simple question because answering it involves much confusion and chaos. He draws the audiences’ attention towards the unusually high consumption of corn all across the West and particularly America. Now one would think that doing without corn is utterly impossible and it is understandable since the global food industry relies heavily on it. It is a central ingredient in the manufacture of so many fast food items which the American people especially hasten to eat as they are always in such a great hurry running late for work or home. Excessive reliance on fast food is killing the American society literally in terms of chronic cardiovascular diseases like atherosclerosis and the epidemic of obesity in the Western society. Pollan in his book stresses that corn happens to be the most important and vibrant ingredient of the American food industry because of its tendency to give a different flavor to different kinds of foods when used in different ways. Corn even plays an important role in even those foods which apparently seem to have no connection with corn whatsoever which shows that corn is being consumed on an abnormally large level directly or indirectly. That is exactly why it is said that if humans had to become what they ate, 99.99 per cent Americans today would have been corn. Referring towards the health hazards associated with the immense reliance upon corn as a diet, (Pollan) compares the epidemic of obesity in the present age with the alcoholism that had surfaced as a national issue in America two centuries ago. It is identified by (Melius) that fructose consumption accounts for approximately 11% of the calories in the average American diet which is definitely all about eating unhealthy and this been linked to many health conditions including obesity, cardiovascular disease and now liver disease too. All these badly mutilated diet-oriented circumstances clearly reflect that the American diet is killing our children. According to a scientific research led by Bayol et al. about establishing the way pregnancy and lactation relate with junk food diet, it was concluded that children born to mothers who are fed junk food diet both during pregnancy and lactation are at an increased risk of developing exacerbated adiposity. Such exacerbated adiposity which develops in full blown obesity consequently is seen targeting female children more than male children. This is a valuable research to be considered while assessing the harmful consequences produced by junk food and it also potentiates the need to put more thought in analyzing food options so that the health of an individual would not be put at risk of being tarnished by consuming food that is unclean, unhealthy, and low in nutritious value. It is identified in the research that maternal junk food diet which obviously is unhealthy predisposes the newly born human offspring to obesity while same results are also obtained by research done on female rats which upon being fed unhealthy junk food diet fraught with fiber, sugar, and salt gave birth to offspring which were an epitome of exacerbated adiposity and it was also noted in children born to mothers who were fed unhealthy diet rich in sugars, fats, and oils that they had “raised circulating glucose, insulin, triglyceride and/or cholesterol by the end of adolescence” (Bayol et al.). Through out the research study, female children born to mothers who were fed junk food diet were compared against male children and the gene expression analysis of female offspring revealed that adiposity trend is more common in females than in men. Not many significant changes were reported through the gene expression analysis of male offspring while that of female offspring revealed “raised insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1), insulin receptor substrate (IRS)-1, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-A, peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-? (PPAR?), leptin, adiponectin, adipsin, lipoprotein lipase (LPL)” (Bayol et al.). This scientific evidence clearly supports the need to consume healthy food and this should be the way to raise awareness among the Americans especially to avoid relying excessively on fast food options just to save a little time. Such researches should be exposed vividly to the pregnant mothers or who are going through the period of lactation so that they could feel the fear and concern to avoid depending on unhealthy food items for the betterment of their children. As Pollan suggests that processed foods are termed as the signature foods of the contemporary age, research concerning feeding mothers junk food diet seconds that idea and further explains it by claiming that “manufactured foods are often industrially processed and contain high levels of fat, sugar and salt to increase palatability and sales” (Bayol et al.). While efforts are made to increase the taste of such foods by putting as much sugar, fat, and salt in them as possible, nutritional value in terms of vitamins and essential nutrients plummets down on the other hand in equal proportion. Homemade foods are much more wholesome in nutritional value but time is required to make them and in this age of excessive competitiveness, few can afford the luxury of consuming homemade food items day and night and this is exactly where the catch-22 develops. In the article ‘Why is Eating Healthy Important?’, which revolves around discussing the validity of immense benefits of eating wholesome nutritious food, McLaughlin discusses how people are told over and over again to consume healthy food now that science has established the undeniable relationship between obesity and junk food diet. The major benefits offered to human beings by a healthy diet range from emotional wellbeing and healthy weight control to improved immune system and lengthened longevity. “Healthy diets are often geared toward weight management, prevention or management of illness, improved energy or sleep habits or toward maintaining current levels of health” (McLaughlin). This shows that eating healthy is important because such a habit is in itself a disease preventing strategy. Eating healthy is important because it aids one in staying away from diseases which otherwise can effectually incapacitate one by building many holes in one’s defense mechanisms. According to McLaughlin, people are tried to be convinced on eating healthy but they do not often know what makes a healthy diet because everything which is promised to be healthy by the sales agencies might actually be devastating for health. The real healthy diet is one which is capable of satisfying both ends of the spectrum which are palatability and nutrition. Physical activity is another essential feature of a healthy dietary lifestyle which unfortunately receives the most neglect. The US Department of Health and Human Services has repeatedly stressed on including exercise in the product of a healthy dietary lifestyle while according to the healthy diet criteria introduced by the University of Maryland Medical Center, such a balanced dietary plan should contain dairy products, spinach, meat, poultry, lentils, beans, fish, eggs, fruits, vegetables, and healthy oils like olive oil. A healthy diet should undoubtedly be essentially based on “an array of nutrient-dense foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, lean protein and modest amounts of healthy fat” (McLaughlin). A news report by BBC concerning how mother’s junk food can harm a child is another proof of the result introduced by research led by Bayol et al. According to this piece of news (BBC), eating a poor diet having low nutritional value during pregnancy or breastfeeding can produce long-term harmful consequences for body and mind of the offspring. This BBC news report mirrors the research published in the Journal of Physiology and which is already discussed at length in this paper. The element of fat gathering around the major organs means exacerbated adiposity leads to the development of central obesity which can subject an individual prone to consuming fast food to type II diabetes. It is also identified that the craving for junk food is just as inherited as is the craving for alcohol and drugs in children born to alcoholics and substance abusers. “We always say: 'You are what you eat', but in fact it may also be true that you are what your mother ate” (Bayol, cited in BBC). It is not very difficult to wrap one’s head around why the epidemic of childhood obesity has skyrocketed over the last few years in America because the proportion of junk food included in an average American person’s diet plan is quite astonishing and the consequences produced thus are surely appalling. “According to a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, one-third of the U.S. diet consists of junk food” (The Real Truth). A person can be judged a lot by assessing the way he/she eats and how much thought he/she puts in considering and evaluating his/her food options. Health implications of unhealthy diet consumption other than obesity and atherosclerosis include fat accumulation which can lead to airway blockage. In other words, a child can literally choke by fat accumulating inside their airway passages which is not something very unlikely since according to a pediatrician serving at the Royal London Hospital, four children were being treated for apnea which is caused when fat accumulates in the airway and produces sleep disorders consequently (The Real Truth). What kind of solid energy or significant vitality can be expected to be provided to humans by making them slaves to processed food which as mentioned already, form signature foods of the modern times? Absolutely none. On the other hand, eating healthy food is important because it boosts the immune system and provides that energy which is needed by a person to function properly in these times of fierce competitiveness and tiring long work hours. Soft drink and artificial sweeteners are reportedly exposing millions of Americans to high blood pressure. Eating healthy is important also because in addition to clinical disorders produced otherwise by eating unhealthy, mental disorders like depression are also fomented in children by excessive reliance on junk food diet. In contrast to children consuming fresh fruits and vegetables, beans and modest amounts of fresh meat, researchers claim that “those who regularly eat high-fat foods, processed meals, desserts and sweets are almost 60 per cent more likely to suffer depression” (Hope). Other effective measures like exercise should also be considered but it is the diet actually which is now taking a totally independent role in influencing an individual’s lifestyle according to Dr. Brunner who is a researcher at University College London (cited in Hope). Eating healthy is equally important for both children and adults because in another study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry observing adult males and females, it was revealed that “those with the highest consumption of processed food were 58 per cent more likely to be depressed five years later than those eating the least amount” (Hope). Concluding, one thing is worth mentioning that what a person eats does not influence him/her alone but can also affect the children phenomenally and this is why mothers should be especially conscious when it comes to choosing their options from the vast range of food that is available today in the grocery stores and fast food restaurants. It is also an undeniable reality that both pregnancy and breastfeeding phases are extremely critical periods during which special emphasis should be laid on consuming a diet which would go in accordance with the standard dietary plans as issued by the US Department of Health and Human Services. Just the balance which is highly needed to operate in a healthy way on day-to-day basis is overturned aggressively by unhealthy food consumption and people may go doing so even without being aware of what wreck is caused by unhealthy food inside their bodies. Loss of vitamins and essential proteins produce devastating consequences in the long-term because these are the nutrients that maintain immunity and strengthen it in addition to adding vigor and color to skin. There is so much to choose from in the present age that one is left utterly confused about one’s food options and in this bizarre confusion, one makes the mistake of choosing wrong which ends up in unhealthy food consumption. Scientific evidence shows that sedentary lifestyle leads to consuming junk food diet which in turn is directly related with health problems like obesity. As junk food consumption is skyrocketing presently, the epidemic of obesity and related disorders is also on an equally devastating rise. People should be convinced with the help of logical arguments instead of just telling them about the simple do’s and don’ts. Works cited: Adams, Mike. Nutrition Can Save America! Natural News. 2012. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. Bayol, S.A., Simbi, B.H., Bertrand, J.A., and Stickland, N.C. “Offspring from mothers fed a ‘junk food' diet in pregnancy and lactation exhibit exacerbated adiposity that is more pronounced in females.” The Journal of Physiology 586 (2008): 3219-3230. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. BBC. “Mother's junk food 'harms child'.” BBC NEWS. 30 Jun. 2008. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. Hope, Jenny. “How junk food diet 'can give you depression'” Mail Online. 02 Nov. 2009. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. McLaughlin, August. “WHY IS EATING HEALTHY IMPORTANT?” 03 May. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. Melius, Aaron. “High Fructose Corn Syrup Causes Obesity & Liver Disease in Children.” 29 Oct. 2010. Web. 14 April. 2012. Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. USA: Penguin Press, 2006. Print. The Real Truth. “Eating Yourself to Death: The Junk Food Epidemic.” 10 Jul. 2004. Web. 14 Apr. 2012. Read More