Nutrition- How do we eat for a healthy life - Research Paper Example

How We Eat for a Healthy Life Nutrition is the study that deals with food and nourishment particularly in humans. Nutrition is a source of food materials that the cells of an organism need to stay alive. The science of nutrition is the study of food components on the absorption, digestion, health, routine and disease resistance of humans. Nutritional science studies how the body breaks food down, repairs and generates new cells.Brief history of nutritionAccording to Hippocrates’ one nutrient theory, everybody is the same regardless what they have been eating.

According to this theory, every food must contain one nutrient that defines us. Antoine Lavoisier is known as the father of nutrition because he designed a calorimeter in 1770 that measures heat production by the body after consuming different foods. In 1858, Eijkman a known physician noticed people in java had Beriberi, years later Fredrick Hopkins and Eijkman they noticed Beriberi was cured by vitamin B1. Dr. William Beaumont, the father of gastric physiology discovered that digestion occurs because digestive juices act on different foods at different times.

Between 1884 and 1967, Kazimierz a biochemist mistakenly discovered animes and invented the term vitamins (vital animes). The dietary and Supplement Health and Education Act was approved in 1994 and it set standards for what can and cannot be said about nutritional supplements in the year 2000. In 2005, researchers discovered that adenovirus causes obesity and bad nutrition. The USDA’s focus was on research, discovery, financing agricultural exploration and hiring botanists to conduct research on agriculture in the US.

In 1900s, USDA shifted its focus to food inspection. The Pure Food and Drug Act enforced milk pasteurization, inspection of food systems, and meat inspection for foods sold by interstate commerce. The department of health and human services (HHS) took charge of Social Security Administration, agencies of Public Health Service and Family Support Administration in 1979. HHS is under the Secretary of Health in America. The Public Health Service (PHS) is the core division of HHS. The concept of National School Lunch program was in New York City around 1853.

The organization provided free lunches to children in local industrial schools. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is an American organization of food and nutrition. A group of women formed it in 1917. The original mission was to help make maximum use of America’s food resources. In 1973, the academy created a National Nutritional Week with the aim of assisting individuals to invest in nutrition.My plate vs healthy eating plateHealthy eating plate encourages consumers to choose whole grains and limit refined grains because whole grains are better for health.

Too much of refined grains make it harder to control weight. Healthy eating plates also encourage consumers to choose fish, poultry, nuts, and beans as their source of proteins and limit red meat. Healthy eating plate encourages intake of variety of vegetables except for potatoes and French fries. It also puts fruits beneath vegetables since fruits are very important on a daily meal. A healthy eating plate encourages drinking water and limits intake of sugary drinks. On the other hand, my plate: discourages consumers from taking whole grains, the protein section offers no indication that some high protein foods are healthier than others, it does not differentiate potatoes and other vegetables, it puts fruits on top of vegetables, recommends dairy at every meal and has no advise on sugary drinks.

Food DesertsA food desert is an area in town where it is hard to buy affordable, good quality and fresh food. The inaccessibility of good quality and fresh farm produce may result from long distances from farms that produce the food. Affordability issues arise from the comparatively high demand and low supply of agricultural produce in urban areas than in rural areas. Hunger and highest rates of obesity in AmericaAbnormal eating habits like binge biting result into obesity. Low income and food insecure people are vulnerable to obesity.

Additional risk factors include poverty, which limits access to resources, healthy affordable foods, and physical activities. Households with limited resources to buy food often stretch their food budgets by purchasing cheap and energy dense foods. They maximize their calories per dollar in order to stave off hunger. Those with food insecurity may overeat when food is available which can result into obesity. Low-income people often restrict their food intake to protect their children from hunger.

Society and unhealthy eating habitsIn a society that values thinness, everyone is keen about maintaining good body weight. People in this society will aim to maintain being thin because it is a fashion. Obese persons experience stigma from other people in the society. On the other hand, a society that values fat individuals makes the rest of the community to engage in eating habits that will increase weight. In the end most of the people develop obesity. Culture of a society can perpetuate unhealthy eating habits in that some cultures cook food with no keen interest on contents of balancing the diets while others are keen on components of diets.

Those with poor cooking habits result into unhealthy habits. Diets and dieting in relation to a healthy weightDiets and dieting are the best way to maintain a healthy diet. Healthy diets offer the body energy and nutrition benefits for example reduce the risk for stroke and diabetes and protect the body against cancers. Advantages of nutrients include low cholesterol in vegetables; vitamins are present, fiber in diet that helps in digestion, folic acid that helps in forming red blood cells. Dieting is the best way to maintain a healthy weight because it involves natural process that ensures the body is fit and healthy.

ConclusionIn conclusion, most Americans develop health issues because of lack of education on nutrition. They ignore common advice on health and practice poor health life style like smoking, overdrinking, and intake of poor diets. Poverty also contributes to bad nutrition in that most Americans lack enough funds to purchase balanced diet, get nutritional education, and seek nutritional advice from hospitals. People only become aware of their nutritional status in case of a disease or obesity, this is the only time an individual seeks help.

Work citedAbramsky, Sasha. Breadline USA: The Hidden Scandal of American Hunger and How to Fix It. Sausalito, CA: PoliPointPress; 2009. Print.Top of FormBottom of Form"American Society for Nutrition." American Society for Nutrition. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. .Top of FormBottom of Form"Nutrition." TheFreeDictionary.com. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. .Top of FormBottom of Form"USDA Defines Food Deserts | American Nutrition Association." USDA Defines Food Deserts | American Nutrition Association. Web. 11 Feb. 2015. .