Consumption of Low Glycemic Index Carbohydrates in the Diet - Essay Example

"Consumption of Low Glycemic Index Carbohydrates in the Diet" is a perfect example of a paper on food and nutrition. The main message in this documentary is how unhealthy eating habits coupled with government subsidies and the food industry's marketing strategies are contributing to the increasing number of obesity cases in the United States of America. From the documentary, three facts that are very disturbing clearly come out. The first one is the number of Americans that are obese or overweight (Jennings 4). From the statistics given in the documentary, almost two-thirds of Americans are overweight and a third obese. The second fact is the number of food advertisements that the normal American child is exposed to. According to the documentary, the normal child sees over 10000 food adverts annually (Jennings 4). The third fact that is noticeable from the video is the number of new unhealthy food products that come up every year. Moreover, the statistics on the number of subsidies that the government gives to the agricultural sector and the possible outcome of that is also disturbing.

The amount of government subsidies to the farmers is very strange and disturbing. From the documentary, it is clear that the US government is extending subsidies to food items that may be having a negative impact on the health of the American citizens. Even though the government began to give subsidies to farmers in the 1930s to save them from financial downfall, continuing to give the subsidies to this single portion of the food industry is causing more harm than good. Most of these subsidies are being given to the corn and soya bean farmers. These two products are the ones that are used to make fats and oils. Therefore, when the government subsidizes their production, it means that the food manufacturers get them at the lower process and they can, therefore, use them to sweeten virtually all kinds of foodstuffs. This action by the government to subsidize the production of items that encourages the citizens to eat least is very contradictory. I believe that instead of lowering the production cost of cones and soya beans, the government should impose some form of taxes on them so as they are not easily available at low prices. This way, the unhealthy products that are sweetened by items fats and oil from corn would not be available to the citizens easily and cheaply. There is no way that the government can subsidize products in the food pyramid that it wants citizens to consume less. On the other hand, it should subsidize the production of natural fruits and vegetable that promotes good health.

PART II

All calories that are in the foods that are consumed by human beings are not the same. This is contrary to the common perception among many nutritionists and health and fitness specialists who have over the years believed that all calories are equal. Studies have indicated that calories in a low carbohydrate diet, low-fat diet, and a low - glycemic diet burn differently. That is due to the fact that the three are not equal (Mooney 2)

Studying the human subject’s diet is not easy in the general population. The main reason for this is due to the fact that in a general human population, controlling what is eaten by the population that is involved in the study is difficult (CBS 5). This is because diet choices in the general population are a personal choice making it hard to control what individuals eat. This moreover makes it difficult to attribute increasing cases of obesity and sugar-related diseases to increased sugar consumption. People have different diets and eat different kinds of food in addition to living diverse kinds of lifestyles. It is therefore not easy to conclude that the cause of increased cases of obesity and other sugar-related illnesses is a result of increased sugar intake.

From the information accessed, the authors promote the consumption of low glycemic index carbohydrates in the diet. This diet that is suggested does not eliminate all classes of food and is easy to follow. It is majorly made up of vegetables and other fruits. This, therefore, makes it sustainable.