Joel Lewinsohn
Instructor: Brenda McKinney
Course #:ED549G
Course name: Happiness Diet
Date: 5/24/2014
Level: 500
Assignment #3
The MAD diet took hold of American culture through a variety of marketing techniques aimed at defaming natural fats, oils, and sugars found in our food with synthesized substance purported to replace the natural products with safer equivalents. While in theory, this may be true, the reality of the situation is that these products contain unnatural substances that the body has no idea how to process. The result is that the body filters these substances into areas such as fat or cholesterol and stores them there. As American culture continues to struggle with weight and heart disease, the population continues to search for alternatives in their food choices. The catch is that they turn to manufacturers for solutions and end up consuming more synthesized substances rather than returning to the natural foods that have sustained life for centuries. To be honest, the part that had the most profound meaning was the fact around the trans fats. I had no idea that “no trans fats” on the label did not necessarily mean there wasn’t some in the food, but it was minimal. It is definitely frustrating to not be able to trust what is on the labels. However, I am beginning to understand what to look for in the foods I select to eat. Along this note, I am disappointed that the studies that seemed so focused on reducing cholesterol could be so flawed. My grandmother died of a rare heart disease, but they had her reduce her cholesterol intake, stop eating cashews, and other foods, but none of it made a difference. I have seen this type of research and craze over and over throughout my life so far. Eggs used to be bad, now they are okay. I am also disappointed that Americans are so easily influenced by all of these so called healthy alternatives, but I have to admit, I haven’t really paid attention until more recently. MSG and high fructose corn syrup were the main ones that I have been paying attention to currently, I have now added trans fat, olestra, and heavily processed foods to my list to avoid. Soda has an interesting history. I was not surprised by the statistic. I know plenty of people that drink a substantial amount of soda pop. My family does not drink much pop, mainly 1
because of the high fructose corn syrup and the devastation to teeth! The egg video was interesting and is one of the reasons that I try to avoid cola products. It’s amazing what that product eats away at calcium. In watching the ABC news brief, it basically confirmed what I already knew about sugar and the causes of weight gain. However, while we don’t drink a lot of pop or juice, I know that there is sugar in plenty more foods that we eat, so this is an area that I need to explore more. Reflecting on why Americans are so easily misled, I believe that advertising and marketing are prime culprits for tweaking the truth just enough that it becomes difficult to sort fact from fiction. When high fructose corn syrup came under fire last year, there was a series of commercials talking about how it is just “corn” and is just fine to eat. I believe that this type of approach has made it extremely difficult for the American public to decipher what is healthy and what is not. For myself, I generally approach research with some skepticism. I know that it is easy to find a study or a statistic to support any theory, so I generally listen to what is being said and see if it resonates with me. The alarming implication of the typical American diet is that we are on a fast track to killing ourselves needlessly. It would be interesting to see if we were to remove all the synthetic manufactured food stuff if it really costs more to manufacture healthy food. I also found it interesting that peasants were malnourished in the sense that they could not always afford, and now with all of these synthesized foods, people in poverty are able to purchase food at reduced costs, yet they are not receiving any nutritional value for their bodies. Additionally, we have staggering rates of autism, mental health, and learning disabilities in our school system. Often the schools with the greatest impact have the lowest socio-economic status as well. Sugar is a substance that is present in numerous foods. Our liver is designed to take available sugar and store it for use by organs. When we are sleeping or haven’t eaten for a while, the liver produces its own sugar in the form of ketones. Ketones are used to support the muscles and other lesser organs, while sugar is saved for the more critical organs. An over supply of sugar, however, causes issues in the liver and ends up often being stored as belly fat which leads to heart disease and other harmful illnesses as a result of imbalance of sugar levels. Today, we eat, on average, 500 more calories a day of sugar that is needed. In fact, if we cut out sugar entirely and only ate more natural foods, we would probably get all the sugar we needed for our body to function well. 2
As usual, the “top 100 reason to avoid processed food” is disturbing at best. I have renewed my effort to read the label and only buy items that I can read and understand what all the ingredients are! Knowing that factory farmed cows are fed euthanized cats and dogs makes me sick. I really have a hard time believing that this is allowable. The red food coloring made from insects and causes food allergies makes sense. I know that red m-n-m’s have been in and out of production. The must do’s for my life and what I can share with students I work with is to promote good quality food for healthy brain development. I am also sharing this with my children to cut out as much sugar as possible. I generally don’t go all out and make my life more complicated with my food choices, but I do believe that by making a few changes and really thinking through some of those choices, I can make a big impact on the healthiness of my body.
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