In a country lacking of cuisine, and a stable dietary routine, Americans constantly are in a state of confusion as to what they should eat. I, like many others, have never known for certainty what is considered healthy to eat. Fruits and vegetables have always been a given to me, but carbohydrates, fats, sugars, etc. leave me unsure and undecided. Carbs are often advertised to athletes like myself as a necessity, but at the same time media criticizes carbs without stop. Throughout this unit I have received answers to many of my questions regarding nutrition, and now it is just about execution, and determining which guidelines I will use to standardize my diet. Reviewing the material covered in this unit, the dietary aspects I want to implement are centered around limiting milk, industrial foods, and overconsumption of any one food.
Milk has always been a questionable notion to me, and by intertwining common sense ideas and obtained information, I have decided it should be a restricted aspect of my diet. My first misconceptions around milk started a few years back, when I heard a comment from my mom, explaining that milk is essentially for feeding cows, who are meant to weigh hundreds of pounds. The fact that I was feeding myself in the same way seemed preposterous to me, yet the media continually propagated that milk was liquid gold. In watching the film Forks Over Knives, my doubts were restated: “At the time [1943], milk was believed to be nature's perfect food. So perfect, in fact, that this U.S. government film from the early 20th century recommended that infants who have just been weaned from their mother's milk should be switched immediately to cow's milk. That was the excitement of doing something, producing nature's perfect food, if you will” (Forks Over Knives). I considered this, and what my mother had said, and it made perfect sense to me that babies drink milk...they, like cows, need to gain weight and grow larger. However, I do not think it is necessary for me to continue these habits when I am not interested in rapidly increasing my weight.
Aside from the weight issue, I debated whether there were any actual benefits to keep me on a diet consisting of milk, and the article “Health Concerns About Dairy Products” helped make up my mind. It explains, “Milk and dairy products are not necessary in the diet and can, in fact, be harmful to health” (Health Concerns About Dairy Products). A plethora of evidence supported this claim, that essentially persuaded me that the health concerns related to milk far outway the advantages.
Cancer is portrayed as an inevitable disease for our communities, yet by simply cutting this small aspect of our diets the rates turn more favorable. Aside from that, the article persists that even fruit juices contain more healthful benefits than milk, which are definitely more tasty to me. All the same, I understand that many common foods contain milk, and can accept that I may consume it every once in awhile, but I can definitely say that I will not consistently drink milk anymore.
Milk has always been a questionable notion to me, and by intertwining common sense ideas and obtained information, I have decided it should be a restricted aspect of my diet. My first misconceptions around milk started a few years back, when I heard a comment from my mom, explaining that milk is essentially for feeding cows, who are meant to weigh hundreds of pounds. The fact that I was feeding myself in the same way seemed preposterous to me, yet the media continually propagated that milk was liquid gold. In watching the film Forks Over Knives, my doubts were restated: “At the time [1943], milk was believed to be nature's perfect food. So perfect, in fact, that this U.S. government film from the early 20th century recommended that infants who have just been weaned from their mother's milk should be switched immediately to cow's milk. That was the excitement of doing something, producing nature's perfect food, if you will” (Forks Over Knives). I considered this, and what my mother had said, and it made perfect sense to me that babies drink milk...they, like cows, need to gain weight and grow larger. However, I do not think it is necessary for me to continue these habits when I am not interested in rapidly increasing my weight.
 |
| One discovery made from Forks Over Knives relating to the health hazards from drinking milk. |
Cancer is portrayed as an inevitable disease for our communities, yet by simply cutting this small aspect of our diets the rates turn more favorable. Aside from that, the article persists that even fruit juices contain more healthful benefits than milk, which are definitely more tasty to me. All the same, I understand that many common foods contain milk, and can accept that I may consume it every once in awhile, but I can definitely say that I will not consistently drink milk anymore.
 |
| A few notable takeaways from the article "Health Concerns About Dairy Products." |
An industrial diet is the common diet of Americans these days, yet I hope that it will not be mine for much longer. After reading Omnivore’s Dilemma and discovering the insane amounts of processed foods we consume, it is impossible to not want to make a change. Michael Pollan writes during his industrial foods investigation, “...Who or what (besides our cars) is going to consume and digest all this freshly fractionated biomass - the sugars and starches, the alcohols and acids, the emulsifiers and stabilizers and viscosity-control agents?” (Pollan 90). The reality of what is digested consistently in our bodies is honestly appalling to me after reading this book. Industrial foods do not even seem like food to me anymore...only greasy, manufactured, processed, fake food. Furthermore, everything that occurs when these poisons pass through the esophagus are known to me now, due to our studies of the digestive system.
 |
| For our Iron Chef lab I got to extract BPA straight from a plastic water bottle. The large amount of BPA within a small piece of plastic went to show how inevitable it is for some BPA to end up in our foods. Similarly, it is inevitable for some unhealthy foods to send up in our systems. |
 |
In our Cellular Respiration lab, ATP was consumed in order to have the energy to do work. For us humans to have energy to do everything we need to do, we need glucose, ATP, and nutrients which are derived from good foods. Not eating enough reduces one's energy stores. |
Constantly referenced from Forks Over Knives, Omnivore’s Dilemma, and when personal trainer Ms. Wagner visited, diet books are not the answer to what one should eat. Food is fuel, and decreasing portion sizes will only leave the body tired and unhealthy. Furthermore, every individual has different nutritional needs, depending on their activeness, community, gender, etc. I have realized that a perfect diet is unachievable, so I am planning to make restrictions to my diet that are reasonable for me. Overall I believe moderate eating is a pivotal standard to follow, to ensure I am not over consuming unhealthy or potentially unhealthy foods. Some foods have an indeterminate effect on the body, and can be approached with caution. Others, such as milk, can be limited even further. Throughout this unit I feel that I have obtained a good consciousness about what is real food, and that is simply what I want to put into my body.
Works Cited:
Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore’s Dilemma. New York: Penguin Group,2006.Print.
Forks Over Knives. Dir. Lee Fulkerson. Prod. John Corry. Monica Beach Media, 2011.
"Health Concerns about Dairy Products." The Physicians Committee. N.p., 26 Jan. 2016. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.
