According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than one-third of Americans, about 78.6 million, are obese. One of the main factors causing obesity is a poor diet, particularly the Western diet. This diet is full of saturated fats, processed meats and refined carbohydrates. It is also low in fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. People should give up the Western diet in order to prevent chronic diseases and live longer healthier lives. There are many authors supporting my thesis that say that the Western diet causes many diseases, increases people’s medical need for supplements and vitamins, and can be fatal for people with tumors.
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Example of Western diet food
First, Micheal Pollan, one of Time magazine’s top 100 Most Influential People in 2010, argues in his article “Escape from the Western Diet”, that people should give up the Western diet. Pollan claims that using reductionist science, which focuses on individual groups rather than whole foods, is unavoidable to try to figure out what is wrong with the Western diet. This specific diet, as I mentioned previously, is full of processed meats, saturated fats, and refined carbohydrates, as well as low in fresh fruits, vegetables, and whole grains. Pollan supports his claim by first telling people how people who partake in the Western diet are more prone to a variety of chronic diseases like diabetes, heart diseases, and cancer. Based on this information, it seems like people would rather spend more money in the medical industry, rather than quit their bad eating habits of unhealthy foods to prevent diseases. Pollan claims that the expanding health care industry produces all the supplements and medication, more out of greed than necessity. Then, he says that the most important fact about any food is not its nutrient content but its degree of processing. He claims that people should simply avoid any food that has been processed and it is more of a product of industry than nature. And finally, the author shows that the Western diet food is cheap, easy and fast. He introduces statistics which prove that Americans spend about only 10% of their income on food and spend less or barely half an hour a day preparing them, as well as one hour to consume it all. Pollan’s purpose is to show how bad the effects of Western dieting are, and to introduce a way to escape from them in order to create a healthier society. In order to strengthen his argument, the author uses the percent of income spent on food in countries where the diseases percent is smaller to prove that investment in healthier food is beneficial. This work is significant because he gives a resolution, which is to simply avoid any processed foods and eat the same way as our ancestors did ages ago. It matters because nowadays most of the people suffer from chronic diseases caused by wrong diet.
Fresh and unprocessed foods
Nevertheless, in Derek Yach’s article “Global Chronic Diseases”, the author argues that 50% of all deaths worldwide are caused by chronic diseases. While it is true that the Western diet is bad, the author claims that the whole Western lifestyle is harmful to all human beings. He supports this fact by first presenting causing factors of chronic diseases, which include poor diet as well as tobacco use, and physical inactivity. He also points out a limited health, political, and financial support to prevent those diseases. He goes on arguing that unhealthy choices have become the easy choices. According to the author, consumption patterns caused the chronic diseases globally. The marketing of tobacco products are present everywhere and available all over. Another reason for promoting unhealthy choices is introducing children to fast-food options as well as not making physical activity an important part of their lifestyle. And finally, he introduces shocking data about unhealthy activities happening right now in the world. In China, there are 1 million tobacco-related deaths every year, and 700,000 in India. 20 % of children in the world are smoking now and 10% are obese or overweight. Yach’s purpose is to show that the Western diet is not the only factor contributing to chronic diseases in order to make people realize that tobacco-use and physical inactivity may be even worse and affect the workers’ productivity. In order to strengthen his argument, the author could address more statistics in order to convince everyone that it is a huge global problem. This work is significant because it shows that even though the Western diet is harmful, it is not the only factor causing chronic diseases. He makes people aware of the harmful consequences of the Western lifestyle, caused by tobacco use and physical inactivity. He proves that the Western lifestyle is something everyone should escape from in order to take better care of their health.
Stop smoking !
In order to fight off diseases, people should give up eating refined carbohydrates and saturated fats. Conner Middelmann-Whitney is the author of the article, “A High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet Is Healthier than the Standard Western Diet.” His article emphasizes answering the question, “Is the Western diet making the world sick?” While the previous argument may be true, the author claims that there is a connection between the amount of consumed sugar and cancer, which indicates that diet matters more than other factors. Middelmann-Whitney, who is a nutritionist and health writer, supports this claim by first saying that a diet rich in proteins, and low in carbohydrates may be healthier than Western diet. The author points out that high consumption of sugar and refined carbohydrates could be a factor fueling the world wide cancer epidemic. Then, he shows the results of a study conducted on mice, which showed that glucose fuels the growth of cancer cells. Limiting sugar intake results in lower levels of insulin and blood glucose, which can be beneficial for people with tumors by slowing down or completely stopping tumor’s growth. The results of the study were relevant to mice, as well as humans. And finally, there was another experiment conducted in two groups. The first group was fed with a low-carbohydrate diet and there only 30% of mice ending up with cancer. The second group fed with the Western diet, which is high in carbohydrates, had 70% of cancer cases. Only 1 mouse, from the Western diet group, lived the full lifespan. Middelmann-Whitney’s purpose is to make people realize how bad the effects of Western diet and consuming large amounts of refined sugars are on people. The author shows legitimate results of experiments proving that high intake of carbohydrates can lead to cancer. She also promotes a diet, which is high in proteins, because it is healthier and individuals following this advice have lower chances of getting cancer. In order to strengthen her argument, the author could address the positive results in the fight against obesity by following a diet rich in proteins. This work is significant because it could save many lives and spread awareness about more harmful and serious effects of eating pure sugar and refined carbohydrates.
Foods rich in proteins and healthy carbohydrates
In other words, people should give up the Western diet, because it causes many diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and even cancer. Western dieters eat in a rush, which slows down the digestive system and is unhealthy. People stopped enjoying homemade meals and traded them for quick, easy, and unhealthy options purchased at fast-food restaurants. A big part of the population does not consume enough of the daily servings of vitamins and minerals found in fresh fruits and vegetables. Instead, people buy medically produced supplements in place of healthy dieting. Similarly, Yach agrees with two other authors about the negative effects of the Western diet, he shows that bad lifestyle habits are more significant for people’s health. However, Middelmann-Whitney showed that change from carbohydrates rich diet to low-carbohydrates could be an amazing tool in a fight with cancer and tumors. I hope after reading my arguments, people will realize how important the proper diet is not only for curing the diseases people deal with right now, but also in preventing future diseases. It is easy as eating simple unprocessed foods in order to become a happier and healthier society.
Healthy diet will make you happy and full of energy
Will you take your first step towards healthier life?
Source citation:
Pollan, Michael. Escape from the Western Diet. They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter In Academic Writing With Readings. 2nd Edition. New York: Norton, 2012. 434-441. Print.
Yach, Derek. Global chronic diseases. Science 307.5708 (2005): 317. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
Whitney, Conner Middelmann. A High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet Is Healthier than the Standard Western Diet. Is the Western Diet Making the World Sick? Ed. Susan C. Hunnicutt. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Low-carb, high-protein eating may curb cancer risk." Psychology Today (23 June 2011). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
Pollan, Michael. Escape from the Western Diet. They Say, I Say: The Moves That Matter In Academic Writing With Readings. 2nd Edition. New York: Norton, 2012. 434-441. Print.
Yach, Derek. Global chronic diseases. Science 307.5708 (2005): 317. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
Whitney, Conner Middelmann. A High-Protein, Low-Carb Diet Is Healthier than the Standard Western Diet. Is the Western Diet Making the World Sick? Ed. Susan C. Hunnicutt. Detroit: Greenhaven Press, 2013. At Issue. Rpt. from "Low-carb, high-protein eating may curb cancer risk." Psychology Today (23 June 2011). Opposing Viewpoints in Context. Web. 4 Nov. 2014.
