2) Relate technological advancements in medicine and food production to the advancement of the science of human nutrition. The more we find out about the human body breaks down the food we consume, increases our knowledge on improving nutritional requirements of food. With advancements in Biotechnology we can Genetically engineer food that has a higher nutritional density. Such as Golden Rice with has an increased amount of Vitamin A to combat Vitamin A deficiency in developing countries.
3) Explain the impact that the food industry has on human food choices and the subsequent relationship to health and disease at the individual, societal, and environmental level. The food industry has a large impact on the food choices we make, food choices are often made by the claims made on the label, which may or may not be true. Knowing what you are eating, and understanding the claims made on food products can prevent many health risks. Making informed decisions on what you eat is key to being nutritionally rounded. Social pressures have impact on health and disease in that misinformation can spread, such as how there was a big concern about growth hormones being used in chickens. Packages started to make the claim they they used no growth hormones in there chicken even though such practice is outlawed by the FDA. Choice of food can be affected by the environment as well, droughts and pests can affect the growth of certain foods and create shortages of particular items. Forcing the consumer to find alternate food choices, some of which may not be as healthy.
4)Provide examples of past and present nutrient and diet trends in modern society and the positive and/or negative implications on human health and the earth’s resources. In the past a large food trend consisted of very low fat consumption. The downsides of this were that if the body was depleted of fat stores it could lead to heart problems. Current food trends consist of very misguided veiws on GMO's, where only healthy choices are those that are not genetically modified. This affects our natural resources in that Genetically modified foods can be grown using less resources, decreasing the impact growing crops has on our land.
5) Provide examples of positive and negative interactions of humankind with microorganisms regarding sickness, health and food production. A positive example of microorganisms in human health has to do with dietary function. Pro-biotics help digestion of foods, and help regulate bowel movements. Microorganisms can have a negative impact on health as well, such as Listeria outbreaks. Listeria is a bacteria that causes sickness and even death. It can show up on food, many fruit and vegetable based, due to cross contamination and poor hygienic practices.
6) Address diet and nutrient issues and concerns for weight control, disease prevention, physical activity, food availability, and biotechnology. Many foods that you see in the market contain false claims, saying things such as loose weight if eaten at every meal, or gain energy by eating this miracle fruit. These are marketed towards the general population who fail to research their food properly. While many of these items aid in the loss of weight or provide energy in the form of sugar they are not a cure all. The use of biotechnology to aid the increasing need in food availability is becoming more commonplace. This comes as a great concern to many who feel that unethical practices are being used in modification of these foods, but as more research become available the more apparent it becomes that modified food poses not health risk.
The documentary that I chose was titled Fat Sick and Nearly Dead by Joe Cross and Kurt Engfehr. When I was looking at the list of books or documentaries that I could choose from some were immediately tossed from the list. Choices such as SuperSize Me and The Jungle were tossed because I was so familiar with them already due to projects in high school. Others such as Food Inc and SuperSize me were incredibly one sided and biased and were not soundly supported by scientific facts., citing many inaccuracies in the films. When I was looking at the summaries for some of the book I was not interested, and I was also familiar with many of them because my dad is a nutritional supplement formulator and needs to be informed on the newest diet trends.
When I happened upon this documentary I was intrigued by it premise. It follows a man by the name of Joe Cross, who suffers from a rare autoimmune disease. At only 41 years of age he is dangerously overweight, consuming a plethora of pills to keep him functioning. Joe is fat, weighing more than 100 extra pounds than necessary, he is sick suffering from the complications of the extra fat and his disease, and if he continues this road he will die prematurely. He decides that to live longer he needs to change his habits. The route he takes for improving his health status involves weaning himself off his meds and changing his diet.
He starts off with a juice fast that will last for 60 days. He makes all his juices fresh, many of them contain, kale, apples, carrots and broccoli. He states that juicing is a much easier way to consume vegetables because the amount of vegetables that you would need to consume to equal what is in a juice drink would be very difficult to eat. While he is on his fast he decides to travel America, Joe is from Australia and visits America often for his work. While in America he wants to interview as many people as he can to understand why there is such a high obesity epidemic, both in America and Australia. Many of the people that he interviewed knew the risks of obesity but they would rather enjoy life with food, what was left of it, rather than change their diet.
On his travels, he meets a woman by the name of Siong Norte who agrees to partake in a 10-day juicing fast to help her with her migraines. For the first couple of days she struggled, but as the days continued she noticed a difference on the frequency and intensity of her migraines. It really helped her with realizing how much diet affects the health of your body.
Another individual he met was Phil Staples, who has the exact same rare autoimmune disease as Joe. He is a truck driver who is similar in age, but also carries 350+ pounds, more than 100 extra pounds than when Joe first started his diet. Joe agrees to help Phil lose weight with a juice cleanse and a lifestyle change. His regimen includes a 60-juice diet, exercise and checkups with doctors to monitor his health. In the first ten days Phil lost 10 pounds, and by day 30 he had lost 60 pounds.
After six months of starting his fast Joe lost 90 pounds, he is healthier, has more energy and has greatly extended his life expectancy. He now makes more conscious choices about the food that he eats. He is now excited to eat fruits and vegetables, and does not dread trips to the gym. Phil has now done another 30 day fast for h total of 60 days, dropping a total of 91 pounds. His health is increasing while his weight increases. He is now helping community by educating them on the importance of fresh fruits and vegetables, and loaning juicers to residents who agree to a 7 day fast.
Even though the juice fast was key in helping Joe lose weight, Phil states that it was only the beginning. A healthy lifestyle is maintained by the choices you make. Making smart meal choices, exercising and being smart about what you do to your body, and what you put into it. Both Phil and Siong felt a difference in their health. Siong’s migraines have significantly decreased, she feels healthier and more vibrant and makes conscious choices about her health. Phil has continued to lose weight, after 10 months he has lost 220 pounds, and has inspired his brother to change his habits. He has quit his job as a truck driver and now educates his community on making health conscious choices and reaching their health and weight loss goals.
Joe Cross did not always have a weight problem, when he was in high school he was very active, when he graduated he became a very successful broker at an investment firm. He contributes his weight gain to his mixed-up priorities. He focused so much on work where he made truckloads of money, and according to him money comes food. He began to eat and put on the pounds. He does not have a nutritional background, he gained his information about health and nutrition from the many doctors and dietary nutritionists that he interviewed.
This documentary was released in the year 2010. Even though the film is 7 years old many of the principles that it teaches are applicable today. He stated many times that Americans food intake percentages are extreme, and on average most Americans diets contain only 5% of vegetables, while the bulk of their diets consist of carbs and protein. This is still true today. Current diet trends in the United States still consist of high intakes of protein, grain, sugar, and sodium, and significantly lower intakes of fruits and vegetables. Showing that many Americans do not have well rounded diets and do not make healthy dietary choices.
In his documentary, Joe Cross focuses on the importance of increasing your intake of micronutrients, which are found in vegetables and fruits. According to MyPlate recommendations one half of your plate for every meal should consist of fruits and vegetables. In his diet, Joe Cross consumes 100% of his meals as vegetables. This gives him elevated levels of macronutrients in which he says is what helps the body repair itself. Which when you look at which macronutrients support the immune system function you will find that many of them are found in fruits and vegetables. Such as Vitamin A which helps support white blood cells and eye tissue, can be found in sweet potatoes, carrots, mango, spinach and many more fruits and vegetables.
Joe Cross stated many times that the key to staying fit and losing weight is through behavior modification. While you can diet and exercise to lose weight, if you don’t apply those changes to a healthier life, you are at an increased rate of gaining the weight back. One way that we can modify or eating habits is to become aware of what we are eating. By following portion sizes, nutrient density and paying attention to when your body is hungry, you can easily stay on track to a healthier life.
Several things I learned from this documentary were how juicing can make eating your daily fruits and vegetables easier. As much as I love fruits and vegetables it is hard for me to eat the required amount. When how many vegetables were on Joe Cross’ plate I was impressed. For every juice drink, he could cram a plethora of fruits and vegetables in it, and with no added sugar it seems to be the ideal way to consume raw, nutrient dense fruits and vegetables. simple
Another thing I learned was how simple the changes he made could be. It did not involve expensive pills, expensive subscriptions or an extremely rigorous exercise routine. In the beginning, he just changed his eating habits. Even though the method was extreme, 60 straight days of juicing, it began with steps, not leaps in the right direction. When beginning a lifestyle change baby steps are very critical. You don’t just go to the gym and start off lifting 50 pound weights, you start strong and build up the muscle. I think the reason many diets fail is because people start off too extreme and become too overwhelmed. Making them feel like they cannot overcome their tasks because they bit off more than they could chew. I think in my life I will take baby steps, this way I can build myself up and stick to a program instead of becoming too overwhelmed at the beginning.
I really enjoyed this documentary, to me it was very real. Even though Joe Cross’s family knew he needed help it wasn’t until he decided that he needed help to enact change. Which it true, you can’t help someone who doesn’t think they are broken. I also really enjoyed that he did not call his diet a cure all. He stated that it was the beginning of a healthy lifestyle not the miracle cure. Which can be so misleading. As me and my Dad discuss new diet trends as he finds them they claim to be the fix all with one change, or a miracle cure fruit or vegetable. Therefore, they are trends, and will continue to be because you can’t change one thing, you must change every part of yourself.
References
"About Joe Cross, Founder." Reboot with Joe. Reboot with Joe, 30 Dec. 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.
"Chapter 2 Shifts Needed to Align with Healthy Eating Patterns." Current Eating Patterns in the United States - 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines. N.p., 25 Nov. 2015. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.
Cross, Joe. "About Fat Sick & Nearly Dead." About the Film | Fat Sick & Nearly Dead. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.
Fat Sick & Nearly Dead. Dir. Kurt Engfehr. Perf. Joe Cross, Phil Staples, Siong Norte. N.p., n.d. Web.
"Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (2010)." IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 21 Apr. 2017.
Wardlaw, Gordon M., Anne M. Smith, and Angela Collene. Contemporary nutrition: a functional approach. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Education, 2015. Print.
1) Make connections between what you studied in this nutrition course with what you’ve learned in other courses at SLCC or before. Make specific references to your work in this class and in the other courses. How did what you learn in the other courses enhance what you learned in nutrition, and vice versa? I have been familiar with nutrition, but I never really knew the depth that good nutrition has on every part of your body. As I studied every aspect of the body from the nervous system to the immune I learned just how important getting all your vitamins is. I also studied the many life stages and how nutrition should change to meet the different needs. Such as a pregnant woman needs a higher iron intake because the fetus in the third trimester will deplete her stores. I have never gone into this much depth regarding nutrition, it has really helped me make better food choices.
2) Reflect on how you thought about nutrition before you took this course and how you think about it now that the course is over. Have any of your assumptions or understandings changed? Why? What assignments/activities/readings were influential in this process? How will you approach nutrition differently in the future? I have changed many of my food choices due to this class. I often thought that what you eat had an affect on your body, I just never knew how critical those choices could be. You body will try to find nutrition in everything you eat, if it doesn't get the proper nutrition it will cut corners and use it stores resulting in decreased health. On the other side of the scale if you take in to much you body can dispose of some, as with protein it gets converted into fat and stored within the body. I now make very conscious food choices, but as a college student I felt that I could not eat as healthy because of the cost. Which is why the $10 challenge was so informative. The $10 challenge consisted of buying $10 worth of healthy groceries to see how far you could stretch your buck. I was amazed at how much food I was able to purchase. This will help me make better choices in the future because I know if I shop smartly I can eat healthy and continue on my journey to a healthier lifestyle.
