Jillian Herman

Health 1020 Signature Assignment: Nutrition Perspectives

(answers in bold)

Demonstrate knowledge of human nutritional needs and the role of nutrition in improving
individual health and the societal economic impact of food choices.

Humans need a wide variety of nutrients in order to have a healthy functional body. I think
the more people know about nutrition, the better they can care for themselves. There are a
lot of people out there that don’t understand how important having a healthy diet truly is.
Your health can be greatly improved by cutting out processed foods and by eating a variety
of food groups, demonstrated in MyPlate. A healthy diet can lower your risk of type two
diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.
It has become too easy to have an unhealthy diet that is consisting of mostly processed
foods. There is a huge lack of fresh food availability in many low income neighborhoods.
This is causing a huge rise in childhood obesity, heart disease and other diet related
diseases.

Relate technological advancements in medicine and food production to the advancement of the
science of human nutrition.

Advancements in medicine has allowed us to evaluate and treat many vitamin deficiencies.
Many diseases associated with nutrient deficiencies such as, Beri Beri, Rickets, and Scurvy,
are now avoided because of technological advancements leading to discovery of the causes
of these diseases. Many nutrients are added into our food to help reduce deficiencies such
as: Iodine in salt, vitamins A and D in milk, Folic acid in bread, and many more.

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.

Since processed foods can be cheaper for the food industry to produce and they can sale it
for high prices, they push processed foods on consumers. They use advertising and
packaging strategies to make consumers think their making healthy food choices. For
example, a can of soup may say it has a full serving of vegetables, but it also has 500 grams
of sodium and those vegetables have lost a lot of their nutritional value in processing.

The food industry has also created easy outs for many parents when it comes to prepping
food for their children. Frozen dino nuggets are a lot easier to prepare than cooked chicken
with rice and steamed veggies. This is causing rates of childhood diabetes to raise
drastically. Especially in low income families where there is a single parent that has to work
full time. These foods are also often times less expensive and much more readily available.
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.

The trend of humans eating less red meat is becoming more and more popular, and is
better for you and the environment. Livestock farming has a horrible affect on the
environment. It puts off greenhouse gases, uses huge amounts of water, and deforestation
because of the large amounts of land it takes to farm animals. Red meat contributes to your
likelihood of getting heart disease and processed meat has even been linked to cancer.

Though incredibly popular, the non dairy trend of almond milk is horrible for our
environment. It takes over one gallon of water to grow one almond. Dairy milk still isn't
great for the environment and also takes large amounts of water to produce, but other milk
substitutes such as soy, hemp or oat milk have much less impact. When enriched, which
many alternative milks are, they can be just as nutritious as cow’s milk.

Provide examples of positive and negative interactions of humankind with microorganisms

regarding sickness, health and food production.

There is a large variety of bacteria that have different affects on humans. There are bad
bacterias that can cause illness in humans such as e. coli. There’s also a variety of bacteria
that is used to produce foods like yogurt and cheese. The bacteria that lives in the guts of
humans helps break down food.

Address diet and nutrient issues and concerns for weight control, disease prevention, physical
activity, food availability, and biotechnology.

Poor diets are causing more and more obesity, heart disease, and type two diabetes in
America every year. The amount of processed foods available makes it easy to over eat
foods full of sugars, fats, and salt without even realizing it. Many foods use claims on their
packaging to make it seem as though it is a healthy food. They will say things like “natural”
or “less calories” that tricks many people into thinking they're making a healthy choice
when choosing those foods.
The best way to avoid these diet related diseases is to make healthy food choices. Avoid
eating large amounts of processed foods, foods with high sugar and fat contents. Eat a
variety of fruits and vegetables.
Food availability is often limited in low income communities and therefore these disease
rates are often times higher in those areas. Luckily, many neighborhoods are starting
community gardens and co-ops.
 Reflection

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?

This is the first health/science class I’ve taken at SLCC. The closet thing I have to compare

to this class would be classes I took in high school. In high school health classes I never felt

like I learned much about food choices. I remember using MyPlate, but it was a very brief

lesson in food. I’ve never had a class go over the variety of nutrients we get from food. I

think that if kids learned more in depth about food and nutrition, then they could start

making healthier food choices at a younger age. In this course I learned WHY we should

eat healthy foods and what makes it healthy, vs. just being told what is healthy.

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

(course topic) differently in the future?

After taking this course I’ve been a lot more aware of the foods I eat and how I shop at the

grocery store. I used to blindly grab whatever “looked good” at grocery store without

paying much attention to ingredients. Now I spend time reading labels and plan out meals

before grocery shopping.

I didn’t have much of an understanding of the variety of nutrients that are so important.

It’s so interesting how the food industry has changed in a way that makes sure humans are

consuming nutrients that are important to our health like adding iodine in salt and

enriching wheat products like cereal.

Each chapter was full of information that has changed the way I look at food. I think the

assignment that was the most influential to my food awareness was the Dietary Analysis

assignment. Having to track my food was incredibly helpful in making me way more aware

about my intakes. I wouldn’t say that I was eating particularly unhealthy, but I wasn't

eating a good variety of foods. After this assignment I’ve been putting in effort to eat a

better variety of foods.

Jillian Herman

Elizabeth King

Health - 1020

19 April 2019

In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto by Michael Pollan

For decades there has been the classic, controversial debate, “What should you eat?” There

seems to be a huge variety of opinions when it comes to this topic. Some people say eat less fat,

some say eat less carbs, eat more meat, eat only plant based, don’t eat dairy, and this list goes on

and on. In Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food, Pollan researches different diets from all over

the world to try and determine what we should really be eating. A lot of what is in the

documentary is based on science, rather than just opinion. Pollan goes over how processed food

has become a staple in the Western Diet. Processed food is causing many health issues for

humans and is, unfortunately, more accessible. Pollan goes over how the food industry takes

advantage of humans natural cravings for sugar, salt and fat. Processed foods are often full of

sugars, salt, and fats. Pollan travels around the US and to Africa in search of the ideal diet. He

shows us a low income neighborhoods in New York City where there is very little fresh food

readily accessible, but processed food is everywhere. In In Defense of Food Pollan touches on

another topic that I hadn't heard before. It is how different elements in your eating environment

can affect your intake. For example: a smaller plate causes most people to take smaller portions.

In a buffet style set up, if the vegetables are first, most people fill their plate up with them before

getting to the unhealthier food items and there for have less room for it. I think this is something
schools should pay more attention to and start practicing in order to make an effort to fight

childhood obesity.

My choice of the documentary In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael

Pollan was influenced by my recognition of the name, Michael Pollan. I have seen many health

documentaries, but hadn’t heard of this one. I trust that he puts extensive research into the topics

he writes about. His book How to Change your Mind is one of my favorite books. This

documentary was also produced by PBS, which to me, makes it trust worthy.

The author, Michael Pollan, has written many books on food and nutrition, including:

Food rules, The Omnivore’s Dilemma, Cooked, the Botany of Desire, and of course the book this

documentary is based on, In Defense of Food. His first nutrition related book was The Botany of

Desire which was published in 2001. He has spent many years since researching and writing on

the topic of food and nutrition.

The book In Defense of Food was first published in 2008, the documentary was later

produced in 2015. I do think that Pollan’s research is absolutely still relevant. Processed foods

are still bad for you, plants are still good for you. His conclusion of “Eat food, not too much,

mostly plants” is the most logical diet I think I’ve heard. It doesn’t go to an extreme of “only eat

plant based” or “stop eating fats”. According to Pollan’s research the ideal diet is “Eat food, not

too much, mostly plants.” You can eat what you want, just not a ton of it, and make sure you eat

lots of plants. Meat shouldn't be consumed with every meal and should be treated more as a treat

on a special occasion. He also says theres nothing wrong with eating what you want, like a piece
of chocolate cake or some chips, as long as its done in moderation. “Everything in moderation”

is a good rule when it comes to food.

This Documentary seemed to be in line with what was in the text book throughout this

semester. Pollens research is largely based on science rather than opinions, which the textbook is

as well of course. We learned about the variety of vitamins and minerals that we need in order to

survive, that are often removed from processed foods, which was also talked about in this

documentary. The text book talked about My Plate which is a tool to show you how many

servings of each food group you should be intaking each day. If you look at My Plate’s

suggestions, it shows half the plate is fruit and veggies, a bit more than a quarter is grains, and

the rest is protein, with a side of dairy. This is also showing that you should be eating mostly

plants, which is what Michael Pollan said was ideal in the documentary. Another theme that was

in this documentary as well as in the textbook is talk of how high the Obesity rates are getting in

the US. These higher rates also include children and is largely due to the amount of processed

food that is present in American’s diets. Processed foods are so readily available that parents and

kids alike don't realize for bad they can be. The national obesity rate for children is 18.5%.

I really enjoyed this documentary and am honestly surprised I hadn’t heard of it before. It

was one of the more logical, less extreme health documentaries, that I’ve seen. It didn't focus on

bashing on any one particular industry, while still mentioning the downfalls of many of them, but

focused a lot on individuals and their own choices. It gave suggestions on what you can do for

your diet, rather than telling you the food industry needs to change or disappear so that you can

be healthy as an individual. I love that it went around the world to look at different diets, from a

tribe in Africa, who eat whats available around them depending on the season. To a retired
community of Seventh Day Advantists who had gone their entire lives without eating meat or

consuming alcohol. He went from the showing that not any one particular diet it “correct”, but

more that there are a few main practices that make up a healthy diet.

I will definitely be thinking about this documentary when it comes to daily eating habits

and grocery shopping. I have been off and on (mostly on) vegetarian for the last 9 years,

excluding the last year or so. Until recently I’ve been trying to be “as vegan as is convenient”.

This documentary made me realize its more about where you food is coming from and how its

processed, rather than strictly avoiding animal products. A vegan diet isn't healthy if you eat

potato chips and microwave meals every day. It changed my mind to go from my, frankly, failing

vegan diet, to just a eat more fresh food diet. I Don’t plan to eat meat, but I am okay with some

eggs and dairy in my diet. It recommended staying on the outside edges of the grocery store

where the produce is and unprocessed foods, avoiding the inside shelves that are stocked full of

processed foods. I think eating plants and foods that come straight from the ground to the

grocery store, just makes sense.

I’m glad the our last assignment was choosing a documentary/ book that puts what we’ve

learned into another interpretation. Though most things Michael Pollan talked about were

mentioned in a way in the textbook, seeing a visual aid with real life examples, helped solidify

what we learned into my head. I have a hard time retaining information until I see it in two

formats, like a visual aid. I truly believe that after taking this last and watching In Defense of

Food I will make more effort to be a healthy eater.

 Works Cited

Michael Shwarz, director “In Defense of Food” Michael Pollan, PBS 2015

PBS “In Defense of Food: Resources” 21 December 2015

http://www.pbs.org/food/features/in-defense-of-food-resources/ Accessed 20 April 2019

“The State Of Childhood Obesity” Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2019

https://www.stateofobesity.org/childhood/ Accessed 20 April 2019

Gunnars, Kris “Processed Foods: Health Risks and Dangers” Medical News Today 01 August
2017 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/318630.php Accessed 20 April 2019