In my reflection, I intend to talk about how the focus of food processing has been on individual nutrients rather than on dietary patterns or whole food that are beneficial to consumers. I also intend to talk about how the nutritional guidelines are not beneficial to the general public but instead lead to a catastrophe of poor health. Pollan, in his book, points out clearly that the reason why people eat is to become healthy and not to enjoy the taste. I believe this view is widely shared but it may not always be the case.
According to Pollan, the focus should not be on breaking down food into its nutritional component but on leaving food in its whole form. For instance, grain or corn can easily be broken down into its chemical parts but once that happens, it becomes difficult to gather it back together. I like the way he emphasizes this point when he says that Americans should not eat food that can hardly be recognized by their great-grandparents. When food is over-processed, it fails to become real food but an imitation that poses a great health risk to consumers.
Food is supposed to enhance and maintain human health. This means that when people eat food they are not supposed to fall sick or develop health conditions that will eventually be the cause of their death. Therefore when food is presented properly to the consumers and also the consumers adopt the right dietary patterns then food will serve its purpose.
I think experts play an important role in offering nutritional advice to consumers. They are very influential and they need to start shedding real light on consumers regarding dietary issues. Sometimes experts would lead consumers into taking supplements which may not be bad. However, they are not entirely helpful in maintaining good health. Foods should be eaten in the right quantity and with a focus on vitamins such as vegetables and fruits. People need to be conscious of vitamins in the same way they value food supplements.
The food that people eat today is worsening their health rather than making improvements. Conditions such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases have become leading causes of death among people today. It has reached a point where the focus of government spending on health is on preventive medicine simply because the population is dying in mass from preventable medical conditions.
The advancements made on nutrition seem not to help much in keeping people healthy. Consequently, I suggest that we dial the clock backward and returning to the eating habits in the countryside is very convincing. In these remote parts of the world, people do not eat processed food. They have a dietary pattern that focuses on less meat and more veggies. It is also highly unlikely to find obese children in such areas. Their food is whole and has all the right combination of nutrients for healthy living.
Some of my views concerning this issue are appropriate especially in this generation where food can turn out to be fatal. As earlier mentioned it is only the western diet that has proven fatal. In most parts of the world where people do not consume the western diet, there are very few health risks posed by their food.. The right kinds of foods are those that will enhance personal health. Food can indeed cause diseases but this is not the intended purpose of food.