2. Food for Health

Macro & Micro Nutrients

NAME	SOURCE	FUNCTION	TOO MUCH/TOO LITTLE
Thiamin	-liver -pork -whole grain	-help turn carbohydrates into energy -muscle coordination -healthy nervous system	Too little: -fatigue, weak muscles, anorexia, weight loss, beriberi disease
Niacin (B3)	-meat -poultry -fish -peanuts -peanut butter	-helps body release energy from carbohydrates, fats and proteins	Too little: -pellagra – cause skin eruption, digestive and nervous disturbances, muscle decline
Riboflavin (B2)	-broccoli -beef liver -asparagus -milk	-metabolize protein -repair tissues -help formation of red blood cells -release energy from glucose	Too little: -ariboflavinosis
Vitamin B6	-poultry -whole grain -legumes	-helps body use carbohydrates and proteins -keeps nervous system healthy	Too little: -weakened immune function, swollen tongue, cracked lips
Vitamin B12	-animal products	-use carbohydrates, fats, proteins better -teams up with folate to build red blood cells and form genetic material -needed for healthy nervous system	Too little: -megaloblastic anaemia, depression, weakness, weight loss, constipation
Folic Acid	-lentils -beans -spinach -sunflower seeds	-help prevent birth defects of brain and spinal cord -help body use proteins	Too little: -megaloblastic anemia – weakness, fatigue, irritability -neural tube defects in babies
Biotin	-green leafy veggies -whole grain products -liver -egg yolks	-helps body use carbohydrates, fats and proteins	Too little: - hair loss, a dry, scaly rash around the eyes, nose, mouth, decreased appetite, nausea, vomiting
Vitamin C	-oranges -citrus fruits -broccoli -bell peppers -tomatoes -potatoes -cabbage	-prevent cell damage -assist in forming protein collagen in connective tissue -promote iron absorption -helps heal wounds and infections	Too much: -increased oxygen demands, diarrhea, stomach cramps, nausea Too little: -fatigue, inflammation of gums, poor healing of wounds
Vitamin A	-liver -butter -egg yolk -cheese	-maintain healthy skin and mucous membranes -essential to vision -ensure full bone development -reproduction and manufacture of red blood cells and hormones	Too much: -painful joints, poor blood clotting, vomiting, diarrhea, irritability, fatigue Too little: -night blindness, decreased immune function, dry, scaly skin, blindness
Vitamin D	-eggs -liver -fish oils -sunlight	-growing, repairing and strengthening bones	Too much: -excess calcium deposits, kidney stones Too little: -soft, weak bones
Vitamin E	-soy bean oil -wheat germ oil -grains -fruits -veggies	-stabilize cell membranes -protects vitamin A and lipids from damage due to oxidation	Too much: -nausea, intestinal distress
Vitamin K	Milk -liver -dark green veggies -bacteria that live in intestines	-make proteins responsible for clotting blood -produce proteins that allow bones to absorb minerals needed for growth	Too much: -affect blood thinners Too little: -fatal nose bleed, increased bruising
Sodium	-meat -veggies -processed foods	-balance flow of water in and out of cells	Too much: -increased blood pressure, heart disease
Potassium	-potatoes -bananas -dried fruit -orange juice	-needed in the functioning of nerves and muscles	Too much: - fatigue, weakness, nausea and vomiting - hyperkalemia –potentially fatal medical condition Too little: -weakness, constipation, muscle cramps
Calcium	-milk -dairy products	-combine with phosphorus to form the compound calcium phosphate, providing strength and structure -aids blood clotting, muscle action, regular heartbeat, fluid balance of body cell membranes	Too much: -kidney stones Too little: -osteoporosis – loss of bones density
Phosphorus	-animal protein -beans -peas	-carry and release energy during metabolism -combines with lipids and proteins transporting nutrients to cells -component of DNA -plentiful in muscle tissue	Too much: -decrease in bone density, decreased ability to absorb calcium Too little: - loss of appetite, anemia, muscle pain and weakness, bone pain, loss of bone strength, frequent infections, difficulty moving
Chloride	-table salt	-control blood pH -form hydrochloric acid used to digest food in stomach	Too much: - rapid deep breathing, weakness       Too little:      - muscle twitching, muscle spasms, or shallow breathing
Sulfur	-protein foods	-strength to skin, nails and hair	Too little: - arthritis, asthma, allergies, fibromyalgia, acne
Magnesium	-legumes -nuts -whole grains -dark green veggies	-balance effects of calcium to help regulate circulation and respiration -helps teeth regain calcium	Too much: -muscle weakening, difficulty  breathing
Iron	-lentils -beans -meat	Forms part of the haemoglobin molecule, which carries oxygen to blood -can store, release, recycle iron to maintain levels	Too much: -dizziness, fatigue, headache, weight loss, vomiting Too little: -fatigue, reduced cognitive function, increased risk of infection, blood loss from menstruation
Iodine	-prunes -potatoes -cheese -tea	-component o thyroid hormones that regulate areas of metabolism, including growth rate and cell oxidation	Too much: -burning of mouth, throat, stomach -fever, nausea, vomiting diarrhea Too little: -goiter - mental retardation -growth and development abnormalities
Zinc	-oysters -liver -lamb -peanuts	-form proteins, including enzymes -make DNA -metabolize carbohydrates and digestion -aids in healing wounds	Too little: loss of appetite, decreased sense of taste and smell, lowered ability to fight off infections, slow growth, slow wound-healing, skin sores
Fluoride	-toothpaste -added to drinking water	-mineralization of bones and teeth -strengthen bones -helps teeth resist cavities	Too little: -tooth decay



Fig 1.1 Diagram of Digestive System

In Defense of Food Essay

Essay Question: “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” This has become a famous mantra expressing the feeling of many who are rejecting the contemporary food culture as proliferated by nutrition science and the industrialization of food over the past century. Why is such a simple statement so profound?

In Michael Pollan’s novel, “In Defense of Food” he expresses his basic perspective on how food has drastically changed over the past few centuries and how this has influenced American society as a whole. He demonstrates this throughout three short and simple phrases; “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.” How such a simple statement be so powerful and profound, one may ask. Pollan uses these specific phrases to explain the reasons why we should stop eating food in the contemporary food culture as it is growing rapidly by nutrition science and industrialization of food.

When we break up the profound statement, we could get a deeper and more thorough understanding of what Michael Pollan is trying to interpret. When Michael Pollan says, “Eat food” he is basically telling us there are many foods that are processed and sold in supermarkets, but these aren’t the types of food we should consume. Pollan believes that we should not consume the fake foods that your grandmother wouldn’t recognize. “Don’t eat anything that your great-great grandmother would not recognize as foods” (Pollan,148), however we should consume real foods such as; fruits and vegetables. For instance, we should eat pineapple rather than fruit juices that claim they consists of 100 percent real fruit. It is really hard on society to incorporate real foods in their diets due to the role of nutrition science that has placed on the Western Diet. It therefore has caused people to pull away from real foods and keep encouraging them to consume fake foods.  Rather than buying foods from supermarkets, it is suggested by Michael Pollan that we should buy foods from farmers’ market. The farmers’ market sells consumers rich food, while there are those fake foods that are shipped with higher risk of having chemicals added to it. Pollan backs up his statement of eating real food with a rule that he highly recommends consumers should follow. That is when shopping, consumers should be looking carefully at the nutrition label on the back of processed food products. There should not be any words that you are unable pronounce because basically those words are telling you that the food has many artificial chemicals added to it that can be dangerous to your health.

            According to the next short phrase Pollan states in his powerful mantra; “Not too much.” This particular phrase is interpreting that you could easily control yourself from overeating if you are able to continuously eat in a limited amount rather than stuffing yourself with a large amount every time you feel hungry. People are so concerned on the amount of carbohydrates a product contains, that they spend little or no time at all paying attention to how much they should consume. The main issue with society is that we tend to eat an enormous amount of food that we don’t pay attention to how much calories it consists of, and therefore it gets us to gain weight. Overeating can cause many medical problems such as; diabetes and obesity. These problems may not occur within a second of overeating, but if you don’t improve your eating habits now you’ll be in risk of obesity. Michael Pollan targets the French people of having an impressive eating habit. The rule of French people is to only eat small amounts at a time and rarely do they have food in between meals. The Western Diet influenced our eating lifestyle as it encourages us to eat whatever we want and have no consideration to what might happen to our future. Another point that Michael Pollan explains in his book is that people are discourage themselves to eat large amounts when they are around people because they do not want to feel fat around their friends. Basically, it is better to eat in a more crowded space with more people, as it deters you from eating a large meal and would lower the likeliness of gaining weight. 

“Mostly plants” also has an important interpretation. “Eat like an omnivore” (Pollan, 169). Pollan states that our diet should be in comparison to omnivores in which we should consider a large variety of plants as they contain many rich antioxidants that are good to maintain a healthy body. “Antioxidants do something else for us as well: They stimulate the liver to produce the enzymes necessary to break down the antioxidant itself...” (Pollan,163) Plants have a good amount of nutrients that are highly essential for our diet. It is encouraged by Pollan, that eating as much green vegetables and fruits are really good for your health. We obviously enjoy meat, but we also have to consider that meat does not have the beneficial nutrients that plants contain; rather it causes us with a greater risk of cancer and other diseases. As it states in the book; “The more meat there is in your diet – red meat especially – the greater your risk of heart disease and cancer” (Pollan,166). Plants have the essential nutrients such as; fiber, omega-3, and vitamins and minerals. On the other hand, meats contain the nutrients that can be very dangerous if consumed a lot of in our diet such as; saturated fats and carcinogens. One main rule consumers should pay close attention to is if you want to stay away from the fake foods and mainly focus on real foods in the supermarket. Pollan states that we should shop around the perimeter of the store because that’s where the real foods are located. Pollan also states that not only should meats not be included in your main dish, but it should also in your side dish as it as a whole pushes plants from our diet. Evidently, we could conclude that eating like an omnivore is the key to a healthy eating lifestyle.

While analyzing the three profound statements made by Michael Pollan we could also go into a more brief understanding of the Western Diet. The Western Diet basically focuses on quantity of food, rather than quality. Pollan speaks about a brief story of how Aborigines spent seven weeks in a bush, and when O’Dea drew blood from them she shockingly discovered that they lost weight, their blood pressure had dropped, and their triglyceride levels had fallen into normal range.  In brief it says, “... O'Dea concluded, "all of the metabolic abnormalities of type II diabetes were either greatly improved (glucose tolerance, insulin response to glucose) or completely normalized (plasma lipids)” (Pollan,87). When reading this one could assume that the Aborigines had benefited from changing their Western Diet into a better eating lifestyle which does not focus on quality but focuses merely on quantity. The Aborigines’ were stuck in the bush for seven whole weeks, meaning they had no source to any meat products and because of that their medical situations had improved dramatically. Your diet will be improved if you start eating more of a nutritional meal rather than a tasty meal.

Michael Pollan speaks also about industrialized foods like the most well known type; flour. Flour rollers were introduced in Europe around the 1870s, which was used for grinding grain. Before the flour rollers were introduced wheat was grounded by stone wheels that still kept the volatile oils which are essential rich nutrients.  Since the flour did not smell good, people believed in their senses and stayed away from flour. The thing they do not know is; “ … it is the germ that contributed some of the most valuable nutrients to the flour, including much of it’s protein, folic acid, and other B vitamins; carotenes, and other antioxidants; and omega-3 fatty acids…” (Pollan,108). The Western Diet marketed on the basis of image rather than nutritional value because flour was able to be transported along long distances. People have to realize that flour is really much worthless. “Wherever these refining technologies came into widespread use, devastating epidemics of pellagra and beriberi soon followed” (Pollan,109). Pollan stated that when the refining technologies have been introduced in society it made flour and other products such as; corn flour and white rice more prone to dangerous epidemics, and beriberi which is caused by deficiency of thiamine.

In conclusion, Michael Pollan’s simple, but yet most powerful statement, “Eat Food. Not too Much. Mostly Plants.” is a message would probably be able to get across many people.  Perhaps people do listen to this statement and start eating healthier, but they would still believe that scientists and nutritionists have the contributed most in the health of our society. We’ve noticed that scientists have spent more time researching for the causes of problems, rather than the solutions to these problems. Also if you have noticed, when was the last time you seen a teen spending money on healthy quality food? Never! They always spend their money on other necessities like; internet, phone bills, and such that they have no time to spend money on good food which is the basic necessity for a human according to Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Rather than looking at the price tags of foods it’s recommended by Pollan that we should start spending a bit more on healthy food which would make a huge difference. Children have adapted themselves into this poor eating habit that is making them refuse to eat fruits and vegetables and eat more of high saturated fat meals. Eating while considering the Western Diet is just going to lock you up in an unhealthy situation and sooner or later you wouldn’t be able to free yourself out. “Stop eating a Western diet” (Pollan,141). It’s best to listen to what Michael Pollan says.