Riley Meadows

Health 1020
Blake Cason
7/31/17

Nutrition Perspectives
1. 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 water, vitamins, and minerals to live. Humans can live about 40
days without food. Humans need A, D, E, K, biotin, vitamin C, niacin, folic acid,
pantothenic acid, and the four B complex vitamins, calcium, phosphorus,
magnesium, potassium, chloride, and sodium. Seeing it all in one list looks like a
lot, right? It clearly is. Humans struggle to maintain good health, especially in the
U.S.A. Nutrition is everything when it comes to improving individual health.
Exercise is important, but without nutrition it means nothing. You are what you
eat. Im a firm believer in the phrase. If you eat mcdonalds, youll look like
mcdonalds. If you eat based off of a healthy proportionate diet, youll look
healthy and proportionate. Your happiness and energy are also based off of your
diet. Everybody wants to feel confident. As far as society is concerned, that means
promoting you should be confident with what you have whether youre skinny or
fat. This is morally correct but objectively wrong. This means people are saying
its okay if youre anorexic, and okay if youre obese. These are both unhealthy.
People promote these things because they want to feel comfortable with
themselves, but in reality theyre hiding behind a societal shield of positivity.
The other side of society shames fat and skinny people. They make fun of them
behind their backs. Society creates these unrealistic perfect ideals, but patronizes
the 99% of people who dont meet the quota. Society does not promote true
health; nutrition or otherwise.
2. Relate technological advancements in medicine and food production to the advancement
of the science of human nutrition.

Humans have been using machinery and technology to mass produce. A few of these
things are irrigation systems, tractors, plows, and even plowing machines that are GPS
driven and dont require a human. No longer the personally cared for produce. We have
come up with ways to preserve and enhance food. That means chemicals, additives,
included ingredients such as salt and sugar. If it can sit on the fridge for 2 years, how well
do you think its going to go through your stomach? Rather than actually solve the core of
the problem and eat healthy, we have come up with liposuction, Brazilian butt lifts,
dieting pills, absurd supplements, and many drugs so we dont have to eat.
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 is, of course, trying to make money. That means manipulation through
marketing. Food companies will post commercials, magazine ads, and everywhere social
media we have. Some common strategies are sexual appeal, a healthy person eating
fattening food, making food better than it is in person, and promoting how fresh their
food is when it isnt fresh at all. Many of these companies freeze and process their foods
while mass producing them and ruining the nutritional value. The results are people
constantly eating fast food because its cheap and quick. Were lazy as a society. People
dont shop, coupon, cook, or research nutrition any longer. They want to go pay for
terrible food so that they dont have to do the work. This results in eating awful food, and
going home to sit on the couch after a long day of work. We dont exercise, but we also
wont even get off our butt to cook, do dishes, shop, etc. This creates health problems
such as obesity and diabetes. When enough people start doing this, they start to convince
the healthy people that its in trend bringing them down to their level of health. Mass
production, chemicals, waste, and laziness end up putting our more waste in the world,
and cause us to kill more animals, ruin more land, and waste a lot of the food that goes
uneaten by a money hungry corporation.

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 earths resources.

We, as a society, have had many diet trends. Every few months or so, the clothing trends
change, the food trends change, the slang changes, and so does the trendy body figure
to have. Some of the major dieting trends have been Anorexia starving yourself while
only meeting the bare minimum energy input to stay alive, while also over-exercising to
be as skinny as possible. Bulimia binge eating and forcing yourself to throw up after to
purge yourself of the carbs you would have gained (a slight twist to Anorexia). Vegan
only eating non-animal products and forfeiting essential nutritional needs in the process.
Vegetarian - refusing to eat meat and forfeiting essential nutrients. These things all lack
nutrients that we need to maintain great health. An incomplete or lack of diet, is an
unhealthy diet.

5. Provide examples of positive and negative interactions of humankind with

microorganisms regarding sickness, health and food production.

E.coli results in lack of cleanliness. When food is unsanitary, we run a high risk of getting
incredibly sick. E.coli can lead to diarrhea, kidney failure, and death. Salmonella results
from contaminated or unsanitary food, humans, or animals. Salmonella can cause fever,
diarrhea, abdominal cramps, dehydration, and arthritis. These types of diseases are
largely a result of mass produced food typically fast food. Food is not careful handled
and cared for. Food is not fresh. People are underpaid by a money hungry corporation
which results in a lack of safety in preparation.