I am not a nutritionist, dietician, bio-chemist, or government-funded worker. I am an eighteen-year-old female whose allergy list is longer than this essay. All of my knowledge is gathered from personal experiences of anaphylaxis shock, 200-level college nutrition courses, and many fast-food restaurant ads.
At the age of four, I was given the skin prick test (STP). A STP is an evaluation for one’s allergies by placing solution drops of common allergies along the back or forearm and then, using a needle to prick the skin and insert the allergens into the body. The skin prick t3est measures the IgE antibodies the immune system releases for each solution; positive results are indicated by irritated, red, and circular hives or rashes. That day I left the doctor’s office with an angry-looking back, a tub of soothing Benadryl creams, and a lengthy list of automatic death sentences.
Luckily, adapting to food and environmental allergies at a young age became second nature. At lunch, I sat at an isolated “Peanut Free Table” located at the furthest end of the cafeteria seemingly miles away from all of my closest childhood friends. Every elementary school Halloween party consisted of peers consuming colorful cupcakes and candy while I had only a brown-bag snack I had to bring from home. “Cross-contamination may occur” signs at local restaurants were the reason my family never ate out for special occasions and why we hosted every family holiday. Despite how meticulous I was about my allergies, I still lay unconscious for numerous nights on an emergency room gurney as epinephrine rushed through my veins and oxygen opened my constricted airways. I would be condemned to days full of epi-pen injections and Benadryl pills to save my life one more time. Once I was literate and knowledgeable of my appending situation, I realized an enriched education in nutrition is imperative for all ages; not only those with severe allergies.
“I’m lovin’ it.” The golden arches’ infamous slogan has overtaken the fast food industry and the health of America. A disturbing combination of the media’s use of propaganda and marketing claims has led Americans to buy items with unrealistic expectations. Fad nutrition crazes fuel our population’s minds with dishonest and harmful information about lifestyle regimens. The FDA’s use of unnatural products, some foreign to other countries, are slowly poisoning our nation by appearing nationwide in local grocery stores. Due to the nation’s deception, more than one-third or U.S. adults are obese. Obesity and these deceptive statements are impacting American citizens with preventable diseases and conditions such as heart disease, strokes, type-2 diabetes, and particular cancers.
Television, magazines, billboards, and grocery stores—the superfecta of the media’s resources to brainwash the United States of America. On television, athletes such as Serena Williams and Dwayne Wade flaunt their physically appealing bodies while performing high-intensity performances across my screen promoting Gatorade’s prominent slogan “Is it in you?” Fans of the sophisticated and slim Taylor Swift are mesmerized as she pours Diet Coke into elegant champagne flutes within the newest edition of Seventeen. As I drive through New York City, billboards light up the night with pictures of rich ice cream melting down the sides of the cone and steaming pies of enlarged pizzas. During my weekly grocery store excursions, the macaroni boxes with the newest Disney characters are always the first ones off the shelves. The average individual believes that using items their favorite celebrity uses will change their perception and physical appearance. Many fail to understand that the celebrities in these advertisements are photo-shopped, drenched in oil, covered in make-up, and given an angle to exhibit their “good side.” The United States of America focuses on the aesthetic of the product and the people who use it instead of remembering the importance of what they are incorporating within their diet to energize their body.
The overweight and obese population of America understands its predicament and the risks that are included with these habits. The factual evidence behind obesity and its potential diseases is frightening, leading many individuals towards lifestyle changes. However, many of these modifications include unhealthy diets and poor eating habits which can inhibit desired results. When one is desperate for change one seeks instant gratification. As I search a local bookstore, many of the titles of diet books contain phrases such as “instant results,” “skinny,” and “manageable.” While skimming these books of pure deception, I have noticed they all disclose information: low-calorie diets mixed with falsely used gimmicks and hooks to relate to the reader’s insecurity. The diet industry will never aim to find a solution within newest crazes that are released because doing so would put them out of business. The Atkins Diet misinforms the public with claims that carbohydrates are bad, while low-carb high-protein meals are the best way to lose weight. The 8-Hour Diet pollutes the nation’s mind by suggesting the ability to eat anything and everything within eight hours and then to fast for the rest of the day. Both diets alter the function and rate of metabolism and normal bodily task which creates dissatisfaction for the individual. I believe people partaking in these dangerous health changes and buying harmful, edible products are at an increased risk of harming their bodies.
Hydrogenated products, bromide, olestra, high-fructose corn syrup, artificial colors and dyes are additives found in every aisle of my local grocery store. These processed chemicals have detrimental effects on human health and energy levels. Other countries have banned these five items due to their harmful nature. Some European countries overcome the use of damaging additives such as artificial food dyes by incorporating beet juice to color items such as yogurt and icing naturally. Why is the food in the United States inferior to other countries with lower obesity rates? Unfortunately, we live in a country that is money-hungry and full of deception allowing our citizens to go through life consuming toxic and hazardous food sources. I challenge you to look in your pantry and pick five packaged snacks or drinks that do not contain these items. Our nation’s regulator, the FDA, fails to oversee what companies use in their products and the effects they have on the consumer.
While it may take a great number of years before the media and the government change their manipulative and deceiving tactics, as a society we can find ways to redefine and change the nutritional patterns given to and expected of us. To prevent further chaos to hour body, it is important to understand the truth about nutrition and how to apply it to everyday situations. By using an extensive combination of post-secondary knowledge, credible authors, and web-seminars, I have created a list of foolproof ways to inform the general public on good standards of lifestyle changes that will allow individuals to unveil the deceptions they experience every day.
Among the list of healthy choices:
- Every season eat locally. Many times, local markets and their products lack advertisements; however, farm-fresh apples lack the grime of pesticides, unlike the ones found at the grocery store.
- Avoid falling for the media’s use of trickery. No matter how many bottles of activity performance drinks you purchase and consume, you will not have the physique of a highly-trained athlete. It is important to buy the products that are good for your body and health, no the most pleasing to look at or the most endorsed.
- An easy way to lessen the burden of crazy diet fads is by consuming fewer calories and by exercising more. By using simple apps like Calorie Counter and running on that dust-covered treadmill in your basement for thirty minutes every day, one can steadily improve one’s state of mental, emotional, and physical being.
- Eat a nutritionally balanced diet. It is important to follow the recommended daily amount for each macronutrient to ensure the best health. Do not avoid carbohydrates. Do not avoid protein. Do not avoid fats. These three macronutrients nourish the body and its functions in many ways. Michelle Obama created MyPlate for a reason, and that was so you can use it.
- Always read the food label before you purchase or eat any item. Look for the harmful items such as additives, preservatives, and empty calories that can uproot the foundation of a sound diet and cause potentially harmful diseases. If everyone read labels like they read Facebook for drama, we would not have this situation to begin with.
All ages, genders, and cultures can follow these guidelines to improve their daily lifestyle and impacts their future health. While media endorses the wrong message and the government allows its citizens to unknowingly harm their bodies, by following a routine similar to mine, one can alleviate prospective diseases that obesity can cause such as cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, strokes and cancer. When I fail to be diligent in my food choices or forget to read packaging labels, I become unconscious, my breathing stops, and my throat closes. If individuals fail to inform themselves of proper food habits, one day they will die of the same factors; however, theirs will not be from anaphylactic shock, but from a heart attack stemming from a high rate of obesity.