I choose to major in nutrition because I am interested at the nutrition aspect of food. I grow up with a family that always values the relationship between food and health. My parents always tell me that food is the best medicine. With the interests in food and health, I chose nutrition as my major and gained more knowledge about this field through study. As I learned more about nutrition, I realized that there are many irresponsible presses on the Internet. They mislead people by stating wrong nutrition facts without evidence. The worst part is that the inaccurate information about nutrition often spread widely and influence people in a negative manner. I want to acquire more knowledge and being able to clarify the online information for people so that they can make good decision on their health and wellness. In addition, I also want to help with keeping more people away from the unverified information.
Every food has its own benefit to human body. When I was a child, I did not like to eat vegetables, especially carrots and dark leafy greens. My mother often told me that carrots are good for my eyes and they can help with protecting vision health. I did not understand why they are good for eyes but I started to eat them. Now I have learned the nutrition principles behind this. Lutein and zeaxanthin are both important nutrients for eye health, as both of them are found in high concentrations in macula — the small central part of retina responsible for detailed central vision. The carotenoids lutein and zeaxanthin are primarily found in green leafy vegetables and carrots. In addition, orange pepper had the highest amount of zeaxanthin of the 33 fruits and vegetables tested. Other healthy food that are good for eyes include Swiss chard, collard greens, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts. Studying nutrition gives me the knowledge to help myself and others to live a healthy lifestyle.
Studying nutrition also equips me with the ability to distinguish between true and false nutrition information. Nowadays, lots of nutrition information on Internet are not real and not evidence-based. The public lacks of the ability to tell the right or wrong advice and many people choose to follow other people’s recommendation regardless of the sufficiency of evidence. For example, many people avoid intake carbohydrate in order to lose weight. They may heard from some Internet “experts” claim that “Low Carb diets or Carb free diets will help individuals lose weight quickly.” They choose to follow low Carb diets or Carb free diets without understand the danger of it. Low carbohydrate diets, if implemented improperly, result in low fiber intake from a sharp reduction in plant-based food consumption, which can increase risk of digestive cancers and leads to constipation and bowel issues. Recent randomized controlled trials document that low-carbohydrate diets not also improve cardiovascular risk factors. For athlete or a physically active individual, low carbohydrate diets may cause the loss of muscle mass and inability to intense weight training. Therefore, individuals will be at risk if they follow the recommendation on the Internet. With the knowledge I obtained from nutrition classes, I will consider the side effects and the risks of every recommendations to help people make the right decision to their health.
I believe I can leverage my nutrition knowledge to help others to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Through clarifying the risks and benefits of health recommendations from online sources and hearsay, I want to bring accurate insights of nutrition to people so that they can make better health decisions.
Reference
Hu T, Bazzano LA. The low-carbohydrate diet and cardiovascular risk factors: evidence from epidemiologic studies. Nutr Metab Cardiovasc Dis. 2014;24:337-4.
Ben Green Field Fitness. The Hidden Dangers of a Low Carbohydrate Diet. https://bengreenfieldfitness.com/2011/08/the-hidden-dangers-of-a-low-carbohydrate-diet/ Accessed March 17, 2017.
Mercola. The Best Foods for Healthy Eyes. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2015/08/03/best-foods-for-eye-health.aspx Accessed March 17, 2017.