Is Raw Diet Better?
Zhang Yushan 3035087069
Introduction
The raw foods movement has been going on for quite awhile. Proponents believe that food is best eaten in its natural unprepared state, with all the enzymes intact. They believe cooking "kills" the food. It obliterates essential vitamins and enzymes that enhance vitality. So why have we cooked food for thousands of years? Is it a mistake?
This poster will try to find out whether raw diet is really better for human.
About Raw Diet
Raw food in the raw diet: Food that hasn’t been "heated, processed, microwaved, irradiated, genetically engineered, or exposed to pesticides or herbicides". It includes fresh fruits, berries, vegetables, nuts, seeds, and herbs in their whole, natural state.
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Therefore, raw diet, which praises eating a high raw or 100% raw food, is better for human.
The aim: Losing weight, improving health, and helping the environment. Cooked VS Raw
Arguments
Raw food are more likely to contain pathogenic bacterium then cooked food. Raw diet involves higher health risk such as food poisoning.
Raw food do not contain enough energy for human brains.
A lot of nutrients can only be released from food and absorbed by human after cooking.
The digestive system of human had already evolved a lot after consuming cooked food for thousands of years, and is no longer suitable for digesting raw food after the long-lasting evolution.
Arguments
Raw diet is one of the most effective tool for weight loss.
A raw-food diet provides enzymes that are essential to healthy digestion. It can also benefit the cardiovascular system and prevent diabetes.
The digestive system of human were in place long before the practice of cooking food began. We are flouting our biological heritage by cooking our food.
No other animal on Earth cooks its food, and no other animal besides humans experiences disease on the scale that we do.
To refresh In Michael Pollan’s (2008) book, In Defense of Food, Pollan maintains that, “…instead of worrying about nutrients, we should simply avoid any food that has been processed to such an extent that it is more product of industry than of nature.” (pg. 143) Basically Pollan is warning people that they need to eat whole foods no matter what, because processed foods no matter their nutrient content are bad for you. I agree with Pollan when he says that we need to not eat processed foods that are more industry then nature, but I still do not agree that have whole foods is more important than the nutrient content of the food. Think about it this way almost anything sold in the supermarket these days is considered processed for example even flour is processed.
In recent decade, the United States has seen supermarkets continuously get filled with packages labeled with things like “Low sodium” or “No Trans Fats.” Companies stick these labels on their food to match the current fads of what is good for you and what is not. In his essay Unhappy Meals, Michael Pollan advocates a return to natural and basic foods, and deplores nutritionism. Pollan argues that nutritionism does not actually tell people what is healthy or not, and that the only way to be sure you are eating healthy is to eat natural, fresh food.
For years, the health and safety of genetically modified foods have been debated and researched by scientists, but the question still stands: should genetically modified foods be allowed for consumption? The process of genetic modification involves inserting a gene from bacteria or a virus into an organism where it would normally not be found. The purpose is to alter the genetic code in plants and animals to make them more productive or resistant to pests or farming techniques. Genetically modified organisms, more commonly known as GMOs, have been a controversial topic of debate for a number of reasons. The ethics behind genetically modified foods come into question due to an abundance of short and long-term effects from the process, many of which are still unknown today.
What do a tomato, soybean and a french fry have in common? They are all some of the most commonly genetically modified foods sold on the market today. By using the genetic information from one organism, and inserting or modifying it into another organism, scientists can make food crops stay fresher, grow bigger, and have the crops create their own pesticides. Nevertheless, the technology to modify genes has surpassed its practicality. Genetically modified foods need to be removed from everyday agriculture because of the threat they pose to human health, the environment, and the impact on global economy.
The documentary, Food Inc., takes a deeper look at the food industry and how it has changed over the years. The McDonald brothers played a huge part in changing the food industry forever. The brothers began to run their restaurant in a factory style. Each worker only had one specific job to do. Because the workers were assigned simple tasks, they were all paid a low wage and were easily replaced.
Genetically modified foods, also known as genetically modified organisms are biologically altered foods. Scientists put a desired gene from one plant, animal, or organism into another plant, in the hope that more crops are grown and have resistance to disease, drought, and pesticides. You likely have several items in your kitchen that are genetically modified that you don’t even know about. According to Livestrong.com, more than 88% of all soy, corn, squash, and cotton plants grown in the U.S. are genetically modified. Animal products like eggs, meat, and milk contain genetically modified foods, because the food fed to livestock is usually genetically modified.
Being humans makes us omnivores, which means we can at whatever we want. Part of the dilemma is figuring out what is safe to eat and what its safe to think. This is all determined by what your culture tells you to eat. In some cultures it is normal to eat horse while in others it is illegal. This shows how diet varies by region and culture.
Food is required in order to live as well as maintain a healthy lifestyle. Potassium, fiber, fat, calories, sodium, along with a bunch of vitamins are required for human body. Calories give us vitality to move around and do our day to day work. From past food industry in United States has grown so much.
I. We consume 8,500mg of salt per day, almost all from processed food. This is only one of the many reasons people have poor nutrition. Humans tend to not know the difference between processed and real foods causing the nutrition levels in our society to drop at an alarming rate. For years this problem has been a big factor to obesity and illness. Real food is a single ingredient with no chemicals even if they’re ground and put into a jar.
Don’t even get me started on the American food industry! The american food industry is one of the only food industries in the whole wide world that favors money over the health of its citizens. The food that most Americans eat is processed crap, if you can even call it food! How many of you have eaten popcorn, chips, candy, or crackers in the last week? The amount of chemicals in the food we eat as a country on a daily basis is freaking ridiculous.
Our gastrointestinal tracts work hard to keep us healthy and happy. When gut health is compromised, we can face major health consequences. Here’s how to use good nutrition to keep your digestion humming along. “Heal the gut and you heal yourself.” – Gerard E. Mullin, MD
Eating meat is beneficial to humanity, because they provide nourishment that cannot be obtained from other sources. Without the support of animals, humans lack a distinctive diet, that is essential to their well-being. However, since animals are so important to the diet, they deserve great care and respect as well. Humans were always hunters and gathers. They always knew that meat was a big source of protein that helped keep them going(Araki).
What is Processed Food? The term ‘processed food’ applies to any food that has been changed from its natural state in some way, either for safety reasons or convenience. Some foods need processing to make them safe, such as milk, which needs to be pasteurized to remove harmful bacteria. Other foods need processing to make them suitable for use, such as pressing seeds to make oil.
The world is experiencing a dilemma today. Many people suffer from hunger, malnutrition, and other problems caused by the lack of sufficient food. However, many other people buy or order excessive foods and waste a lot. In my community, food waste is much more serious than food shortage, and it is easy to see that people throw foods in the dustbin and the foods indeed are still eatable. Food waste is a serious problem.
For a will, the sugar-sweetened drink has been taxed and are improving people diet and there is a lot of research on junk food is taxed and how it can also improve people diet. In places were sugar drinks have been taxed the person paying for there drink is taxed but for junk, food researcher has shown that taxing the people will have no impact. If people are not taxed than manufacturers should be taxed, and studies have shown when manufacturers are taxed than they are more likely to increase prices which will stop people from buying junk food and look for healthier food. Junk food has caused an increased rate of obesity and one way the government is trying to fight this is by having fat taxes which tax just unhealthy food and sugar-sweetened drinks. When junk food is being taxed than people will more incline to buy healthy food and drinks, this is only possible when the manufacturers are taxed.