Author's Commentary
I really wanted to talk about a lot in this piece at once, and had a hard time sticking to the topic. With that said, it's probably also pretty biased because I didn't put anything in to say what is being done that's healthy in the country.
It's written in hamburger style - intro paragraph, beginning middle and end paragraph, with a concluding paragraph. Probably isn't too evident though, as I strayed from the point so often.
There's just so much wrong with this country that just needs a little rethinking!!
Meat, carbs, sugars and dairy. Those are the only three sources of nutrition for many North Americans today. What is perhaps the most traditional American breakfast – eggs with bacon, sausage, toast/pancakes/muffin, hashbrowns, coffee and/or OJ, and sometimes a piece of fruit. An American lunch? Burger with a side of fries and a coke. Dinner? Steak with mashed potatoes and gravy, with rolls and sometimes a vegetable side and probably another coke. Of course, there are variations on all of those, and many substitutions, but they all come down to the same food groups. American food mentally and physically deprecates anyone who eats it every day.
To be healthy, a person needs sufficient vitamins and nutrients to supply all of their body’s needs. Many of those vitamins and minerals come from plant leaves, seeds, or vegetables and fruits. Some will only come from plants. While dairy and meat products will contain certain proteins and vitamins that are hard to get elsewhere, their nutritional worth pales when not combined with a wide variety of greens, whereas we can live healthily with vegetables alone. The national dietary plan is flawed, as it does not focus on proper nutritional needs.
However, the American diet heavily promotes breads, meats, and dairy as the foundation to a healthy lifestyle. Putting less focus on home grown vegetables, and more emphasis on mass-farmed cattle, Americans have quickly taken a lead as the most abundant eaters, while more than half the world is starving in poverty. At the same time, they are becoming fatter and lazier, more prone to sitting and watching TV for hours rather than chasing a hobby or learning something new. They are also becoming more and more vulnerable to diabetes, heart attacks, obesity, and many other physical ailments, due to the mass amounts of poor food. Without proper amounts of fiber and certain bio-organisms that are only occurring in fruits and vegetables, the digestive tract clogs up, arteries clog up, and the brains’ functions are slowed down in a haze of food-sparked endorphins.
Another hidden side of the American diet is the junk food industry, which supports many convenience and grocery shops across the nation. Much of America’s snacks are derived from corn, through corn syrup or dried corn kernels – around 70%. Any obese person these days will often be so because of the massive quantities of snacks they consume per day. Often a snack is had throughout the day, in between meals or after meals, before going to bed or after coming home from work, at any time for any reason and just about any amount. Junk food is only around because it makes money, but people are almost killing themselves with it.
The common foods found throughout America are disproportionately meats, dairy items, junk foods, or carbs verses vegetables. A common restaurant will have at least two kinds of cheese, five different protein sources (beef, bacon, eggs, ham, pork), seven kinds of sugary dehydrating beverages, and only a select group of nutritionally lacking vegetables – lettuce, pickles, onions, peppers, cucumbers/pickles, tomatoes, or carrots. This is largely ignoring a gigantic portion of a nutritionally balanced diet, and is a sure fire way to get fat and stupid in three years.
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