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The Balance of Staying Healthy and Eating Right

I have been going through an interesting transition this year of 2016. Previously, I
consumed a lot of the American Diet, which are foods like French fries, pizza etc. the majority of
those foods are genetically modified. Genetically modified foods are plants that have had their
genes modified in order to speed up growth, production, and resistance. You would call it
Genetically modified Organisms or GMO foods. Now I am consuming more organic foods. My
fruits and vegetables are organic. So far with my transition, I have been feeling better, my body
has been functioning better, and I feel more energetic.
The majority of the people around me are always drinking coffee and are trying to find
new ways to maintain energy throughout their day. I myself use to feel like I do not have enough
energy to do daily tasks but would have to force myself through it. I see a couple of people who
are always full of energy and you never see them getting sick easily. I always see the food that
these people are eating, and its organic meals. They are getting the proper nutrients their body
desires to function well, which means overall they have more energy throughout the day, their
immune system is stronger than most people and they are performing healthier than the majority
of us.
Why do I blame GMO foods for the lack of nutrients? Priming Effects of Television
Food Advertising on Eating Behavior. claimed there is an obesity epidemic in America that is
caused by low-nutrient foods. We all know that the organic foods are not the ones causing

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obesity because they are designed to nurture us. This means the GMO foods are lacking in
nutrients. The American diet is the mainstream food being consumed here, and there seems to be
a health disadvantage. We know that organic food provides us with proper nutrients. That can
only mean the American diet contains mainly GMO foods.

Due to the fact that the American diet is causing us to get sick, it would be best for your
health if you consumed more of an organic diet. If that sounds unachievable, at least find a
balance between organic foods and GMO foods. Through a variety of steps, you will be lower
your risk of obtaining a health-related illness.
To start off the American diet is the standard foods consumed in the United States.
In America, a lot of the food is genetically modified. Genetically modified organisms or GMOs
are plants that have had their genes modified. What does this do for the foods we eat? In Escape
from the Western Diet by Michael Pollan has something to say about it. "People eating a
Western diet are prone to a complex of chronic diseases that seldom strike people eating more
traditional diets. Scientists can argue all they want about the biological mechanisms behind this
phenomenon, but whichever it is, the solution to the problem would appear to remain very much

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the same: Stop eating a Western Diet."(421) Pollan is saying that the people eating the Western
diet will have an increased chance of getting chronic diseases compared to people eating much
more traditional food. Chronic diseases are long-term illnesses that do not affect you right away
but will occur in the future. He is warning us to stop eating the American diet because there will
be long term consequences. He continues by saying, "New theories beget new drugs to treat
diabetes, high blood pressure, and cholesterol; new treatments and procedures to ameliorate
chronic diseases; and new diets organized around each new theorys elevation of one class of
nutrient and demotion of another."(422) There are drugs and treatments for the sickness caused
by the American diet but it all comes at a cost. Not only does your food have a high chance of
getting you sick but you also have to pay more money to get it treated. Pollan's solution to all of
this is, "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants."(426) try your best to stay away from the
American diet and eat more fruits and vegetables.

Even though Pollan is correct about eating more plants to prevent the sickness, it's also
true that when Pollan says don't eat much, that can also be unhealthy for you. In the article Food

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as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating by Mary Maxfield she brings up a good
point, Linking nutrition and body type, voices like Pollan's warns us against eating too muchoften without any parallel warnings against eating too little."(page 444) Pollan wants us to not
eat too much. What about the people who take that advice and end up not eating enough required
food? That can also be a problem. Everybody views Dont eat too much in a different way. For
some people, that could mean eat a little bit less, for others that can mean eat a lot less. Allison
observes that when she says, "Adult human beings are allowed to eat whatever and however
much they want," what people actually hear is "go out and cram your face with Twinkies!
(446) The same issue raised about eating too little seems to be the issue thats being talked about
here.
Americans will view the call to action differently. This only proves that not only will it
not be best to eat too little but it can also be a problem if people are told they can eat whatever
they want. "Trust yourself. Trust your body. Meet your needs."(446) meaning people trusting
themselves in that they eat. Trusting their body in responding to the way it reacts or responds to
the food being consumed by them. If people are feeling fueled there is a good chance the food is
providing them with the nutrients they need. Meeting their needs, eating what they have to eat to
make sure they have enough energy to get through their day. Its also going to keep them from
getting sick and makes them happy. The natural organic diet is essentially the best diet to make
you meet your needs and keep you healthy. If people are happy with an American diet, they
make sure they are at least getting the best of both worlds and balancing out what you are eating.
Therefore, they still get to enjoy their American diet, but you are also balancing it with organic
food to reduce the chance of chronic diseases. The solution is to quit consuming the American

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diet but that may be a difficult choice for some people, which is why its best to try balancing out
the two diets.
Living in America a lot of what you are eating will be heavily influenced by what you
may be seeing on the media. Priming effects of television food advertising on eating behavior.
They did a research on kids and adults were they promoted foods on shows that were presented
to the people. Adults consumed more of both healthy and unhealthy snack foods following
exposure to snack food advertising compared to the other conditions. The advertisement of food
motivated the adults to consume more. Health advocates have focused on the prevalence of
advertising for calorie-dense low-nutrient foods as a significant contributor to the obesity
epidemic. This is saying that obesity, or being overweight is also due to the promotion of lownutrient food, or the American diet. Sometimes you may be wondering why you are eating
something? Maybe its because you saw it on television. Consuming the American diet this way
can be dangerous because you are doing it based on what you are seeing on television. Which
has proven to lead to obesity. My recommendation is to try not to react to what is being put on
television because it will control what you eat and how you eat it.

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With all the information provided, there is still one thing missing. The GMO fruits and
vegetables compared to the organic. I found this article online Are GMOs Really That Bad? by
Kate Bratskeir. Bratskeir brings up favoring positions about GMOs, the process has helped to
feed the hungry and to amplify a crops resistance to insects and harsh weather condition. its
good that the intenseness is so more mouths can get feed and be able to grow in extreme
weathers, but it continues to say, With the ability to alter crops genes, these companies can sell
produce that can withstand trauma for a lower cost. Why are the companies selling them at a
lower price? Because its an alternative to something original. By altering crops genes, we are
losing a lot of the nutrient that comes from the plants. It is just like buying anything else, buying
cheaper clothing means the material is not as good as the originally priced clothing may be.
Buying cheaper tires for your car means it still will offer you what you need but may not last as
long. The same thing can be applied to GMO foods. Its cheaper but it will lack nutrient that
comes from the original. Yes, its also true that cheaper will benefit the people who may not
be financially stable for organic, but wouldnt you want to make an investment on your body if it
means getting the proper nutrients and staying healthy?

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In conclusion, what will keep you away from the food related illness? Eating more plants
like Pollan says. Also finding the balance of what you are eating according to Maxfield and
Pollans positions. Also know that what you see on television may also control or influence what
you are eating. Try to make sure its not motivating you to consume the American diet, because it
will lead to health problems like obesity. Its easy to make a decision if someone else is making it
for you, sometimes you are not aware of the consequences. Yes, its true you can just go for the
GMO fruits and vegetables or even the balance of GMO and organic but over time you may
realize that with all the fruits and vegetables you are eating, you are still lacking a lot of nutrients
(at least the GMO ones). It could lead you to invest in all organic foods. No one has gotten sick
from eating organic, but eating an American diet will cause you to get sick.

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Works Cited
Bratskeir, Kate. Are GMOs Really That Bad?Huffington Post, 13 July 2016,
www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/are-gmos-really-+thatbad_us_55a40dd0e4b0ecec71bca6a5?slideshow=true.
Graff, Gerald et al. Food as Thought: Resisting the Moralization of Eating."They Say/I Say":
the Moves That Matter in Academic Writing: with Readings, W.W. Norton &Amp; Co.,
New York, 2012.
Graff, Gerald et al. Escape from the Western Diet."They Say/I Say": the Moves That Matter
in Academic Writing: with Readings, W.W. Norton &Amp; Co., New York, 2012, pp.
420427.
Harris, Jennifer L. Priming Effects of Television Food Advertising on Eating Behavior.Pardon
Our Interruption, APA PsycNet, July 2009, psycnet.apa.org/journals/hea/28/4/404/.
Jadhav, Ravindra. TV Commercials Influence Kids Eating Habits. Children Find Eating Fast
Food in and Fashionable. Dnasyndication, Http://Dnasyndication.com/, 7 May 2010,
dnasyndication.com/dna_photogallery_editorial_images/pid=DNMUM166259&filename
=Television_Commercial_Advertisement_Kid.
Jordan Younger The Balanced Blonde. The Balanced Blonde, Thebalancedblonde.com, 6
Dec. 2013, www.thebalancedblonde.com/2013/12/06/veganism-vs-plant-based-diet/.
Scott, Elizabeth. Directory of Open Access Journals.Food Safety and Foodborne Disease in
the 21st Century, Hindawi Publishing Corporation, 27 June 2016,
doaj.org/article/0101fc3631d949bbacb2c2a8b9db1804.
Upton, Julie. Appetite for Health. Appetite for Health, AppforHealth.com, 29 Mar. 2013,
appforhealth.com/2013/03/gmo-vs-organic/.