Category: Eating

Obesity numbers have tripled around the world since 1975, killing an estimated 2.8 million adults every year (World Health Organisation, 2018). Globally, it is one of the largest causes of preventable deaths and serious illness, due to many socio-economic factors, as well as the lack of individual and social responsibility. These factors contributing to obesity will continue to cause serious damage for future generations if more is not done to reverse this disease today.

Poverty, and the lack of education surrounding diet and physical activity, are but one contributing socio-economic factor in the rise of obesity cases (Cohen, Janicki-Deverts, Chen, Matthews, 2010) & (Cohen, 2018). Furthermore, obesity has been linked to many other socioeconomic factors, as statistics show that low-income families are more at risk of obesity due to being unable to afford healthy nutritious foods. Consequently, low-income families incorporate more fats and sugars into their diets as these foods are much cheaper (Darmon & Drewnowski, 2015). According to Caraher, (2018), “food choices are massively influenced by factors such as income, knowledge, and skills”. Unhealthy foods eaten by families of low-income lead to increased obesity and disadvantage amongst low-income wealth groups. For example, figures from the Health and Social Care Information Centre demonstrated that 25% of children in poor areas of Britain are obese compared with only 11% in wealthier areas of Britain (Ellen, 2015). However, a study by Social Science and Medicine found that in lower-income countries, higher socio-economic status (SES) meant more obesity cases. Obesity is also influenced by the fact that healthy food choices are more expensive and can take longer to prepare than cheap and easy fast foods which are a popular choice for families on a tight budget (Elder, 2014) & (NHS, 2014). Socioeconomic factors play a huge part in the widespread disease that is obesity, but it cannot be the only area to blame, as it is also up to individual and social responsibility to keep obesity figures under control.

Obesity is commonly caused by irresponsible choices by an individual managing weight, food choices, and exercise in everyday activities (My Virtual Medical Centre, 2011) & (HHS.gov, n.d.). A child becomes obese due to the food choices parents provide and the amount of exercise that is encouraged in households. It is the individual responsibility of a parent to provide their family with healthy food and correct portion size, as well as the encouragement of moderate exercise, in order to keep their families weight under control, thus remaining healthy and educating their children with healthy habits they can then use to provide for their future families. Many point the finger as to who is to blame for obesity, but the only ones accountable are both the choices an individual makes, as well as the social responsibility of society. There should be a wider social responsibility towards educating society on the causes and consequences of obesity and there needs to be increased support around this disease to help bring the climbing statistics under control (Brownell et al, 2010). Studies conducted have shown that countries with better economic development have populations with better health and nutritional skills as it has been proven that higher incomes lead to improved health and better eating (Lange & Vollmer, 2017). However, this idea is not always realistic in our modern-day world, as more children are exposed to heavy advertisements for new and different foods on television and social media, transforming them into demanding and fussy eaters (Golden, Garde, Handsley, 2018). There are increased fears of children walking/biking to school, as reports of child abductions and predators, suggest children are vulnerable. Children also spend increased time indoors on technology, rather than playing outside which encourages obesity within children as they become lazy and are not getting enough physical activity. These factors are creating bad habits that are often carried through to adulthood (Boyers, n.d.) & (Kids Health, 2018). These ideas suggest we need more social responsibility focussed on reducing the amount of heavily advertised junk foods promoted to children (Bradshaw, 2016) & (American Psychological Association, n.d.), and more encouragement for children to be active in a safe area. The potential introduction of a sugar tax on unhealthy products, such as soft drinks, lollies, chips, etc would also be a step forward in regard to social responsibility toward reducing the obesity epidemic. This measure would certainly improve the health and nutrition of individuals and would free up billions in healthcare spending, due to a decrease in the costs of treating the rising cases of obesity levels (Martin, Sacks, Veerman, 2016). These ideas show that keeping the obesity epidemic under control is not the responsibility of any one group of people but in fact, it is a social responsibility that we all need to work together on in order to reduce the number of people this disease is affecting globally.

Eliminating the rise in obesity is important for the health and well-being of future generations. If obesity continues to rise at the rate it is, there will be serious consequences in the near future. Obesity figures representing US youth are predicted to rise to above 57% in the near future, causing a catastrophic effect on the country’s health systems (Radcliffe, 2017). Obesity is a preventable disease on which billions of dollars are spent every year on problems stemming from it (The State of Obesity, n.d.). Governments may not be able to afford to cover obesity-related costs in the near future, as they are expected to become too expensive with a growing population affected by this disease. Simply by making healthier choices, and incorporating a little exercise into an everyday routine, billions of taxpayer dollars can be saved on providing healthcare to individuals with problems related to obesity. In turn, this money could be invested into more beneficial projects and research that would benefit society on a higher level (The State of Obesity, n.d.). As of 2017, more than 1 in 3 New Zealanders over 15 are obese, making our country the third fattest in the world (Ministry of Health, 2018). This means that for just under 29% of our population substantial weight on the body may lead to devastating consequences, such as premature death, limited mobility, type 2 diabetes, internal bleeding, esophagitis, high blood pressure, limited breathing ability, etc, (ASMBS, n.d.). All of these are preventable and place a heavy financial impact on the New Zealand health system (Cardinal Health, 2016). In order to bring the number of casualties affected by obesity down to a minimal and manageable amount more needs to be done to encourage both individual and social responsibility in society to help keep this disease under control.

There needs to be wider recognition from society as well as preventative measures introduced to resolve socio-economic issues contributing to obesity, which is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the world each year. If more is not done to reverse the damaging consequences of obesity, our future generations will be facing more serious issues in the upcoming years due to the damaging impact of this deadly disease. Addressing obesity-related issues is both individual responsibility, as well as society’s to promote a healthy, wholesome lifestyle. It is important to educate our parents and children on the life-threatening consequences of obesity, so that the increasing rate of the disease, is able to be reduced before there are irreversible problems for our health systems. Obesity will continue to be one of the world’s most deadly diseases, with higher casualties and consequences in the future if more is not done to recognize and prevent the socio-economic factors of the disease, as well as recognize both individual and social responsibilities that need to be taken in order to prevent the rise of obesity.

References:

1. American Psychological Association. (n.d.). The impact of food advertising on child obesity. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/topics/kids-media/food.aspx
2. American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. (n.d.). The Impact of Obesity on Your Body and Health. Retrieved from https://asmbs.org/patients/impact-of-obesity
3. Boyers, L. (n.d.). Obesity in Children and Technology. Livestrong.com. Retrieved from https://www.livestrong.com/article/46320-obesity-children-technology/
4. Bradshaw, B. (2016). Junk Food Marketing – a Crisis in the Marketplace. Retrieved from http://www.foodactive.org.uk/junk-food-marketing-a-crisis-in-the-marketplace-2/
5. Brownell, K., Kersh, R., Ludwig, D., Post, R., Puhl, R., Schwartz, M., Willett, W. (2010). Personal Responsibility And Obesity: A Constructive Approach To A Controversial Issue. Journal of Health Affairs, 29(3),. Retrieved from https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/10.1377/hlthaff.2009.0739
6. Cohen, M. (2018, February 20). It’s poverty, not individual choice, that is driving extraordinary obesity levels. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/its-poverty-not-individual-choice-that-is-driving-extraordinary-obesity-levels-91447
7. Cohen, S., Janicki-Deverts, D., Chen, E., Matthews, K. (2010). Child socioeconomic status and adult health. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1186(1), 37-55. Retrieved from https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.05334.x
8. Darmon, N., & Drewnowski, A. (2015). Contribution of food prices and diet cost to socio-economic disparities in diet quality and health: a systematic review and analysis. Journal of Nutrition Review, 73(10), 643-660. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4586446/
9. Elder, V. (2014, September 22). Eating healthy foods comes at a cost. Otago Daily Times. Retrieved from https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/eating-healthy-foods-comes-cost
10. Ellen, B. (2015, November 29). It’s simply harder to eat well when you are poor. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/nov/29/kis-junk-food-dont-blame-parents
11. Golden, M., Garde, A., Handsley, E. (2018, February 27). Children are far from protected from junk food ads – especially on social media. The Conversation. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/children-are-far-from-protected-from-junk-food-ads-especially-on-social-media-92382
12. HHS.gov. (2017). Importance of Good Nutrition. Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/fitness/eat-healthy/importance-of-good-nutrition/index.html
13. Kids Health. (2018). Kids and Exercise. Retrieved from https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/exercise.html
14. Lange, S., & Vollmer, S. (2017). The effect of economic development on population health: a review of the empirical evidence. British Medical Bulletin, 121(1), 47-60. Retrieved from https://academic.oup.com/bmb/article/121/1/47/2871224
15. Ministry of Health. (n.d.). Obesity Statistics. Retrieved from https://www.health.govt.nz/nz-health-statistics/health-statistics-and-data-sets/obesity-statistics
16. NHS. (2014). The ‘Healthy foods expensive’ claim is unrealistic. Retrieved from https://www.nhs.uk/news/food-and-diet/healthy-foods-expensive-claim-is-unrealistic/
17. Radcliffe, S. (2017). What Happens if Half of Today’s Children Are Obese at 35. Retrieved from https://www.healthline.com/health-news/half-todays-children-obese-at-35
18. The State of Obesity. (n.d.). The Healthcare Costs of Obesity. Retrieved from https://stateofobesity.org/healthcare-costs-obesity/
19. Tobin, L., & Sverha, J. (2016). Three ways obesity is affecting the entire healthcare system. Retrieved from https://www.cardinalhealth.com/en/essential-insights/obesity-and-our-healthcare-system.html
20. Veerman, L., Sacks, G., Martin, J. (2016, April 14). It’s time to tax sugary drinks. ABC News. Retrieved from https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-14/sacks-martin-veerman-its-time-to-tax-sugary-drinks/7326796
21. Virtual Medical Centre. (2011). Lifestyle Changes for Obesity and Weight Loss. Retrieved from https://www.myvmc.com/treatments/lifestyle-changes-for-obesity-and-weight-loss/
22. World Health Organisation. (2018). Obesity and Overweight. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight

Do you believe that getting healthy foods will offer more benefits than you save money in your bank account? It is a real truth. Because a healthy meal assists in a healthy body and a healthy lifestyle. Ultimately it condenses the cost of your doctor’s regular meeting similarly you can earn more coins since you are bodily fit. This is just one aspect of healthy benefits over better consumption. Healthy foods give you the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals we need to grow and develop, play and be active, fight infections and disease, have strong teeth and bones, and feel good. This essay aims to reveal some incredible benefits of eating healthy in staying healthy.

Rendering to the views of specialists concerning getting a healthy meal keeps your energy high. If you begin ingestion a lot of diets that feature unrefined carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, with an emphasis on vegetables, whole grains, and healthy oils, you’ll begin to ascertain your energy levels rise. It helps to achieve your day-to-day actions terribly effectively and expeditiously. The improvement of energy does not simply imply bodily energy, it comprises the physiological capability further. Therefore, they also recommend eating tiny, frequent meals, eating a smaller lunch, and avoiding crash diets. Moreover, avoid refined carbohydrates and sugar-coated snacks if you don’t need to crash in the middle of the afternoon. Associated attempt to try to get a prompt night if you’re systematically having energy falls throughout the day or desire carbs within the afternoon or late in the evening.

In addition, following a healthy diet results in fewer cravings. Pressure will cause cravings, and once you surrender to those cravings, you strengthen them. Do that usually enough and you finish up with a learned behavior or unhealthy ingestion habits. Are able to crave foods once we are missing key nutrients, therefore if we tend to eat a diet, we regularly realize we’ve fewer cravings. Typically, although we can additionally develop cravings for the foods that we tend to don’t would like, however, we tend to eat frequently, for example, if we tend to frequently eat a bit of cake or one thing sweet when dinner, then we can be during a pattern to expect or search out one thing sweet as shortly as we have a tendency to end dinner. Stock up on nutrient-rich foods throughout the day, create healthy acutely aware decisions frequently, and use caution of unhelpful habits to avoid these cravings.

Several researchers have done extensive studies about the relationship between food and mood, and let’s just say their findings were slightly complicated, to say the least. Through several diet studies, they determined that the effect between food and mood varied dramatically depending on the person. So they recommend a well-balanced diet rich in protein, moderate in carbohydrates, and low in fat since this could generally improve the mood of most people. Therefore, we should always try to taste a balanced diet to fix our mood.

And finally, healthy food helps us in maintaining weight physique and stamina. It helps in gaining willpower, eyesight, height, and much more. Especially from greens and fresh fruits. Healthy food is good for bones and it mostly helps in making them stronger and more powerful. Younger persons often eat junk or packed materials from the market without knowing the side effects. To stay healthy, we should stay away from such dull food practices and always try to take organic foods.

Eating healthy food definitely helps us stay healthy. We should take ‘eat healthy food’ as a promise. Let’s eat healthy, be fit, and enjoy implausible benefits throughout life.

This paper focuses on nutrition and diet in Egypt in the Middle East. It will provide information on Egypt and its diet and culture. Exploring their typical meals and their meal patterns and how religious practices are related to food. This paper will also analyze health issues related to Egyptian culture and nutrition and how it affects individuals in this country, and the issues that arise from their diets and nutrition.

To begin with, the typical Egyptian diet is based on a mixture of different histories and religions in their country. Much of their culture is heavily Eastern Mediterranean diets, which are heavy in vegetables, fish, and seafood. Vegetables are used very often in their diets, Egypt has many farms that have rich soils that help with crops, and it is also a cheaper option than meat for many individuals in the country. Although meat is available to many individuals such as chicken, lamb, and rabbits which are popular choices, they are also not as common as seafood in their diets.

Meals usually consist of starter salads, which are served at the beginning of the meal along with baked bread. The main course is then served and usually consists of a mixture of vegetables such as okra, lentils, and garlic. It also usually has a dish of fava beans, usually mashed. Desserts that are also popular in Egyptian culture include basbousa, which is made with semolina and then syrup is drizzled on top.

Staple foods of the Egyptian culture include foods that have been used for many years. Many of their staple foods come from ancient Egyptians, including breads such as whole wheat pita bread and white flour bread. Beans are also a food used daily in Egyptian culture, such as fava beans and fuul. Fresh fruits such as bananas, dates, and melons. Lamb is another staple food that is usually eaten with vegetables. Cheese is also a staple food that is used often in the Egyptian diet, many natives make their own cheese, although fermented mish is also popular when it is mass-produced as well. Herbs that are used often in Egyptian culture include parsley, dill, and mint.

Ramadan is when Egyptian Muslims fast over a months period. During Ramadan Muslims fast every day from dawn to sunset. They do not consume either food or beverages, including water, during the day when the sun is up. When the sun sets, individuals are allowed to eat iftar meals, which include fresh fruits, beverages, and dates. In the early morning, they are allowed a breakfast meal called suhoor. Some meals that are consumed in Egypt for holidays also include Egyptian fatteh, which is lamb and bread, and also Egyptian sweet couscous dessert, which is made with fruit juice and almonds.

Malnutrition in Egypt is very common among the native people. Issues include vitamin A deficiency, which can cause blindness and other health issues, as well as potassium deficiency, which also can cause many health issues, including muscle weakness, cramps, and heart rhythm abnormalities, and the individual may even become paralyzed in extreme cases.

Obesity rates in Egypt are also high, especially among children. This is caused by many processed foods that are cheaper for the natives who are unable to afford healthier foods. The obesity rate among children 6-9 years old was 14.9% in Egypt. This can affect many children in Egypt due to health issues that arise with obesity. Adults also struggle with obesity in Egypt with 35% considered obese. Physical activity is an issue in Egyptian culture, where adults and children are not getting enough exercise. Many poor families turn to potato and rice dishes and do not count calories. Health-related issues that come from obesity include high blood pressure, cancer, diabetes, and breathing problems.

It was interesting to learn about the cultural differences and nutritional diets and practices that Egypt in the Middle East has. Religion and other factors show how different cultures can be, how diets and nutrition may be affected by those, and how different health issues arise with different cultures and their diets.

The way we are living, our attitude, our emotion, the basic mental state, how streamlined our minds are, the level of activity we are going through, all these are very much a part of our health. A person’s health is influenced by health behaviors that are part of their individual lifestyle. Any behavior that affects the individual physical health or any behavior individual believes may affect their physical health is health behavior or in a nutshell, a person’s beliefs and actions regarding their health and well-being is health behavior. Health behavior is defined as “the activity undertaken by people for the purpose of maintaining or enhancing their health, preventing health problems, or achieving a positive body image” (Cockerham, 2014).

Although there are many health behaviors that could have been researched, the health behavior that I am going to be looking at in more detail in this essay is eating patterns, as I believe that eating patterns are one of the main fundamentals of good health. In this piece of work, I will be reflecting my belief about eating patterns and its dimension in terms of what characterized as healthy and risky eating patterns. I will also be reflecting on a factor that have influenced my beliefs about eating patterns with reference to health belief model. The essay will also include a conversation with a client who do not share my belief about the dimension of health behavior.

An individual usual dietary intake and choice regarding food and beverages over a continuous period of time is what I understand from eating pattern. And there are various healthy eating patterns one can follow and several behaviors that one should limit to remain healthier throughout their life.

Healthy Behaviors

Eating Balance Diet

All kinds of foods and drinks that we consume daily have a significant effect on our physical and mental well-being. I believe that good amount of nutrition based on healthy diet plan is one essential factor that helps us to stay healthy. The main idea here is to include variety of food from all the food groups (carbohydrate, protein, vitamin, minerals, fats) in recommended amount in our daily intake so that we get all nutrients require for our body to function well. Each food group has different and important nutrients. As good nutrients are essential in every stage of our life from infant, adult to old age, most of the countries around the world have introduce their own dietary guideline. The Australian Dietary Guidelines provide recommendations (based on the latest scientific evidence) on how to eat a healthy diet which can improve the health of Australians and reduce the burden of preventable diet-related death, illness and disability. This guideline recommends the number of ‘standard serves’ we should consume from the five core food groups each day, for a nutritious and balanced diet: 1) vegetables (a standard serve is about 75g (100–350kJ)); 2) fruits (a standard serve is about 150g (350kJ)); 3) grain (cereal) (a standard serve is (500kJ)); 4) lean meat and poultry, fish, eggs, nuts and seeds, and legumes/beans (a standard serve is (500–600kJ)); milk, yogurt, cheese and or alternatives (a standard serve is (500–600kJ)) (‘Serve Sizes| Eat for Health’, 2019). As long as individual follows a healthy diet that contain a wide range of nutritious foods for sufficient intake of all nutrients, including vitamins and minerals, the health benefit sustains. A healthy diet can help you maintain a healthy body weight and decrease your risk of many diet-related chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers (‘Healthy Eating Tips’, 2019).

Meal Timing and Meal Frequency

Maintaining proper meal time and meal frequency also plays significant role in living a healthier life, in my point of view. Eating regular meals not only help us prevent from hunger pain and avoid over, but also boost metabolism. Paying attention to our body’s hunger signals for when to eat and avoid eating just because others are eating automatically leads us to maintain that consistent routine time and frequency preventing us from binging and skipping meals. Timing meals and snacks to fit within 10-12 hours, such as between 6am and 6pm, may help promote weight loss, as well as decrease cardiovascular risk (‘Meal Timing and Frequency of Meals and Snacks for Optimal Health| Summit Medical Group’, 2019).

Water as a Vital Nutrient

We all are aware of the fact that keeping ourselves hydrated is crucial for health and well-being, yet many people do not consume enough water each day. Water is essential for performing various function of the body such as digestion, absorption transportation, and elimination of waste products. As our body cannot store water, we need fresh supplies of water every day to make up for losses from the process of excretion. “While all fluids help quench our thirst, as the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommends, water is the best drink of them all. All fluids count towards your daily fluid intake, but it is better if most of the fluid you drink is plain water” (‘Choose Water as a Drink: SA Health’, 2019).

Risky Behaviors

Consumption of Junk/Fast Food

In today’s busy world, trend of fast /junk food consumption and out-of-home eating behavior is growing day by day. As junk/fast foods are mostly consist of processed meats, refine carbohydrate, sodium and saturated/ trans-fats, and low in fiber and important nutrients like vitamin and minerals, frequent consumption of these foods can be taken as one of the main risks for the poor nutrients, leading to various heath condition. The Australian Dietary Guidelines categorized these foods (biscuits, cake, savory pastry pies, chocolate, sausage, cordial etc.) as discretionary choices and recommend limiting our intake of discretionary choices, as they are not part an essential part of a nutritious diet. Nutrition Australia advises limiting your intake of discretionary choices to a maximum of one serve per day (approx. 600kJ) (‘Serve Sizes| Eat for Health’, 2019). Eating junk food on a regular basis can lead to an increased risk of obesity and chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and some cancers (‘Junk Food’, 2019).

Multitasking During Mealtime

As a result of busy lives, multitasking has made its way to the kitchen. While it seems convenient to have breakfast in trains, snack in front of the television, lunch while working and eat dinner while watching television, I believe it has a huge impact on our health and how our body treats to hunger and nutrients. When we are eating, our body does some important jobs. The first job is to let us know when we are full, and second is to digest food and absorb nutrients. So, if we are busy doing other things while eating our brain is not able to register the five tastes and signal our body to keep eating until it is able to experience taste perception, resulting in a higher probability of overeating. Multitasking impacts our digestive system and its ability to absorb nutrients. “Researchers in 2013 concluded that multitasking individuals who were consuming food were more likely to overeat” (van der Wal & van Dillen, 2013).

Tobacco/Alcohol Consumption

The health risk of using tobacco be it in any form cigarette, loose leaf roller and drinking alcohol are known to all. Use of tobacco and alcohol alone or together may lead to major health threats, such as cancers, cardio vascular diseases, chronic liver diseases. “Most people start smoking when they are in their teens. They might start because of peer pressure from their friends, because their parents smoke, or simply because they are teenagers and they want to push the boundaries and take risks” (‘Why Do People Smoke?’, 2019). In Australia it is illegal to advertise about tobacco and alcoholic drinks, and there is a guideline for Australian to follow on reducing the harm of drinking alcohol which is known as the NHMRC Alcohol Guideline. recommendations on alcohol consumption are made on the basis of ‘standard’ drinks consumed. A standard drink in Australia contains 10g of alcohol (equivalent to 12.5ml of alcohol).

Personal Beliefs Regarding Eating Patterns

There are various factors that have influenced my above-mentioned beliefs regarding eating patterns. In this part to the essay, I am the explaining about the factors that, in my opinion, have influence my belief as per popular health belief model. The health belief model attempts to explain and predict health behaviors by focusing on the attitudes and beliefs of individuals. The model defines the key factors that influence health behaviors as an individual’s:

1. Perceived threat to sickness or disease (perceived susceptibility) and belief of consequence (perceived severity). Individual will start consuming nutritional and healthy diet if they suspect they are at the risk of developing health condition (such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetic, fatty liver, etc.) associated with lack of healthy diet, like junk/fast food, and its severity once the diseases is contracted.
2. Potential positive benefits of action (diet adherence). If they believe in the efficacy of dietary strategies (such as eating fresh home cooked meal instead of fast/junk food or including the right proportion of food from five food groups in meal as per individual’s dietary requirements), which are designed to help lower the risk of disease.
3. Perceived barriers to action (diet adherence). This factor includes possible negative consequences such as physical (gain/loss of weight), financial (expense of new foods), and psychological (lack of spontaneity in food choice) that stops individual’s from changing their unhealthy eating patterns.
4. Cues to action. Television programs, news article, events that guides individual to prepare and eat healthy food, and also wide availability of healthy food in retail and restaurant in a lower cost encourage people to act in changing their dietary habits.
5. Self‐efficacy. People have a sense of efficiency, adequacy, and believed they can successfully implement and sustain the new eating pattern (healthy), which is essential to produce the desired outcomes overcoming the barriers of behaviors.

In future I may meet many clients who will not share same belief regarding eating patterns. They may say things like:

Client: “Fast/junk is more convenient as I don’t have time to cook healthy meals”.

Me: “You can try to cook any healthy meals may be just once a week or may be on the weekend, or how about trying meal planning? Cook the meals in different sets on the weekend and store them in freeze so that you can just heat up and eat on week days”.

Client: “In a constant rush between my work and my university these days, forget about the breakfast, I even don’t have any time for lunch some days. But I always have a dinner, so it’s fine”.

Me: “Starving yourself by skipping meals throughout the day and stuffing only at dinner changes your body’s metabolic function, leading to several health problem like diabetics, ulcer. Instead, eat just any piece of fruits you like in the morning and pack some dry fruits, nuts, or peanuts so that you can eat it anywhere, anytime throughout the day. This will prevent your hunger pain and lower the chances of over eating at night”.

Client: “I don’t like plain water I hardly drink one glass a day. I love cordial, juice or soft drinks. I think all fluids does the same job, so as long as these drinks quench my thirst, it doesn’t matter”.

Me: “In my opinion swapping sugary drinks with plain water is best choice. As these drinks are lower in nutritional value and often contains high sugar and acidity levels, consuming it frequently in daily basis rises risk the chances of health issues like increasing bold sugar level, tooth decay. They are expensive too. So, why not make flavor water in your home rather than buying artificially sweetened drinks if you don’t like drinking just plain water? For added flavor, try adding squeezing some lime/lemon juice and some mint leaves or grated ginger. You can also, add slices of fruit (fresh or frozen) such as orange, strawberries, cucumber as per your taste. This way, you don’t have to drink plain water, but at the same time you also limit your daily intake of artificially sweetened drinks or other beverages”.

Conclusion

Summing up, as a nurse, I know that helping my patients make healthier food choices is important, and I am also aware that not all people will think same way as I do. My patients may have some valid reasons for why changing their eating pattern is difficult, but it will be my duty to educate them about how choosing and consuming healthy food over time will have lasting health benefits and inspire them to adopt healthier eating patterns.

References

1. Cockerham, W. (2014). Health Behavior. The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Health, Illness, Behavior, and Society, 764-766. doi: 10.1002/9781118410868.wbehibs296.
2. Behaviours & Risk Factors – Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports-data/behaviours-risk-factors
3. Serve Sizes| Eat For Health. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/food-essentials/how-much-do-we-need-each-day/serve-sizes
4. Healthy Eating Tips. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/healthyliving/healthy-eating-tips
5. Choose Water as a Drink: SA Health. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.sahealth.sa.gov.au/wps/wcm/connect/public+content/sa+health+internet/healthy+living/healthy+eating/healthy+eating+tips/choose+water+as+a+drink
6. Junk Food. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.healthywa.wa.gov.au/Articles/J_M/Junk-food
7. Van der Wal, R., & van Dillen, L. (2013). Leaving a Flat Taste in Your Mouth. Psychological Science, 24(7), 1277-1284. doi: 10.1177/0956797612471953.
8. Why Do People Smoke?. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.helptoquit.com.au/smoking-facts/why-do-people-smoke
9. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.nhmrc.gov.au/sites/default/files/documents/reports/alcohol-harm-reduction-faq.pdf
10. Meal Timing and Frequency of Meals and Snacks for Optimal Health| Summit Medical Group. (2019). Retrieved from https://www.summitmedicalgroup.com/news/nutrition/meal-timing-and-frequency-meals-and-snacks-optimal-health/

Visual and auditory perception play fundamental and primary role in vital human activities such spatial orientation, communication and forming perception of objects within day-to-day activities of human beings. By these reasons, vision and hearing are considered objective and universal in conjunction with thoughts and decisions. Otherwise, sense of smell, taste and touch are involved in feelings and emotions such as perfumery and cooking, and, to a certain extent and only in combination with vision, pottery, sculpture, dance, and pantomime, which are more subjective and less universal.

Designing user interfaces in human computer interaction (HCI) field has so far focused on senses of sight and sound. Smell is an underused sense in human computer interaction (HCI). This trend has changed through new targeting of olfactory technologies and will be further transformed in the future through the exploration of the sense of smell. Sense of smell is scientifically referred to as olfactory perception, which terms a process involved in olfactory sensory neurons stimulation and higher cerebral centers termination occurring within the nose and resulting in our awareness of an odor. Olfaction is a chemoreception that forms the sense of smell. Olfaction has many purposes, such as the detection of hazards, pheromones, and food. Olfaction commonly integrates with other senses to form the sense of flavor. For example, in our daily lives, smell tells us whether food is safe to eat, if a fire is breaking out in the next room, detects gas leak and so on.

The application area of virtual reality is vast from normal entertainment to the Internet and e-commerce application. With the digital olfactory technology, the customer will be able to smell the product before buying it online. California-based DigiScents Inc. has developed the iSmell personal scent synthesizer in the year 2000, which provides scent-enabled web sites, emails, interactive games, on-line advertising, and many more. The iSmell is a personal synthesizer that emits a broad range of fragrances. The iSmell digital olfactory technology is a complete solution for the digitization, broadcast and synthesis of smells to accompany all forms of media. iSmell is a plug-in computer accessory that contains a basic palette of scented oils from which a bouquet of different smells can be created (Chaitanya, Chetana, Narasimham, 2012).

Olfactory technology could also be used for biometric authentication technology. Biometrics simply refers to the method of using the physiological or behavioral characteristics to determine or verify one’s identity. There are different types of biometric techniques based on the physical characteristics (such as eye’s features (iris, retina), facial features, hand geometry, ear shape, finger prints, wrist or hand veins, DNA, chemical composition of body odor) and the personal characteristics (such as handwritten signature, keystrokes or typing patterns, voiceprint). Olfactory biometric technique is established based on body odor as a biometric technique. This technique is considered as a perspective scheme due to the fact that this technique is faster and easier since users will be not involved with unfamiliar interfaces such as typing password, signing or even deliberate exposing some part of the body (Kanakam & C B Rao & Hussain 2014). The potential possibilities involving olfactory technology are endless as olfaction can be involved in all physical aspects of life. However, we lack the knowledge and understanding to build such complex machines, and therefore, the research of olfaction is an absolute necessity.

This essay will give an example of how olfactory perception is applied. To help explain how complex olfactory perception really is, a simple action such as eating food was chosen to illustrate. The first step is to pinch the nose taking the scents and take a bite of food.

Eating is something we do many times every day and uses all five of our senses. Let’s explore the sense of smell and how that relates to eating habits. This example will be used to describe all the olfactory processes involved in the seemingly simple and effortless action. Although the step may be quick and effortless, there are many olfactory senses occurring that the brain must process for a person when eating food. A person must first identify the food in the air using just their sense of smell, they then sense the scent of the food and detect the flavors, feeling if it is delicious or not based on innate abilities and on what we learn, ignite memories as well as influence our mood and behavior. If good, they taste the food by putting it in the mouth, they will then experience the food. The olfactory processes involved in each step will be explained throughout this essay.

Smells also seem to come from the mouth, even though there are no cells there responsible for detecting scents. Instead, the sensation of strawberry, for example, depends upon activation of smell cells located at the end of the nasal passage. The information gathered by these cells is relayed to the mouth via a process called olfactory referral. Different from human beings, animals that are primarily dependent on olfaction must obtain a description of the spatial location and the individual odor quality of environmental odor sources through olfaction alone (Hopfield, 1991). Olfaction plays an important part in the human experience, from the detection of unpleasant smells emitted by potentially dangerous substances, to the role of odors in the experience of flavor, and the role of odor in sexual behavior and emotional memory.

The nose contains, on average, 30 million olfactory cells, which are able to distinguish an incredible amount of odors and aromas. Research has suggested as much as 75 to 95 percent of taste when eating food is registered in the olfactory system. During the time of eating food, sense of smell has influenced human beings’ eating act in two main ways, including direct way, called orthonasal olfaction and indirect way, known as retronasal olfaction, which basically transform the olfactory signal into taste of food, thus enhancing our perception of flavors. Orthonasal olfaction refers the time when smelling food through the nose. Referring as retronasal olfaction, sense of smell is encountered in the process of putting the food in the mouth.

First identify the food in the air using just their sense of smell. The main functions of olfaction relate to finding food, avoiding predators and disease, and social communication. Its role in detecting food has resulted in a unique dual mode sensory system. When eating, sense of smell is the most direct sense within five senses (visual, auditory, haptic, olfactory and gustatory sensitivity). In actual fact, before actually seeing or tasting the food, its smell will indicate how good it is. Environmental odorants are ‘smelled’ via the external nostrils, while volatile chemicals in food detected by the same receptors arrive via the nasopharynx, contributing to flavor. When smelling, the odorous molecules reach the nasal cavity and are captured by the mucous which contain olfactory receptors. These olfactory receptors have totally five million cells packed with cilia. These cells, then, come into contact with the odorous molecules, transmit a message to a specific area of the brain, through the olfactory nerve (Riccardo Meggiato, 2015). This arrangement allows the brain to link the consequences of eating with a food’s odor, and then later to use this information in the search for food. Recognizing an odorant, such as a food, perfume, requires the detection of complex chemical blends against a noisy chemical background. Once detected by sensory organs, nerve signals are sent to the brains where the signals are processed. The brain does not identify all the molecules that travel through the nose; often only a few substances enable us to distinguish a specific odor.

Odors can spark distant memories, reminding you, for example, of a meal you ate. This phenomenon may be because the olfactory brain is connected to other parts of the brain that analyze emotions and memories. Odors are associated with our experiences and emotions, which may change with time and experience in relation to different favorites and preferences.

Orthonasal olfaction and retronasal olfaction are two pathways that odors conduct to detect scents in the air, then, influencing humans’ eating. The former one involving the process when odors sniff through the nose. In orthonasal pathway, odors enter the nasal passages and are detected by chemical receptors in the nose. While retronasal pathway gets involved into connecting the top of the throat to the nasal cavity. The retronasal pathway involves aromas that are contained within the foods we eat. As chewing food, released odors travel through the retronasal olfaction, then connect the throat to the nasal cavity. Once in the nasal cavity, these chemicals are detected by olfactory receptor cells in the nose. In other words, the aromas in foods we eat can reach odor detecting cells in the nose. As such, the flavors in the food can be detected. Other types of smell defects include parosmia (a distorted perception of odors) and phantosmia (odors are hallucinated).

By focusing on the detection of odors, olfactory perception works. Olfactory epithelium located in the nose contains millions of chemical receptors that detect odors. When we sniff, chemicals in the air are dissolved in mucus. Odor receptor neurons in olfactory epithelium detect these odors and send the signals to the olfactory bulbs. Along olfactory tracts, these signals are then sent to the olfactory cortex of the brain. The olfactory cortex, which is vital for the processing and perception of odor, located in the temporal lobe of the brain, which is involved in organizing sensory input. The olfactory cortex is also a component of the limbic system, which is the key to encourage the processing of our emotions, survival instincts, and memory formation (Sarafoleanu, 2009). The olfactory cortex has connections with other limbic system structures such as the amygdala, hippocampus, and hypothalamus. The amygdala limbic system is involved in forming emotional responses (particularly fear responses) and memories, the hippocampus indexes and stores memories, and the hypothalamus regulates emotional responses. The hypothalamus is the limbic system that connects senses, such as odors, to the memories and emotions, feelings. The connection between sense of smell and emotions is unlike that of the other senses because olfactory system nerves connect directly to brain structures of the limbic system. Both positive and negative emotions can be triggered by odors as aromas are associated with specific memories.

Additionally, studies have demonstrated that our olfactory sense can be influenced by the emotional expressions of others. This is impacted by the piriform cortex, activity of an area of the brain, which is activated prior to odor sensation. The piriform cortex processes visual information and creates an expectation that a particular fragrance will smell pleasant or unpleasant. Therefore, when we see a person with a disgusted facial expression before sensing an odor, there is an expectation that the odor is unpleasant. This expectation influences how we perceive the odor (Merkelt, 2017). The sense of sight when we see a food also impacts the way that we notice the odor whether it is delicious or not.

Compared to primates and higher order mammals, over the course of evolution, we have deactivated two thirds of the genes in our olfactory receptors. We only have 350 genes left to produce the functional receiver proteins that enable us to smell. The brain solves this problem in two ways. First, by rapid adaptation to background odorants so that new odorants stand out. Second, by pattern matching the neural representation of an odorant to prior olfactory experiences. This account is consistent with olfactory sensory physiology, anatomy, and psychology. Odor perception, and its products, may be subject to further processing of olfactory cognition. While olfactory cognition has features in common with visual or auditory cognition, several aspects are unique, and even those that are common may be instantiated in different ways. These differences can be productively used to evaluate the generality of models of cognition and consciousness (Stevenson, 2013).

Individual people differ greatly in sensitivity to odors. It is unclear how different odors are distinguished by receptor activity. It may be that different proteins in the receptors are responsive to specific molecules of a given odor. Different receptors may have different distributions of these receptor proteins. The olfactory system is highly sensitive. For example, one form of musk can be detected by a normal person at a dilution of less than one ten-millionth of a milligram per liter of air. It has been proposed that molecules stimulate olfactory receptor cells via two mechanisms, direct and indirect or from a distance. The direct-action theories are, however, better supported by modern research.

The olfactory system represents one of the oldest sensory modalities in the phylogenetic history of mammals. As a chemical sensor, the olfactory system detects food and influences social and sexual behavior. The specialized olfactory epithelial cells characterize the only group of neurons capable of regeneration. Activation occurs when odiferous molecules come in contact with specialized processes known as the olfactory vesicles.

The chemical senses are particularly of interest in the context of food interaction design, linked to the study of food in everyday life, such as investigating the ecologies of domestic food consumption and package design, but also with respect to the exploration of novel interaction concepts, for instance, shape-changing food, edible screen or interface.

From all this information it can be concluded that sense of smell is vital and convenient in daily life. It is a very complex process that is still yet to be fully understood, but it is a very powerful sense and can have many uses for the future and smell interaction design. Despite the fact that the act of smelling a scent in the air is passive, subjective and seems to be useless without interacting with other more powerful senses, such as visual and auditory, the information including emotions and feelings that olfactory perception triggers is not useless at all. This type of information is the key in encouraging customers to prefer one product than others, knowing how the consumer feels means the product design can be manipulated to best suit the consumer. This can be applied for any product, if the olfactory perception behind the product is understood, then it can be designed perfectly. Further research into olfactory perception is an absolute necessity for the future in partnership with the technological advances, investing olfactory technology into scents testing via e-commerce of perfumery and food industry, biometric technology into security, will be revolutionary.

When somebody is in a tight spot that individual may pick an undesirable method to relieve their uneasiness. One of the most popular ways that is unhealthy is emotional eating. Numerous individuals think it’s anything but a major issue, since they don’t consider it to be an issue. During the 1930s to 1950s, they believe smoking was not a big issue, however at this point they release exactly how terrible is smoking for an individual is. As life goes on each era faces another treat that they didn’t release it was a huge issue. Stress eating is a significant issue, causing serious mental and physical health issues.

Stress eating may be the propensity of its sufferers to react to stressful, difficult circumstances by binge eating, even when not experiencing physical hunger. Most frequently, such individuals refer to emotional eating as a coping mechanism to handle negative emotions. Frequently, emotional eating is a craving for high-calorie or high-carbohydrate foods that have insignificant health benefits for an able human body. The type sustenance that stress eaters want are regularly alluded to as comfort foods; the consuming large amount of foods high in fats and sugars has been found to release endorphins, although endorphins aren’t the thing only to blame. A study from Harvard Health, ‘Why Stress Causes People to Overeat’, says that about 40% of individuals will in general eat more when focused, while about 40% eat less and 20% experience no adjustment in the measure of sustenance they eat when dealing with emotional pressure. Therefore, stress can be related with both weights put on and weight reduction. While emotional eating can be a symptom of what mental health experts connect it with mental health and health issues. Anyone can be affected by emotional eating, and not realize it can change into a bigger problem later.

Stress eating can be caused by a buildup. “Not many of us make the connection between eating and our feelings. But understanding what drives emotional eating can help people take steps to change it” (‘Emotional Eating’). ‘Emotional Eating’ by Mary Gavin states that early on, individuals may learn emotional eating patterns, a child getting a sweet on good behavior, children eating only junk food on special occasions, or child given a treat to stop crying. Each of these, habits, are links to stress eating. Every time a person does good, they will over eat on sugar or fatty food because as child that is what they are taught to do. That sweet one got as a child to stop crying is an emotional link to eat. When a person goes through a hard break up, getting bad grades, or not getting a job. Those things cause people to get confront food. It is difficult to stop this undesirable propensity since one is grown up with these propensities. Eating can be an approach to incidentally quiet or ‘stuff down’ uncomfortable emotions, including outrage, fear, sadness, anxiety, loneliness, stress, and shame. While one is numbing oneself with food, one can avoid the difficult emotions rather not feel. Individual may feel a void or emptiness, and food is a way to occupy one’s mouth and time. In the moment, it fills individual up and distracts one from underlying feelings of purposelessness and dissatisfaction with life. Individual may also overeat in social situations out of nervousness. Sometimes an individual’s family or circle of friends encourages one to overeat, and it is easier to go along with the group.

According to the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA), emotional eating is link with many kinds of eating disorder. “Young people between the ages of 15 and 24 with anorexia have 10 times the risk of dying compared to their same-aged peers” (NEDA). Anorexia is the point at which an individual does not eat enough, a passionate issue portrayed by an over-the-top desire to achieve a particular body standard by declining in eating. Many young individuals who suffer from stress eating can have symptoms such as food avoidance, decreased appetite, abdominal pain, and emetophobia. Many times, when an individual is hospitalized because of their emotional eating habits they turn to self-harm. If the individual carry on this path their insides will be mess up and their organs will shut down. According to NEDA, up to 40% of overweight young ladies and 37% of overweight young men are bully about their weight by friends or relatives. Weight bullying predicts weight gain, voraciously consuming food, and extraordinary weight control measures. Low confidence is a typical normal for people who emotionally eat. Whenever these individual gains unnecessary weight, they suffer from diabetes, heart disease, and certain cancers.

There is still a great deal of research necessary to investigate into stress eating. What society do know without a doubt is that the examples that have been displayed are from the viewpoints and experience of the author of this particular essay. It is highly recommended for one to understand the dangers of stress eating and research more into this topic. The more the general population becomes aware of this trend, the easier it may be combated through other, more beneficial habits, such as exercise, meditation, healthier eating, and much more. Stress is a universal stimulus that all living creatures react to. Society must be diligent to make sure they handle our stressors and learn to cope appropriately.

The ethics of eating meat has gained a lot of attention, but when people talk about the ethics of eating meat, they either know how to answer or don’t. But most people are now becoming more aware of the inhumane nature of meat industries. Books like ‘On Eating Meat’ made by Matthew Evans, TV networks such as SBS made a show about animals and meat and it is called ‘For the Love of Meat’, and this TV show teaches us what actually happens to the animals that we eat and how the animals are treated. Others disagree with eating meat and claim that is it just cruel and unnecessary. However, some people who claim that it is important to eat meat often argue that it is beneficial for our health. The importance of this issue is, without a doubt, the significant loss of animal life. People who eat meat should eat in moderation due to the fact that meat has its benefits and detriments due to the fact that it causes unnecessary suffering on animal life, too much meat negatively affects human health, and livestock farming has a severe impact on the environment.

To begin with, the eating of meat should not be allowed or banned because it causes unnecessary animal suffering. The mass production of meat sees thousands of livestock being led to slaughterhouses on a daily basis, and the conditions are more awful than people think. We kill and eat more than 150 billion animals every year. These are the numbers of animals slaughtered worldwide by the meat, egg, and dairy industries. Animals are sentient creatures whose needs and interest matte, then we should ensure these needs and interests are at least minimally met and that we do not cause them to suffer unnecessarily. Industrial livestock farming falls well short of this minimal standard. Most meat, dairy, and eggs are produced in ways that largely or completely ignore animal welfare. Failing to provide sufficient space to move around, contact with other animals, and access to the outdoors. As the living conditions, for chicken, they are either in cages or in cramped up spaces with a lot of chickens. This, in turn, increases the birds’ contact with the litter causing foot pad burn. Helpless animals are suffering unnecessarily cruel and painful deaths. Chickens can die from heat stress caused by the cramped conditions in the shed. In short, industrial farming causes animals to suffer without good justification. Although it can be argued that not all animal farms have poor living conditions, it is clear that it is not regulated effectively. This demonstrates how the meat industry has failed at implementing humane methods of meat production and has therefore caused unnecessary harm to animals. For this reason, the eating of meat should be banned to ensure that no further harm is done.

People have a point in thinking like that. However, do you think going vegan or vegetarian means no animals will die? Billions of animals are killed on Australian farms to protect crops, farmer Matthew Evans says. All diets rely on the death of animals, it’s important to remember this. Even vegan diets result in the death of many animals. Rabbits, deer, etc., are culled in large numbers in order to protect crops, and with a vegan diet these animals would simply be left to rot. In Australia, around 100 mice are killed per hectare of wheat. It’s also important to note that many of these mice die slow, painful deaths as they starve to death after their mothers have been poisoned. That doesn’t account for the huge number of reptiles killed, plus insects, that disturb the food chain. Matthew Evans has spent the last few years researching Australia’s food industry and has come to an uncomfortable conclusion: animals will die in our name regardless of whether we choose to eat meat. In fact, he found billions of animals are deliberately killed every year on Australian farms purely to protect fruit and vegetable crops for human consumption. Matthew Evans has written a book ‘On Eating Meat’, which calls omnivores and vegans to look at the impact of their dietary choices. Australians are among the biggest meat-eaters in the world, devouring an average of 110 kilograms of meat each year, and people should buy less, but better-quality meat that is farmed ethically and sustainably. “I think a lot of vegans probably understand some animals die, but they may not understand the scale”, Matthew Evans told ABC News. So, a duck dying to protect a rice paddy for me is not much different for a cow dying to produce a steak. They are both animal deaths that happen in the name of us being able to eat. So, there is nothing that we can do that doesn’t have an impact on animals.

Additionally, eating meat has a lot of benefits, such as a stronger immune system. One of the biggest drawbacks of both vegetarian and vegan diets is the very real danger of a weakened immune system. In order for your body to create the antibodies it needs to fend off illnesses, it requires a rich mix of amino acids. Eating a few different types of meat such as beef, pork tenderloin, chicken, fish, etc. several times a week will provide your immune system with the zinc, selenium and omega-3 fatty acids it needs to fire on all cylinders. Ultimately, meat consumption can prevent illness and reduce recuperation times when you do get sick. People that avoid eating meat and rely instead on a purely vegetarian diet have a harder time managing energy levels throughout the day. A few strips of bacon or an egg in the morning or a sensible roast beef sandwich at noon can help to regulate your energy levels throughout the day. An added benefit of moderate meat consumption is a more restful night’s sleep.

To a certain extent, people who support this point of view are right. But eating an excessive amount of meat, especially red and processed meat, is linked with poor health outcomes, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and various cancers. These diseases represent a major portion of the global disease burden, so reducing consumption could offer considerable public health benefits. Currently, the average meat intake for someone living in a high-income country is 200-250g a day, far higher than the 65g recommended by the Australian Dietary Guidelines. The Australian Dietary Guidelines are more conservative and recommend limiting red meat intake to a maximum of 455g a week, or 65g a day, to reduce the additional cancer risk that comes from eating large quantities of red meat. Switching to a more plant-based diet could save up to 8 million lives a year worldwide by 2050, lead to healthcare-related savings and avoided climate change damages of up to $1.5 trillion.

Lastly, the environmental impact is huge. Livestock farming has a vast environmental footprint. It contributes to land and water degradation, biodiversity loss, acid rain, coral reef degeneration and deforestation. Livestock farming contributes 18% of human-produced greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. This is more than all emissions from ships, planes, trucks, cars and all other transport put together. Reducing the consumption of animal products is essential if we are to meet global greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets, which are necessary to mitigate the worst effects of climate change.

Meat production requires lots of grain, water, and land. Meat production is highly inefficient and this is particularly true when it comes to red meat. To produce one kilogram of beef requires 25 kilograms of grain to feed the animal and roughly 15,000 liters of water. The scale of the problem can also be seen in land use: around 30% of the earth’s land surface is currently used for livestock farming. Since food, water and land are scarce in many parts of the world, this represents an inefficient use of resources. In short, industrial livestock farming is not only inefficient, but also not equitable.

On the other hand, eating wild animals, if carefully managed, has one of the smallest environmental impacts of any food source. In certain circumstances farming livestock can actually result in fewer sentient animals dying than crop farming. This may seem counter-intuitive, however, if you look at something like cattle farming on rangeland in Australia this uses native ecosystems.

If one of the reasons for veganism and vegetarianism is to eat in a manner that causes the least unnecessary harm to animals, then in certain circumstances this should involve eating meat. A purely plant-based diet ignores the fact that animals have to be killed in order to maintain such a diet for the vast majority of the population. Not eating meat, therefore, results in the waste of nutrition and protein, and thereby resulting in a greater requirement of crop farming and more animal deaths. It is also possible that the push for a plant only based diet can result in the destruction of native ecosystems (which can be utilized for meat production), which in turn creates far more damage to native wildlife.

In conclusion, some people think eating meat causes unnecessary animal suffering because of how many animals we kill and eat, and because animals are sentient creatures. However, being vegan or vegetarian doesn’t mean no animals will die. All diets rely on the death of animals, it’s important to remember this. Even vegan diets result in the death of many animals. Eating meat has lots of benefits such as a stronger immune system. One of the biggest disadvantages of both vegetarian and vegan diets is the danger of a weakened immune system. In order for your body to create the antibodies it needs to fend off illnesses, it requires a rich mix of amino acids. But eating an excessive amount of meat also has its detriments. Especially red and processed meat. It is linked with poor health outcomes, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and various cancers. Switching to a more plant-based diet could save up to 8 million lives a year worldwide by 2050. Livestock farming contributes 18% of human-produced greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. This is more than all emissions from ships, planes, trucks, cars, and all other transport put together. But in certain circumstances, farming livestock can actually result in fewer sentient animals dying than crop farming.

I believe that eating meat is still better. It’s true that eating meat has its disadvantages, but for years we have eaten meat. But in the end, it all comes to each person’s opinion and beliefs. Whether people eat meat is up to their choice, but they should be aware of the impact of their choices. So, a duck dying to protect a rice paddy for me is not much different for a cow dying to produce a steak. They are both animal deaths that happen in the name of us being able to eat. So, there is nothing that we can do that doesn’t have an impact on animals. Animals will die in our name regardless of whether we choose to eat meat. In fact, billions of animals are deliberately killed every year on Australian farms purely to protect fruit and vegetable crops for human consumption. We should opt for better-quality meat that is farmed ethically and sustainably even though it cost just a bit more. That way it is better for us, the animals and the environment. If we don’t, then we will have lots of problems in the future.

Healthy eating on a budget is a very important topic due to the well-established link between diet and disease. It is important that the foods that are promoted as healthy are made affordable to the entire population to reduce the gap that currently exists between social classes and the subsequent effect this has on the health of these individuals.

It is known that diet both influences and inhibits the progression of certain diseases. For example, overconsumption of red meat is associated with a 17% increased risk of developing colorectal cancer, while beta-glucans in oats are proven to help decrease cholesterol. The opposing effects that food can have on health make it a very important topic in public health and one that people need to be educated on.

The need to educate people on how to achieve healthy eating on a budget is evident by the vast research that has found associations between lower socio-economic status and the development of certain diseases such as stroke, heart disease, and diabetes. In 2012, Diabetes UK reported that type 2 diabetes was 2.5 times more common in deprived areas and costs an estimated £10 billion annually. Data from the 2008-2011 National Diet and Nutrition Survey also found that those of higher socioeconomic status consumed 128g/d more fruit and vegetables, 26g/d less red and processed meats, and were 2.4-4 times more likely to eat oily fish.

In 2015, Defra reported that food prices had risen by 18% between 2007 and 2013. The increase in food prices, as well as the economic downturn, have and remain to have an impact on people’s incomes and subsequent expenditures. Eating healthy has commonly been associated with costing more, and a recent study seems to verify this, suggesting that it is 3-17% more expensive to meet your dietary requirements compared to not meeting them, however, the difference equates to little more than 50p daily. This additional cost was not compared to the long-term costs that may be incurred due to the increased risk of adverse health effects that could occur as a result of not meeting your requirements, such as micronutrient nutrient deficiencies, obesity, and related chronic diseases. WHO found that an unhealthy diet is one of four risk factors in the development of non-communicable diseases. While Jones et al. (2017) found that healthy eating was associated with costing more, other studies, including one focusing on college students, have found that those who consumed convenience foods, red meat, and alcohol spent more overall, and their choices were associated with poorer lifestyle quality.

The increased cost associated with healthy eating is further fueled by the widespread availability of high-fat, high-sugar products. These items are advised to be consumed rarely, with less than 8% of total daily energy recommended to come from these sources. However, a recent study found that across 14 supermarkets and a total of 41, 194 products, high-fat, and high-sugar items make up 36% of the total products on display. This finding is highlighting the ever-present opposition that is faced by healthy eating initiatives.

The studies mentioned highlight the need for more public health initiatives focused on healthy eating on a budget, as well as informing people on the best value options and healthy alternatives to high-fat, high-sugar foods. The topic applies to all socio-economic groups, whether they are parents trying to feed a family or a full-time student relying on their student loan – being aware of what you consume is important and so is its cost, whether that’s monetary or the cost to your health.

Most people will say that the United States focuses more on healthy eating today, but that does not mean that our eating habits are better than they were years ago. They have actually become worse due to an increase in the production of processed and refined foods that are low in nutrients and high in fat and sugar. The most efficient way to turn this situation around and get the country’s health back on track is by applying better nutrition in schools. Because children and teens are continuously developing, they can change their eating habits more efficiently than most adults. Although most schools already offer a variety of foods, there are numerous advantages to offering only nutritious options in the lunch line.

Eating a well-balanced breakfast and lunch can benefit the school overall because it improves a student’s ability to focus in class. Most schools aim for their attendees to be successful, and guaranteeing that their students are eating healthy foods can give the students a greater chance at achievement. In a test conducted over all California public schools, the CA state achievement tests were compared: “We find that test scores increased 0.03 to 0.05 standard deviations after contracting with healthy school meal providers” (Anderson et al., p.82). In other words, the test scores at California public schools with healthy meal providers increased slightly above the average score for that test. A nutritious diet has proven successful in significantly raising cognitive function and academic status. Healthier foods provide essential nutrients to the brain that aid in concentration and improve a student’s grades overall. With an increased academic performance rate, the school is more likely to have elevated school rankings and greater enrollment in the following years. This can considerably help the academy’s economic stability and social recognition. Overall, the intake of nourishing cuisine daily will lead to remarkable success for not only the student but also the school.

By providing only healthy options for adolescents in the lunchroom, schools can play a significant role in reducing the chances of childhood obesity. Some kids do not realize how much their weight and diet affect their physical health, so it is the school’s job to take the initiative in teaching students how to fuel their bodies with nutrient-dense meals. An article on schools’ roles in obesity prevention says that schools are identified as a key setting for public health strategies to lower or prevent the prevalence of overweight and obesity. While schools alone cannot solve the childhood obesity epidemic, it also is unlikely that childhood obesity rates can be reversed without strong school-based policies and programs to support healthy eating and physical activity. Since students spend much of their time at school, they also eat most of their meals and snack there, so the school must always provide only healthy foods. Most schools will supply healthy lunches but fail to acknowledge the importance of eating nutritious snacks as well, allowing their students and staff to sell highly processed chips, sweets, etc. Because of this situation, the group of overweight children is greater today than it has ever been before. If educational institutions begin to prohibit the selling of unhealthy meals and snacks and instead switched them out for fruits and vegetables, then adolescents would no longer be tempted to buy junk food, leading to an overall increase in physical health and an overall decrease in obesity and weight gain.

By eating healthy on a daily basis and starting their days correctly, students would be encouraged to eat healthier when they go home for dinner and continue to do this in the future. As humans, we tend to build routines for ourselves, and when adolescents are introduced to enjoyable foods that benefit them holistically, they are more likely to continuously implement healthy eating habits into their lives. An evidence-based advice article states that you don’t have to be perfect, you don’t have to completely eliminate foods you enjoy, and you don’t have to change everything all at once. As your small changes become a habit, you can continue to add more healthy choices. Most of the time, individuals strive to go about eating nutritionally balanced meals, but they do not know where to start. Beginning by changing one meal per day is a simple goal that can be easily achieved and will persuade students to continue adding to their objectives each time they reach a previous goal.

It is often argued that healthy foods cost a great deal more than their unhealthy counterparts and are less likely to satisfy individuals. This means that schools would make less revenue from selling meals due to the prohibition of processed foods and the decrease in sales, and they would need to pay greater prices for healthy food, causing their profit to go down. Although this is true for nutrient-dense food in general, it is unlikely to affect schools, as much as people think, because of the health programs and organizations that have taken action to ensure healthy eating in schools. In her article, Kathy Burrill explains that the National School Lunch Program provides per-meal cash reimbursements to help schools provide this meal. This means that the programs that support the healthy eating initiative would help the schools that needed aid in paying for students’ meals. In a separate investigation, it was concluded that most schools have been able to improve the nutritional value of competitive foods without changing their overall revenue, and it was found that after schools began implementing only healthy lunches, the number of students choosing the school lunch increased over time. This proves that the elimination of processed foods in the lunchroom did not lead to a negative impact on the general finances of the school.

Have you ever met someone who said they wished they had eaten unhealthier or should start eating unhealthier? Exactly! There are very few, if any, individuals who do not crave a healthier lifestyle. Somewhere within, we all know that eating nutritiously dense foods has a great impact on our lives. They give us more energy and make us feel at our finest. Eating healthier will largely increase mental and physical health, leading our population to live longer and stronger life. So why not start early? Why not eliminate processed, unhealthy foods from school snacks, breakfasts, and lunches? If this fairly simple idea is adopted by academies, the quality of life for students and adults in our generation can improve a tremendous amount, giving our society a thriving outlook.

Do you think the kitchen is a female occupation? But once a year, on March 8, you can sacrifice principles. Even if you do not distinguish dill from parsley, and the oven is worse for you than a fire-breathing dragon, try your hand at the kitchen! And it does not matter if you never cooked anything harder than fried eggs. What you have prepared yourself, she will be delighted more than the most exquisite and expensive delicacy. Together with ‘Scarlett for March 8’, I propose my recipe for shrimp salad. Delicate and bright in composition, it will decorate your holiday table or a romantic dinner.

Ingredients

• Shrimps – 0.5 kg
• Bay leaf – 2 pieces
• Allspice – 4-5 pieces
• Seasoning
• Salt
• Potatoes – 2 pieces
• Carrots – 1 pc
• Avocado – 1 pc
• Chicken Egg – 2-3 pieces
• Gelatin – 2 tsp
• Water – 0.5 stack
• Mayonnaise
• Lemon
• Greens

Boil shrimp for 3 minutes (from the moment of boiling) in salted water with the addition of bay leaf, allspice, and seasoning for fish. Two pieces left for decoration. Cool and clean the rest. Boil eggs, carrots, and potatoes. Gelatin pours cold water and leaves to swell. Next, dissolve it in a water bath. Stir well to avoid lumps. Cool to room temperature.

Combine sour cream and mayonnaise in equal quantities, and add gelatin Now you need to choose the form in which you will lay all the components of the salad in layers. I have a plastic container. We cover the form with a food film so that the ends of the film stick out. This is so that later it was convenient to take out the salad on a plate.

Now we lay the Shrimp salad with tomatoes on the bottom of the mold, and grease with mayonnaise. This will be the first layer. Try to lay the shrimp back to the side of the container. The second layer is boiled eggs. Peel, divide into whites and yolks (you cannot do this) and rub through a grater (or crumble dice). Place on top of the shrimp, salt, and grease with mayonnaise. I note that between squirrels and yolks, I did not coat them with mayonnaise. The third layer is avocado. Cut in half, cut the pulp into cubes. Sprinkle with lemon juice and smear with mayonnaise. The fourth layer is boiled carrots. Cut into cubes and smear with mayonnaise. Do not forget to salt. The fifth layer is boiled potatoes. Either on a grater or cut into small cubes, like mine.

By the way, I also cut carrots and avocados into small cubes. Do not overdo it with potatoes, it should be less than carrots. And let the salad was not heavy. Salt potatoes and grease with mayonnaise. Put the form with the salad in the fridge for 10-15 minutes to harden and soak. Next, on a large plate, turn over our shape and carefully, holding onto the edges of the film, remove it. Remove the film from the salad. I decorated the top with a slice of lemon, shrimp, and greens. The salad is ready to eat. The salad looks bright and colorful. If this salad is for a romantic dinner for two, then it is possible to add hearts with shrimp.