Short Essay 5

Robert Seiler

Dr. Leake

WRIT1133-63

15 May 2013

Potatoes: The Controversy

            It is no surprise that potatoes and various potato products were around the top of the list for classmates’ food consumption. In America, the potato is one of the most commonly consumed foods but is it healthy to eat potatoes on such a regular basis? To put it bluntly, yes potatoes are actually very healthy for your body and mind. However, unfortunately most Americans consume potatoes in the form of deep fried French fries or greasy potato chips. This complicates the discussion of potatoes but the objective truth is that the potato itself is a very good source of many vital nutrients.

In the discussion of potatoes, specifically here in America, a basis of understanding must be respected in order to understand the truth behind this food. The North Carolina Potato Association reports that the average American eats 142 pounds of potatoes a year. That weight amounts to is almost 365 potatoes, which means that the average American eats about one potato per day. However, this association fails to tell you how the average American consumes these potatoes every year. On average, an American will consume 96 one-ounce bags of potato chips per year- equivalent to 6 pounds per year and we consume a whopping 29 pounds of French fries in a year. To continue off this, 95% of all frozen potato products sold in America are French fries. Finally, Americans consume over 4.5 billion pounds of French fries, 6.7 billion pounds of potato chips, and 750 million pounds of potato chips in just 365 days.

Potatoes are considered by many to be the number one vegetable crop in the world, but they are not for everyone and there are risks involved. WH Foods placed potatoes on their top 10 controversial foods list because they belong to the nightshade vegetable group, which can have negative effects on the body. This group includes tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, and potatoes to name a few. Doctor Ora Smith, considered in his field to be one of the top potato researchers, released his findings on the nightshade family of vegetables. His major discovery is that nightshades can be attributed to arthritis, which is a problem that most humans face at some point in their lives. His studies on mammalian species including rats, sheep, rabbits, guinea pigs, and chicks showed that these various nightshade products caused calcinosis, which is the animal version of osteoarthritis. Shockingly, nightshades also contain a small amount of nicotine, which is the addictive chemical in tobacco and there have been numerous studies showing that these vegetables cause inflammation. This can cause problems when rehabilitating from a bodily injury. Though these findings may seem disturbing, especially since the Average American consumes 142 pounds of just potatoes alone, when consumed at an appropriate level, potatoes can be a valuable and nutritious addition to your diet.

Potatoes come in many varieties and they are packed with nutritious elements and they wont make you gain a ton of weight. A single potato can provide you with many of your daily food values: 27.6% Vitamin C, 27% Vitamin B6,26.4% Potassium, 21.8% tryptophan, 19% manganese, 15.2% fiber, and contains 160 calories which is 8% of your daily need. Potatoes also contain various phytonutrients that act as antioxidants. WHFoods states, “Among these important health-promoting compounds are carotenoids, flavonoids, and caffeic acid, as well as unique tuber storage proteins, such as patatin, which exhibit activity against free radicals.” Additionally, geneticist Roy Navarre identified 60 different phytochemicals that compete with Broccoli- considered by many to be a “super food.” Potatoes have also been found to lower blood pressure, build cells, support brain cell and nervous system activity, keep your heart healthy, and increase athletic performance. This plethora of health benefits show that potatoes have the potential of being a superior addition to your daily food intake.

Potatoes are, no doubt, a complicated discussion in America. Due to the unhealthy ways most Americans consume potatoes they received a bad reputation that has been mended in recent years. It is safe to say that, even though there is some minor risk involved in consuming too much potatoes, if eaten responsibly potatoes can benefit your mind and body like many “super foods” we have commonly accepted here in America.

Works Consulted

http://0-search.proquest.com.bianca.penlib.du.edu/docview/434385578

http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=48

http://www.ncagr.gov/markets/commodit/horticul/potatoes/facts.htm

http://bmchips.com/national-potato-chip-day-pr.aspx

http://www.floatingpath.com/2012/04/29/average-american-consumes-29-pounds-french-fries-year/

http://www.grit.com/vegetables/potato-use-all-about-americas-favorite-vegetable.aspx#axzz2TOYx11UH

http://www.realfooduniversity.com/nightshades/

http://www.nytimes.com/1993/02/11/nyregion/ora-smith-92-a-leading-expert-and-researcher-on-potatoes-dies.html

Blog Post 8

Thursday Friday Saturday sunday

Thursday:

Breakfast- pop tart, vanilla starbucks premade coffee in glass.

Lunch- Pizza, French fries, salad, fruit, pasta

Dinner- Beef burrito and nachos with water from Illegal Pete’s

Late snacks- doritos, chips ahoy cookies, water

Friday:

No breakfast

Lunch- wings and curly fries with celery and carrots. Dipped in ranch. with a lemonade to drink

Dinner- Panda express orange chicken and chow mein with a dr. pepper

Snacks- pretzels, water

Saturday:

Coffee and oatmeal for breakfast with a tall glass of water

Lunch- Burger and fries with salad fruit and flavored water

Dinner- don’t remember

Snacks- cookies

Sunday:

No breakfast

Illegal Pete’s beef burrito and nachos with a lemonade and water

Dinner- corn dog, pasta, salad, fruit, pizza

Short Essay 4

Robert Seiler

WRIT 1133-63

Doctor Leake

The Hidden Truth

            People in America have become overly obsessed with eating healthy and healthy has been equated to consuming less sugar, carbs, and fats. However, in place of substances like sugar, companies have started using chemicals like Aspartame and other artificial sweetener compounds in products like soda. These substitute substances allow companies to say “Zero Sugar” which sounds good to the consumer, but what they don’t know is how bad these products are for them.

            Aspartame is a sugar substitute that causes numerous health issues. Aspartame was approved for dry goods in 1981 and for carbonated beverages in 1983. According to the Natural Society, the average American consumes, “about 1 gallon of soda per week… which equates to 1.5 sodas per day.” Since the diet soda craze has taken full effect in our country, artificial sweeteners have been consumed at an ever-increasingly high level. The worst part is you may be consuming these products everyday and not even realize it. One study found that 67% of female rats exposed to aspartame developed tumors, “roughly the size of golf balls or larger.” Additionally, Aspartame accounts for, “over 75 percent of the adverse reactions to food additives reported to the FDA. There are over 90 different side-effects caused by [aspartame].” This is a very disturbing statistic. If people are consuming products containing Aspartame, which many common food goods contain, you are putting yourself in a serious situation where cancer is a real possibility. But other artificial compounds are also dangerous. To make things more shocking, here is a list of the serious effects of Aspartame: Brain tumors, Multiple Sclerosis, Epilepsy, Chronic fatigue syndrome, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s, mental retardation, Lymphoma, Birth defects, Fibromyalgia, and Diabetes. The three chemicals in Aspartame are aspartic acid, phenylalanine, and methanol which Phyllis Balch lists as part of the “chemical poison” list. This outrageous compound is used in everyday foods and drinks and most of the time you are consuming it without knowing.

            Splenda is the most used artificial sweetener that most soft drinks, coffee products, and sweet, sugar-free, goods contain. Some side-effects of Splenda include, “shortness of breath, join pains, eye irritation, swelling of facial muscles, breaking out into hives or rashes, and more.” Even a commonly accepted substitute for sugar, which is supposed to be a bad product (but only is so in over usage), is not good for you. If Americans would simply consume sugar in moderate amounts, we would not need artificial sweeteners and chemicals that have horrible effects on the body. People simply use the excuse of, “oh it has no sugar in it I can drink more now,” when instead the substances that take the place of sugar are even worse for your health. This furthers the concept brought up by writers like Pollan who say Americans are the most health conscious people, but eat the worst.

We are drawn in by labeling saying “Zero Sugars” or “Zero Carbs,” but the companies marketing these goods do not inform you of the dangerous effects of these substitute compounds being added to various foods. This is not just the fault of the supplier, but the consumer. Pollans talks about how Americans are obsessed with dieting and eating right when all we have to do is stick to the basics and not over eat. No amount of substitute products will take the place of good, natural food. Writers like Pollan hit the nail on the head by pointing out the fact that Americans are the most health conscious people, but they eat the worst. This is because we over eat and attempt to overcompensate with products that promise less sugar but deliver something much worse. Overall, when food is eaten in moderation, there is no need for the addition of heavy artificial substances that cause great harm to your body.

Works Consulted

http://naturalsociety.com/average-american-diet-infographic/

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/11/06/aspartame-most-dangerous-substance-added-to-food.aspx

Blog Post 7

Blog Post 7

Each piece of writing concerns the change of food and the process of creating food over time. This transformation goes from when the person(s) who killed the animal or harvested the crow would eat what they had put the effort into killing/growing. Estabrook writes that tomatoes, at one point, came from northern Peru or southern Ecuador, which have perfect conditions for growing tomatoes. But since the world demanded more food products like tomatoes, these foods had to be grown in other places. For example, tomatoes began to be grown in Florida, which has a horrible climate for growing tomatoes. All this is driven by the need for sustainable, cheap food the keep the ever-growing world going. The pieces by Estabrook and Cook place heavy emphasis on the quality of life workers possess, even though they focus on two separate topics (tomatoes and chicken). Each essay talks about the exploitations of the workers- included poor conditions, low wages, physical harm, and so on. This has been caused by the modern food industry and the demand for cheap and accessibly food in more and more parts of the world. Pollan’s piece focuses on the mistreatment of animals (livestock) all around the world. He writes about diseases like salmonella, caused by birds and poor living conditions, and more. Again, these issues have all been caused by the modern practices of growing food, harvesting food, and getting the food to the consumer.

Blog Post 6

Blog Post 6

            Michael Pollan’s diagnosis of “Our [America] National Eating Disorder” is disturbingly accurate, but it’s a good thing that people are beginning to notice. Here in America, we have become overly obsessed with the idea of eating healthy so we have turned, numerous times, towards different diets, eating styles, many of which go against one another after more “discoveries” are made. A good portion of these eating programs seem outright strange and seemingly counterintuitive in terms of what has been deemed consistently healthy over the years. Pollan refers to the “French Paradox” as consisting of the idea that the French are remarkably healthy as a whole, especially for a society that eats a lot of wine and cheese, while Americans are the most health conscious people on the planet, but we eat far less healthy foods. This is known as the American Paradox. Pollan goes on to write about how Americans are so quick to jump on any new fad diet that promises results when in actuality they don’t really help. The French, however, eat whatever they want. “Americans associated food with health the most and pleasure the least. We asked what comes to our mind upon hearing the phrase ‘chocolate cake,’ and Americans were more apt to say ‘guilt,’ while the French said ‘celebration.’ This shows the contrasting food values in America and France. Pollan illustrates the idea that we as a species no longer eat what we want whenever we want and have now moved towards a mass-produced, and processed, way of eating which contradicts nature (which we happen to do in more ways than just food). Though Pollan tends to make sweeping generalizations about American culture, he is correct is saying that most behavior in the way he describes.