Health Vs. Junk Food

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the right types of foods humans should eat, looking first at the three types of macronutrients that a person should adequately receive from his diet (carbohydrates, proteins, and fats). Also discusses are the other nutrients that should be present in a person's diet: macrominerals and microminerals. The paper then goes on to list the 5 basic food groups that a person should receive adequately each day; dairy products, meat and eggs, grains and fruits and vegetables. In addition, the paper explains that junk foods refer to foods that are readily available and require little or no preparation and provide suboptimal nutrition with excessive amount of fat, sugar or sodium content per calorie. Food service meals and how they tend to have more saturated fat, total fat, cholesterol and sodium than healthy meals prepared at home are also discussed.

From the Paper:

"Our health depends highly on the food that we eat. Food is an inevitable need for us to go through our daily routine each day. It is the source of energy. Our bodies cannot function without the benefits of the food. We cannot recover from diseases or simple wounds if our bodies do not receive enough sustenance. Even our moods are affected by the type of food that we receive each day. As much as eating very little food makes our bodies weak to resist infections and diseases, eating too much make us at risk for conditions that deteriorate our quality of life."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Anderson, J. W. and Patterson, K. (2005). Snack foods: comparing nutrition values of excellent choices and "junk foods." Journal of the American College of Nutrition, 24(3): 155-157.April 1, 2008. < http://www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines >
• Associated Press. Junk Food Infiltrating Schools. CBS News. Sept 7, 2005. April 2, 2008. <http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/09/07/health/main821860_page2.shtml>
• Berning, J. Eating Healthy Snacks. Aug 19, 2004. April 2, 2008. <http://www.merckmedicus.com/pp/us/hcp/hcp_patient_resource_allhandouts_content_search.jsp?pg=/ppdocs/us/common/crs/aha/aha_snack_sma.htm>
• Harvard School of Public Health. Food Service: Great-Tasting Recipes for Health. April 26, 2007. April 1, 2008. < http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/food_service.html >
• Porter, R. S., Kaplan, J. L., Homeier, B. P., and Beers, M. H. The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library for Healthcare Professionals. Whitehouse Station, NJ: Merck & Co., Inc. 2007.

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