The Healthy Eaters Manifesto Shiffrin

Taylor Shiffrin

Writ 1133 EE2

5/19/13

The Healthy

Eaters Manifesto

            You are what you eat, so if you eat healthy you will be healthy right? Wrong. This is a common misconception that is believed by millions of Americans who are under the mistaken impression that if they eat healthy nutritious foods, then they themselves will be healthy. So if this well-known adage is untrue, then how has it come to be so widespread and popular? Because this notion fits the stereotypical American desire and values; to look attractive by being fit without actually having to put effort into being fit, and few things require less effort than eating. I must admit that this is a very appealing concept to think that, if I simply eat as many healthy foods as I please, then I will remain fit. Naturally this impression is different for each individual and is likely to pertain to his or her values of food. I personal know that I value food as a source of enjoyable nourishment to support my hectic and active lifestyle, as is the case for many Americans. Yet, it is easy to see why Americans hold true to this fallacy. The most important question I have is when and where this fallacy came to fruition and who is responsible for starting this ill-conceived propaganda.

            Through my readings I have found startling evidence that the lineage of this incorrect hypothesis finds its scientific basis in the late 20^th century with the foundations of the nutrient and therein the birth of nutrition. Furthermore that the idea of healthy eating equals healthy living dates back to the colonization of the United States. In the earliest stages of our nation there were leaders who would use food to propagate their views of healthy living. “Yet, even in the early nineteenth century the intertwining of diet and reform was not new. In 1772 patriot doctor Benjamin Rush published his advice on healthy living, advising a (now-familiar) moderation in spirits, a mostly vegetable diet, and adequate exercise.” (DuPuis, p.36) The important distinction to make here is that though Dr. Rush was promoting a lifestyle with healthy foods he was also prescribing “adequate exercise.” This is sound advice from a wise and reputable sage as he suggests that one should eat just enough quality food to support an active life. However, his approach was adopted by other ministers who preached his tenants of eating healthily but then divided them from the adequate exercise suggested by Rush. Even worse was their claim that certain foods were bad which, at that time was unlikely since all foods were wholesome and organic. There were entire communities and cults organized around their views and opinions of how to lead an upstanding lifestyle, which were based around the values of eating certain foods. Some even began to reengineer basic foods as replacements for what they believed to be “evil foods.” As DuPuis writes “Graham preached the creation of a perfected life through abstention from the evils of meat, spices, fat, and sex (especially the so-called solitary vice). His invention of the graham cracker was meant to deliver the public from the evils of white bread.” (p. 37) These ministers attached healthy eating to the image of healthy living, a life absent of evil and sinning. Thus was born the first stages in the evolution of scientific based nutrient and the ideas of nutritinoism. Michael Pollan best describes, “Nutritionism by and large takes the Western diet as a given, seeking to moderate its most deleterious effects by isolating the bad nutrients in it — things like fat, sugar, salt — and encouraging the public and the food industry to limit them.” (Pollan, p.11) This idea that eating good nutrients and excluding bad nutrients has led the American populous to think that eating this way will effectively make them healthier and or more fit.

To an extent this may be true, however many Americans misinterpret this advice and simply consume these individual “healthy” nutrients in addition to their diet. This combination of their previous diet with the supplemental nutrient is simply increasing their caloric intake, which will only cause the individual to gain weight a lose fitness. This leads to an increase risk of diseases and a decrease in overall health. “The most recent National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey found that the average daily caloric intake of adults increased from 1,969 calories in 1978 to 2,200 calories in 1990, and the USDA is highlighting this increase as a major reason why some 55 percent of the entire population is considered overweight, and therefore at risk of being affected by cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and other ailments.” (Balancing Caloric Intake and Expenditure)

Sources Cited:

-"Balancing Caloric Intake and Expenditure." Journal of Physical Education, Recreation & Dance 71.1 (2000): 7-. ProQuest. Web. 21 May 2013.

- Melanie, Du Puis. "Angels and Vegetables A Brief History of Food Advice in America." University of California Press. 7.3 (2012): 34-44. Web. 21 May. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/gfc.2007.7.3.34 .>.

-Pollan, Michael. "Unhappy Meals ." n/a. (2007): 1-17. Print.