Genesis Colon Jimenez
Mr. Letevsky
English 4
9 April, 2012

The Food Crisis we live in today

Many individuals in America today have been addicted to the all American diet. Many have died from cancers and a third from coronary heart disease. Can this all be happening because of the type of food we take in? Do whole food, plant diets have a better impact on our health then animal protein, high carbohydrate diet? Does the Atkins diet and South Beach diet ensure our health and will America ever determine their own lifestyle between their life and their death? Other than the whole food, plant based diet and the animal protein, low carbohydrate diet, we have the Atkins diet risking our health. The plant based diet we know is healthier then processed foods. The belief system of this diet is to burn off the fat and lose the weight, but once you stop, the fat comes back. New scientific research has been conducted and published “that showed a controlled carbohydrate nutrition approach is better for you then a low fat high carbohydrate nutritional approach” (Atkins 7).The flaw with this diet is that it slows down the insulin levels which can cause diabetes. It also restricts the body from carbohydrates and leads to ketosis. This burns fat for more fuel. The short-term affect would be constipation; since the body is feeling hungry it’s not bringing anything into your body to make you go. Atkins has a high protein high fat diet that can have an impact on your health. The issue is it releases carbohydrates in your diet and can cause you to have a lower blood count. Robert H. Eckel, MD states “ that our worries over the Atkins Diet goes way past the question of whether it is affective for losing weight , we worry that the diet promotes heart disease” ( Web Md).The long term effect of using the Atkins Diet is putting your body at risk for cancer, liver abnormalities, diabetes or heart disease. Now if you thought the Atkins Diet is bad, South Beach diet is just the same, even though its said to improve your heart health. Since it is low carbohydrate diet meaning low in process or refined foods, "With the Atkins Diet red meat can lead to heart attacks and stroke” (Agatston 11). The South Beach Diet can also lead to constipation and ketoacidosis which can lead to muscle spasms, coma and death. With no sugar it means no energy and then uses stored fat that can spread acid to your body, risking your electrolyte balance which can lead to cramping, nausea and muscle spasms. Americans today do not understand the importance of eating well, “No animal nor man will grow or develop if fed a severely protein defiant diet “(Brewster and Jacobson 185). Since meat is processed it can also be contaminated in the surrounding areas where other animals are being slaughtered. Toxins can sometimes damage our bodies and may make life shorter for those who do not desire to change their lifestyles. Many cows are also called “donor cows" because they were sick and could barely stand. I despise the fact that meat packing companies do not care about our health. They only care about the profit they make. They also treat the animals very poorly and safety procedures are not met with. That is what I find wrong in the food industry today. It is said that “rats will live and grow if the diet contains anything between 6% and 60% protein" (Birch, Green, and Plasket 185). This is all based on the levels of enzymes and it can measure protein in the body. With these findings they were able to decide what diet was “normal” or was toxic. There are many issues in the meat packing industry like when they inject hormones into the cows so that they can grow stronger to be able to sell them for more money. This seems to be a chemical that destroys enzymes which produce Phenobarbitones. The issue is not good because not many can say how your body can react in the long run. Many have also used animals to discover