In my final inquiry product, I have created an updated food pyramid that is a

visual aid meant to help visualize the type of diet which my research has found to
be ideal to human health. Alongside this picture of an optimal way of eating, I have
also made another food pyramid which is a generalized representation of the typical
modern Western Diet that has come under fire in recent years. My new food
pyramid at first glance looks similar to the government approved template, but it is
different in very subtle ways. For instance, I have not included dairy on my food
pyramid at all, even though it is the 3rd highest level in the traditional food pyramid.
Additionally, I have split up the carbohydrate block into two sections, complex and
simple carbs. Instead of the very smallest block of the pyramid being salty or
fatty, I have chosen to make the top block processed foods, because salt and fat
from whole food sources are not inherently bad for us. This is not to say that the
traditional food pyramid was wrong or bad, but it has not been updated at the rate
that nutritional science has advanced. As better research and more sophisticated
analysis of data has been conducted, better information has come to light about
how food impacts our health. This is the basis for the changes that I have made to
the levels of the pyramid. There are two reasons why I chose a food pyramid as the
media with which to convey my primary message. Number one, the food pyramid is
familiar as a nutritional guideline and has been seen by almost everyone. Number
two, I want to convey a message of you are what you eat. By literally making
different types of food represent the physical building blocks of a pyramid, I hope to
get the idea across that the foods we eat are actually the things with which our
bodies are built. This isnt a very popular idea, not because its wrong or bad, but
because its relatively new. Up until recently, not many people understood the fact
that different types of amino acids and fatty acids can actually impact the integrity
of the cells inside our body. Until recently, no one realized that the efficiency of
vitamin absorption was different when the vitamins are obtained from whole food
sources as opposed to a synthetic pill. These discoveries have led dieticians and
biologists to believe, generally, that the foods and supplements that we eat can
fundamentally change the actual structure of our bodies, and the chemistry of our
body. This is why I want to make a pyramid, to be able to show that the choices we
make in regards to what we put in our bodies can change how our physical selves
are put together. Foods truly are the building blocks of our body, and bad building
blocks lead to weak buildings (Israetel et al., 2016) . This is the idea that I want to
show to those who see my inquiry product. The point of this product is not
necessarily to say that this is the end-all-be-all of nutritional science, or that by
eating a certain way you will never get sick. It is to show that recent research has
shown that there are types of foods that, on average, can reduce the risk of disease
and optimize health due to our evolutionary history (Baschetti, 2005), and that it is
relatively simple to eat in a way that will make you healthier and feel better.
To aid in getting my idea of building blocks to the audience, I designed the
two pyramids in a more simplistic and abstract way, using colors, triangles, and
words instead of pictures. The triangles are intended to convey an idea of balance
and symmetry. In the good pyramid, the blocks are all symmetrical and the
choices of foods are quite varied. It is a strong pyramid with a solid base. In the
bad pyramid, the blocks are not at all symmetrical and many pieces are missing.
The choices of foods are nowhere near as varied, and the structure is unsteady and
could topple at any moment. With these choices in design, I hope that my message
of a balanced, healthy diet will be received intuitively. The style of the pyramids is
intended to demonstrate the problems with the way most people eat while offering
a better alternative right next to it. The asymmetry of design is meant to convince
people that the good pyramid will result in a stronger, healthier body.
In other words, my choice of genre is intended to convey the message found
by my research, that there is in fact a general guideline of eating that will be
healthy for most people. To be able to get this message across in a nonpolarizing
way, I chose a food pyramid because it is something that almost everyone is
familiar with, and most people have an association between pyramids and food
guidelines. In my research, I found strong evidence to support that an abundance of
fruits and vegetables, enough carbs from whole food sources such as whole grains
and potatoes, moderate amounts of animal protein and plant fats, and a minimal
amount of processed foods will most likely lead to optimal health in the majority of
individuals (Wrangham, 2013).
To say that this pyramid is the definitive guideline of eating for health would
be both foolish and wrong. Even when constructing this pyramid, I was finding
evidence that this pyramid would actually not work very well for a rather large
percentage of the population. The literature is pretty well established about the
quality of foods that are important, meaning whole foods, but more evidence is
emerging that for many people, it is not healthy at all to eat very many carbs, no
matter the quality. So, when I call this pyramid a general guideline, that is exactly
what I mean. Nutrition and how foods impact an individual is extremely variable.
Some people can eat 4 Pop Tarts and hardly have an insulin spike at all, and some
people can become hyperglycemic after a sweet potato (Wrangham, 2013).
Due to the very intricate and variable nature of nutrition, I am reluctant to
call my inquiry product anything other than a general guideline. For people who
have eaten poorly their whole lives, it is definitely a template of much healthier
eating. But for someone who eats healthy but still has digestion problems, issues
with fatigue, etc., I would not be able to recommend my product as a guideline.
Some people are extremely intolerant of carbs and need a high fat diet (Israetel et
al., 2016). Some people cant metabolize fats at a rate fast enough to prevent
extreme weight gain. Nutrition is a complicated field that attempts to explain and
optimize processes that happen on the cellular and molecular level. Due to different
gene expressions, these processes are endlessly variable, and a diet that results in
weight loss and health for one person could cause skin, hair, focus, and weight gain
issues in someone else. The conversation of healthy eating is constantly evolving
and expanding, and I think that currently the research is moving in the direction of
investigating markers to determine carb tolerance. I think this is one of the biggest
factors that can turn a healthy diet into an absolute nightmare for two different
people (Baschetti, 2005).
References
Original
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