Derek Cedeno Mina
Professor Siegelski
English 170
05 March 2023

Improving Health and Diet and Preventing Diseases

According to the “Center for Science in the Public Interest,” it states “Unhealthy diet contributes to approximately 678,000 deaths each year in the U.S., due to nutrition- and obesity-related diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, and type 2 diabetes.” People’s health has been a major recurring issue within society, as people’s health is usually affected negatively based on the unhealthy food choices and unhealthy toxins people choose to consume. Over many years the level of concern for obesity rates and future potential health diseases has increased drastically in the country. Some significant reasons for this are, the amount of exposure to fast food restaurants, food deserts, not being able to afford healthy organic foods, and lack of self-care and exercising to stay healthy and in shape to prevent future health problems. Whether you are exposed to only unhealthy foods to keep healthy and avoid health diseases the human body requires the right care. Having a healthy diet can enhance a healthy lifestyle and prevent many health diseases. The idea of society trying to improve health by having a healthy diet and consuming the right foods and nutrients is a major issue that isn’t looked upon enough in the country which is causing a major increase in disease and the reason for major health problems. There are many ways to prevent major health problems by living healthier such as avoiding fast food, eating the right nutrients, exercising, and budgeting so you are able to afford organic foods.

As it may seem very difficult to live healthily and be able to have access to the required resources to be able to live healthier there is always a way to work around these obstacles to live healthier. Ron Finley is a prime example of someone making an effort to try to work on living healthier. Ron started an organization within his community in south Los Angeles where he would plant a food forest in front of his house. Ron and his group planted vegetables, fruits, and other healthy and organic foods to prevent food deserts which are areas where it is hard to find organic healthy foods at an affordable price. Ron later mentions “L.A. leads the United States in vacant lots that the city actually owns. They own 26 square miles of vacant lots. That’s 20 Central Parks. That’s enough space to plant 725 million tomato plants” trying to show that with all the available space and area it is possible to start making your own food forest for almost at a minimum amount. All that would be required are tools to plant the right fruits and vegetables and the seeds to grow the actual plants. Ron Finley’s idea is beneficial to people all over the country as it promotes the idea that people should plant organic fruits and vegetables to be able to eat healthier and make a change to prevent people from leaning toward the fast food option and other unhealthy foods. Ron Finley’s purpose is also meant to help people in his community to avoid fast food restaurants as it is proven to cause major health diseases. In the movie “Super Size Me” actor and director Morgan Spurlock conducted an experiment on himself by eating Mcdonald’s every day three times a day for a whole month. The experiment drew the attention of people all across the world because it revealed how unhealthy and all the side effects of eating fast food daily. In the movie “Super Size Me” on day two of Spurlock’s experiment, he orders a meal from the drive-thru and super sizes his meal as he is required to. On the twenty-third minute of the movie, after Morgan finishes his meal he states “I’m dying” which then he proceeds to then throw up tons of food that he has eaten from the Mcdonald’s meal he ate for lunch. Morgan Spurlock then realizes that his one-month experiment of eating McDonald’s every day three times a day is going to be rough. Spurlock later mentions that he is developing constant pain in his stomach from eating so much McDonald’s within the first four days of his experiment. The movie “Super Size Me” is meant to show how although fast food may seem very appealing and easier to buy and consume, it will eventually cause sicknesses and many different health problems as eating fast food isn’t a healthy way to eat and fulfill your hunger. Spurlock is shown to develop many health problems such as many intestinal issues and other liver problems. This movie is meant to signify that eating fast food will also cause similar issues to arise when eating too much of it. To live better and healthier avoiding fast food would be beneficial for your own health as it can prevent many health problems in the future.

Although fast food is a major reason for many health problems and health diseases there are many ways to prevent all these health problems. A way you can prevent health problems is by staying in shape and exercising. Exercising is a great way to avoid obesity as it works out muscles and gets your heart racing and helps burn calories that you consume. Young African American girls in the United States are at high risk of obesity due to exposure to unhealthy diets. A program called “The Butterfly Girls and the Quest for Founder’s Rock” is an online program that promotes healthy diets and exercising and many physical activities. According to the project’s protocol, it states “The program promotes healthy diet and physical activity and is specifically designed for 8–10 year old African American girls” signifying that this program is meant to help younger African American girls that are more exposed to an unhealthier lifestyle to help them stay in shape and healthy at a young age and encourage a healthy lifestyle. Developing a habit of working out, exercising, and staying in shape at a young age is very important because gets children used to living a healthy lifestyle and keeps them away from having to deal with future major health problems that may be caused due to an unhealthy diet. Exercising contributes to eating healthy and makes it easier to stay in shape and stay healthy. Exercising is encouraged greatly by author Michael Gregor in his book “How Not to Die” which is about learning to live a healthy life and make the right decisions to survive. In the brook, Gregor states on page sixteen “The truth is that adhering to just four simple healthy lifestyle factors can have a strong impact on the prevention of chronic diseases: not smoking, not being obese, getting a half hour of exercise a day, and eating healthier—defined as consuming more fruits, veggies, and whole grains and less meat. Those four factors alone were found to account for 78 percent of chronic disease risk.” These statistics are crazy to think about, almost eighty percent of most chronic diseases are caused by not having a healthy diet and not exercising properly. It proves that overall living healthy is easy when you consume the right nutrients and are able to exercise and learn how to have self-care by working on your health and maintaining a diet and drive to stay healthy. On page twenty four Gregor mentions “Eating healthier is easier than you think, it’s inexpensive, and it might just save your life.” Eating healthy is very inexpensive as there are many ways to have access to organic foods. Ron Finley was able to prove that when he introduced his plan in planting vegetables and fruits in areas that are free like vacant lots and any area where it is possible to plant food forests. Planting organic foods is not only very affordable but it introduces healthy eating habits by planting organic foods. There are many other ways to afford and have access to organic and healthy foods. The article “7 Ways to Eat Healthy While You’re on a Budget” shows and explains many different ways you can eat healthier while having a low budget and not having to spend tons of money on organic foods and other healthy nutrients. The author of the article, McKenzie Dillon talks about an experience she had attempting to order a healthy meal and states “I recently went to a restaurant in Denver where the Cobb salad was close to $20, while the burger and fries cost around $15. The price difference between more or less nutritious foods is evident almost everywhere you go, and the current economy is making it more and more expensive to grocery shop in general, let alone to eat healthily.” This is proof that people all over the country also deal with the problem of not being able to be exposed to healthy organic foods at an affordable price, McKenzie states that a burger and fries which are unhealthy, are cheaper than a salad at a restaurant. Even though organic foods may seem more expensive, eating healthy is a huge essential in life to prevent obesity and other major health diseases. McKenzie Dillon mentions in her article seven ways you can eat healthier at an affordable price which are, Plan meals where you anticipate leftovers, making a grocery list and sticking to it, buying canned or frozen produce, joining grocery loyalty clubs to get discounts, taking advantage of different sales when grocery shopping, sticking to generic store brands, and to grow your own food. All of these methods are very useful for when you’re trying to buy healthy food at a low rate. The method I find most effective in aiming to save money while eating healthy is sticking to generic store brands when shopping. According to the article by McKenzie Dillon, it states “but store-brand items are considerably lower in price than the name-brand products such as condiments, bread, yogurt, frozen veggies and more. For the most part, you can hardly taste the difference and the savings can add up” signifying that buying from generic store brands rather than well-known food brands will help you save money while still being able to get the same organic product you would get but instead by buying the store brand.

Opposing arguments may argue that it is not easy to be able to eat healthily and live a healthy lifestyle. However, it is proven that there are many ways to work around not being able to afford healthy foods or other restraints as mentioned. Eating and living a healthy life is all up to society’s decision on how they choose to diet and choose how to live their life the healthy way. There are many ways to prevent future health diseases and heart problems without having to be rich. Working out and exercising is free and has no cost, planting and growing organic foods requires almost no cost to have a large number of foods at the end of the growing process, and sticking to buying from store-brand groceries rather than well known food brands that will cost more. Price is not an excuse to avoid eating healthy and living a healthy lifestyle

Overall health issues have been a major concern that people are affected by in a very negative way by the choices they make. For society to be able to prevent future health diseases it is necessary and very important to make an effort to take care of yourselves, as society is already being exposed to major health concerns and many toxic foods. Maintaining a healthy diet not only can improve a healthy lifestyle and avert many health diseases. The idea of society trying to improve health by having a healthy diet and consuming the right foods and nutrients has been shown to be a major health issue in the country due to the fact that people are not making a change for their own health to prevent disease in the future. This argument is meant to encourage healthy diets to help make great outcomes and healthy lifestyles.

Works Cited

Dillon, McKenzie. “7 Ways to Eat Healthy While You’re on a Budget.” CNET, CNET, 25 Feb. 2023, https://www.cnet.com/health/nutrition/how-to-eat-healthy-on-a-budget/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2023.

Finley, Ron, director. A Guerilla Gardener in South Central LA. YouTube, TED Talk, 6 Mar. 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EzZzZ_qpZ4w. Accessed 25 Feb. 2023.

Greger, Michael. How Not to Die. Pan Books, 2018.
Spurlock, Morgan, director. Super Size Me. Documentary Mania, 1 Jan. 1970, https://www.documentarymania.com/video/Super%20Size%20Me/. Accessed 25 Feb. 2023.

Thompson, Debbe, et al. “Butterfly Girls; Promoting Healthy Diet and Physical Activity to Young African American Girls Online: Rationale and Design.” BMC Public Health, vol. 13, no. 1, 2013, pp. 709–709, https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-709. Accessed 25 Feb. 2023.

Why Good Nutrition Is Important.” Center for Science in the Public Interest, 17 May 2018, www.cspinet.org/eating-www.cspinet.org/eating-healthy/why-good-nutrition-important. Accessed 25 Feb. 2023.