Angela Thomson

Human Biology Section 003

Taking Sides Final Project

Can an Overemphasis on Eating Healthy Become

Unhealthy?
So, you want to be healthier--- look and feel better, right? Experts say that
lowering our intake of BAD foods such as fat and sugar, as well as,
increasing our intake of GOOD foods, like fruits and vegetables, is part of a
healthy diet. So you decide to start by changing your diet to eat more
GOOD foods. But soon, that isnt good enough. So, you cut out French fries
and peanut butter for the rest of your life. There, that will make me
healthier. you think. Then you cut out meat and switch to only low-fat
mayonnaise. You say to yourself, I see my neighbor eating French fries and
drinking soda almost every day. I dont do that. Im in control of myself.
Melanie Polk, registered dietician and former director of nutrition education
for the AICR, said, People think eating healthy is a difficult task, but small
things make a big difference, you just have to employ some important
strategies. Its called TAKING CHARGE. Unfortunately, taking charge can be
the catalyst for an unhealthy addiction to a low calorie diet that purposefully
eliminates many foods, the essential nutrients they contain and can affect
your psychological and social well-being.
Yes, it can become an addictive behavior. Addictive Behavior is defined as
Any habit that has gotten out of control, resulting in a negative effect on
ones health. What started out in the mid-1970s to increase public
knowledge of healthy food choices amidst an influx of fast foods, has now,
to many, become an obsession of self-control and superiority. In his article
The Health Food Eating Disorder, physician Steven Bratman states that
what starts out as a goal to improve health, requires considerable willpower
to overcome culture and previous eating habits. This leads some to a hefty
dose of superiority and an iron self-discipline. This obsession with food and
food portions will eventually require a greater amount of the persons daily
thoughts and effort. Dr. Bratman coined this disorder orthorexia, to modify
the disorder anorexia, using ortho meaning correct and true. It is a fixation
on righteous eating. The persons life becomes negatively impacted and can

be affected by malnutrition and even death can occur as they strictly

eliminate certain foods from their diet.
Can you no longer go out to dinner with friends or have a social life because
of lack of good food choices? According to Sondra Kronberg, MS, RD, CDN,
the individual takes an idea normally considered healthy to the extreme. This
causes disordered thinking and psychological torment. At first, they were
taking charge and controlling their behavior, but the food restrictions
eventually begin to control them, their social life and their psychological wellbeing. The key is not in defining food as good or bad, but to have a
healthy relationship with all foods.
Chris Woolston, a health and medical writer, believes that moderation (eating
a variety of foods from each of the food groups and watching portion size)
and taking control are the answers to our health crisis in the U.S. This is
true, but we also need to reeducate ourselves and our children on the idea of
bad foods vs. good foods, so that the disordered thinking that an
individual is inherently bad or good because of what they choose to eat,
doesnt become an addiction that decreases the total health of individuals.
Although the American Psychiatric Association (APA) doesnt consider
orthorexia as a medically defined eating disorder due to a lack of scientific
knowledge and broad clinical acceptance, many who have had the disorder
or who have treated those with this addictive need to control their intake of
good and bad foods, know it can significantly affect their lives and the
lives of those they love. It all starts with a desire to take charge and be in
control of your own healthy eating, despite your own prevailing habits and
cultural norms. This is a healthy change. But, labeling certain foods as
permanently good or bad can affect how you feel about yourself and
others while changing how you spend the majority of your day. Doesnt this
sound like the symptoms of an eating disorder to you?

Reflective Statement
At the beginning of my semester in human biology, I hesitated to continue in
this class due to the Taking Sides assignments. Im very passionate about
many things and my opinions are very strong; however, rationally and
factually arguing my opinion is very difficult for me. I let my emotions take
over and all rational thinking goes out the door. I struggled with facing my
weakness in argumentative writing and communication. Eventually, I opted
to face my fear and see if I could improve in this area, so I stayed in Nancy
Barrickmans BIOL 1090- Human Biology class. Im glad I did.
As I learned more about the scientific process and applied the process to my
argumentative communication and writing, I didnt become less passionate
about topics, but I found freedom in being able to more calmly and rationally
explain my point of view. This new knowledge helped me develop the
knowledge and skills to be civically engaged, and/or to work with others in a
professional and constructive manner.
Nancy loves teaching us about the basics of human biology such as; the cell
as the basic unit of life, the chemical basis of life, DNA and the continuity of
life and the interrelationships of living organisms. Nancy has a great
enthusiasm and knowledge that helped us through the basic concepts of
cells and cell energy, all the way through to the organs and main body
systems. Ive enjoyed having her as a teacher.
Learning about how our bodies work, how nutrition plays a role in that work
and the details of both was such a joy for me. This class corresponded well
with my HLTH 1020-Foundations of Nutrition class. Human Biology went more
in depth on how our bodies use nutrients at the cellular level and added
clarification of the biology basics covered in my nutrition class. Im very
curious and love knowing why and how the things in ourselves and the world
around us function and interact with each other. Human Biology was a class
to remember.