CONCLUSION TO MAIN

RESEARCH QUESTION
AND SUB-QUESTIONS

Research
Sub-
Question
6
 Is ‘eating green’
healthier? Is it better for
the environment? Why?
HOW TO EAT HEALTHY?
You can eat various types of food such as fruits, vegetables, meats etc. When you
eat food, you should make sure you consume all the nutrients that are essential
such as vitamins, carbohydrates, proteins, fats etc. If there are more than enough
nutrients in your body, it could cause various diseases such as heart disease,
cancer, and diabetes. If this is a serious problem, this could result in death. As a
result, you should eat everything within quantity, so it won’t cause future
problems.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE A VITAMIN DEFICIENCY?

Vitamin A: Some products which contain vitamin-A are milk, eggs, oils, green-
leafy vegetables, carrots, mangoes etc. This deficiency is mainly caused if you
have a strict vegan diet, a weight reduction surgery, or an excessive intake of
alcohol. If there is a lack of vitamin A in your body, it could affect your vision and
it will be even harder for you to fight against any infections you face. It could also
make you extremely tired and it could cause dry skin and dry hair. The cure for
this deficiency is to immediately start eating vitamin-A rich foods.
Vitamin D: Vitamin D is mainly needed to help keep your body functioning well,
to help with strong bones for your body, and it also prevents cancer. Sources of
vitamin-D include being exposed to the sun, or eating foods which contain
vitamin-D. If you are diagnosed with this deficiency, some symptoms may include
weakness in the muscle, fatigue, or depression. It could cause heart disease,
diabetes, or even colon cancer.

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE A DEFICIENCY OF PROTEINS?

Proteins are mainly needed in order to help in building and repairing body tissues,
and it helps in building enzymes and hormones in your body. Some symptoms of
protein deficiency include:
 Unexplained hunger
 Having a hard time sleeping
 Slower metabolism
 Mood swings

One main disease caused by protein deficiency is called kwashiorkor, which is a

disease most commonly seen in young children. It could lead to several
complications such as shock, permanent mental and physical abilities, or even
death.
For an average man, it needs to intake about 71 grams of protein per day, but for
an average woman, it needs to intake about 61 grams per day.
 
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE A DEFICIENCY OF FATS?
Fat is a nutrient which helps to absorb and transport fat-soluble vitamins, which
protects our organs and helps insulate the body to keep it warm. It also provides
the body with necessary fatty acids, which builds and maintains our cell
membranes, and it helps us to make certain hormones.

Unsaturated fats: These types of fats are considered as 'healthy fats' as they're an
important part of a healthy diet. There are two types of unsaturated fats:
 Polyunsaturated fats
 Monounsaturated fats

Some examples of polyunsaturated fats include omega-3 fatty acids, which are
salmon, tuna, walnuts, canola oil etc. Even omega-6 fatty acids are examples of
polyunsaturated fats, which are soybean oil, sesame seeds, flax seeds, hemp seeds
and pine nuts. Monounsaturated fats are found in plant foods like avocados, olive
oil and nuts like cashews and almonds.

Saturated fats: They aren't healthy fats as you tend to get a high blood cholesterol,
if consumed more. These types of fats are found in dairy products (butter, milk),
meat (red meat, chicken), processed foods (deep fried foods, fatty snack foods,
packaged cakes and biscuits), and plant products (fatty snack foods, packaged
cakes and biscuits, pastries and pies).

Trans fats: They are also classified as unhealthy fats that have been processed and
they behave like saturated fats inside the body. They increase your bad
cholesterol, but they decrease your good cholesterol, which increases the risk of
heart disease. Similar to saturated fats, they are found in processed foods.

Symptoms when there isn't enough fat in your body:

 Dry skin
  Dry eyes
 Feeling cold (constantly)
 Fatigue
 Hair loss
 No control on hunger
 
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU HAVE A DEFICIENCY OF
CARBOHYDRATES?
Carbohydrates are the sugars and starches found in food. They provide fuel to the
nervous system, and energy to the muscles. They also generate fat metabolism,
and they prevent proteins from being used as an energy source. There are two
types of carbohydrates:
 Good carbohydrates
 Bad carbohydrates

Good carbohydrates are:

 High in nutrients
 Low in calories
 Low in cholesterol and trans fats
 Low in saturated fat and sodium
 High in fiber
 
Bad carbohydrates are:
 High in calories
 High in content of refining sugars
 Low in nutrients and fibers
 High in sodium
 
The benefits of carbohydrates include:
 Mental health
 Weight loss
 Heart health
 Good source of nutrients
 
Without sufficient carbohydrates, the body will get zero energy. The nervous
system starts to suffer, since there is no glucose present, which might cause
dizziness or mental and physical weakness. Hypoglycemia, a disease caused when
there is a deficiency of glucose, which is a carbohydrate.
 
FOOD THAT AFFECTS THE ENVIRONMENT THE MOST
·      Beef production requires far more water, land, and nitrogen fertilizer, and it
creates more greenhouse gas emissions than other forms of animal protein,
scientists have found. The massive amount of grain needed to feed most cattle is
partly to blame, but even grass-fed cows have a bigger environmental impact than
other animals,
·      Lamb, along with beef, had one the biggest impacts on greenhouse gas
emissions. Lambs burp a lot, which means they add a lot of methane to the
atmosphere.
·      Certain fish that end up on your plate are not sustainably caught, and
overfishing is threatening the survival of some species. Given concerns about
wild-caught fish, you might think farmed fish would be the smarter environmental
choice. But that’s not always true. Fish farms in the ocean can pollute the
surrounding environments.
·      Almonds require a lot of water for growth. Those thirsty almond trees are
often grown in California (which produces 80% of almonds worldwide), where
water is scarce. Farmers are sucking up ground water to grow this profitable cash
crop, according to a report in 2014. The over pumping is causing the ground to
sink and might even contribute to earthquakes. Mass almond cultivation could
also be contributing to honeybee die-off.
·      Palm oil is trending, which is leading to deforestation in Indonesia and
Malaysia, the two countries where most palm oil is produced.
·      Bottled water is especially deadly. More than 17 million barrels of oil every
year are needed just to produce the plastic bottles that contain the water. Many of
those plastic bottles are never recycled, and end up in the ocean, disturbing the
food chain. As bottled water is no safer than tap water, do the environment a favor
and don’t drink bottled water.
·      Coffee pods produce a ton of waste. Plus, coffee requires a lot of water — a
single cup takes 37 gallons. In addition, much of the world’s coffee production
involves clearing forests and planting in full sun, rather than growing coffee in the
shade, which is generally better for the environment. Intensive coffee production
can lead to deforestation, less biodiversity, and soil depletion
·      Sugarcane needs a lot of water, and its cultivation has contributed to
biodiversity loss. Silt and fertilizers from sugarcane production can pollute
surrounding ecosystems, including coral reefs. And sugarcane cultivation has
contributed to significant deforestation in Brazil.
·      Fast food packaging is rarely recycled. And some of it never even makes it to
the trash bin. Instead, it litters roadways and pollutes waterways and oceans. Plus,
some fast-food packaging contains harmful chemicals linked to health problems
and which can linger for years in landfills, potentially contaminating groundwater.

CONCLUSION
Most of these foods which affect the environment the most are not healthy, and so
we can conclude that junk food affects the environment more than healthy food,
and so, eating greener is healthier and also better for the environment. Because
junk food is required in lesser numbers by the body, we hope you make your
resolution to eat more healthy food soon. If you already eat nice and healthy food,
then we hope you go one step further and start composting your kitchen waste.
 
For example, fruits and vegetables can be brought in paper/newspaper bags, which
are more eco-friendly than some other materials which can also be used. As
countries have started taking interest in the way our environment is changing, they
have also started applying policies for the reduction of plastic, as it is a material
which takes years to decompose and pollutes our surroundings in the
process. When fruits and vegetables are brought in paper bags, the packaging is
taken care of. Fruits and vegetables are also grown locally, which leads to people
buying it in the season they are produced, and amount to less transportation. They
can also be grown in your front garden. Assuming you have one, it would be great
help to the environment if you start growing your own produce. When one grows
crops on one’s own, he mostly does not put fertilizers and pesticides to keep away
the insects and pests, and produce more from one crop, the main reason being,
most people don’t have the fertilizers and pesticides. Fruits and vegetable peelings
can also be composted to make your soil richer and better for growing the next set
of fruits and vegetables. Another major advantage is that a good combination of
fruits and vegetables contain almost all the necessary nutrients to stay healthy and
keep fit.