Eating Lunch, Eating Dinner

My mother used to tell me breakfast was the most important meal of the day. She still tells me the same thing today. At least 17% of adults regularly skip breakfast, including myself. Whether or not this statistic is aiding to the demise of the American diet, the American diet is in fact fighting for its life. And the truth is that it’s hanging on by a thread.

            I read of recent headway in the American raw milk industry, despite Supreme Court Judges constantly opposing the idea of Americans consuming such products. Our European friends have been doing just that for years. They vend raw milk out of machines, sell it at restaurants, and drink it in the mornings at home. They also prevail in proving to be much healthier and leaner than their American neighbors. Yet of course as Americans, processed milk with additives and preservatives must be healthier for the human to consume. But then again, humans are the only animals to consume another animal’s breast milk.

            My own diet excludes breakfast for the most part. Occasionally on the weekend when I wake up, I may wonder over to eat breakfast, but for the most part, it’s a meal that my stomach does not desire at eight, nine, or ten in the morning. I know my stomach may resort to burning stored fuel in my body at that point, such as fat, but it is just a meal that I do not have hunger for. Back to my point though, such a scenario is exemplary of the contemporary American eating habit. Yes it is true that the average American may consume some caloric intake before noon, but it is often insufficient.

            Nutritionists recommend time and time again that it is better to consume small amounts of food over an extended period rather than eat three definitive meals a day. In doing so, homeostasis may be well maintained by keeping energy, and effectively moods leveled. Unseen health implications from a lack of eating in the morning affect both energy and mood levels. “Over the years, a number of studies have examined the subject, and most have reached the same conclusion: starting a day without a solid meal tends to have slight but detectable effects on mood, memory and energy level” (O’Connor). Those who eat nothing in the morning continuously do worse on memory tests and account for high levels of fatigue four hours after first getting up. Dismissing breakfast from the American diet is just one aspect of my own life that leads to unhealthy eating.

            As a whole, American health habits seem to be steadily decreasing. With a wealth disparity that is every growing amidst the fifty great states, the poorer are forced to buy cheaper and less nutritious food. According to Gallup Wellbeing, American’s eating habits were worse in 2011 than they were in the previous year: “Americans' Healthy Behaviors Index score was 63.8 in May, down from 65.2 in the same month last year. Adults' health habits have been worse in each of the past three months compared with the same months in 2010” (Witters). It may be possible that Americans are purchasing less expensive foods such as fruits and vegetables because of the recession and tough financial times. Regardless of the case, it is time Americans double take the way they eat – myself included.

           

We are all guilty to some degree of failing our bodies both mentally and physically, but we are also the privileged few that have the money and resources to do something about it. Maybe raw milk isn’t such a bad idea. Perhaps by resorting to the ways we ate one thousand years ago, humans will discover fewer cancers and less disease. Stomachs were not meant to digest pesticides and preservatives. There are simple steps to promote healthy eating that I myself can take. I may not start eating full-fledged meals every morning, but I may just start my day with an apple or banana rather than a sole black cup of coffee.

Works Cited

O'Connor, Anahad. "The Claim: Skipping Breakfast Can Affect Your Mood and Energy

Levels During the Day." The New York Times. 21 Feb. 2006. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/health/21real.html>.

Witters, Dan. "Americans' Eating Habits Worse This Year Compared With Last."

Americans' Eating Habits Worse This Year Compared With Last. Gallup Wellbeing, 9 June 2011. Web. 16 May 2012. <http://www.gallup.com/poll/147989/americans-eating-habits-worse-year-compared-last.aspx>.