实践主题Topic: healthy diet

Discuss your understanding of, or reflection on healthy life and healthy diet.

实践目标Objective of the practice:

To invite and share personal opinions with others

To have a better knowledge on healthy lifestyle

To apply the words and expressions

实践任务Tasks:

Discuss your reflections with your friends or classmates.

Refer to the aspects we have discussed in this unit.

实践要求Requirements:

Write down what has come to your mind during your thinking and discussion, and organize them into a neat essay.

Sample

People are always finding ways to lead a healthy life. So it is necessary to build up a healthy diet. What can we eat and why junk food is not good? Write down your opinion on this topic.

 

教师解析：

Reasons Eating Junk Food Is Not Good

Junk food is food that is calorie-dense and nutrient poor. In recent decades, junk food, fast food and convenience food consumption in the United States have increased dramatically, with 25 percent of people now consuming predominantly junk food diets. This trend has occurred concurrently with rising epidemics of numerous chronic diseases and accounts for a long list of reasons why eating junk food is bad.

Obesity

Junk food plays a major role in the obesity epidemic. By the year 2050, the rate of obesity in the U.S. is expected to reach 42 percent, according to researchers at Harvard University. Children who eat fast food as a regular part of their diets consume more fat, carbohydrates and processed sugar and less fiber than those who do not eat fast food regularly. Junk food in these children's diets accounts for 187 extra calories per day, leading to 6 additional pounds of weight gain per year. Obesity increases your risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and many other chronic health conditions.

Diabetes

Your insulin levels become elevated when you eat processed sugars, such as those in soft drinks, white flour and other foods devoid of fiber and nutrients necessary to properly metabolize carbohydrates. Eating junk foods throughout the day causes chronically high insulin levels, which eventually prompts your cells to begin to ignore this important hormone, resulting in a condition known as insulin resistance. Ultimately, obesity and Type 2 diabetes may set in. Since the 1980s, Type 2 diabetes, which was minimal in teenagers, has risen to 15 percent.

Depression

Junk food may be connected to depression. A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2015 that used data from 70,000 postmenopausal women found that diets high on the glycemic index, including those full of added sugar and refined grains such as junk food, were associated with greater odds of depression. In contrast, diets that had fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lactose, a sugar that comes from milk and other dairy products, had protective effects against developing depression. The researchers concluded that in postmenopausal women, eating diets such as junk food could be a risk factor for depression. The researchers pointed out that further research needs to be done to see if the same results would apply for other groups of people, such as younger women and men.

Nutrient Deficiencies

Processing that removes vitamins, minerals and fiber makes junk foods into the sources of empty calories that nutritionists disparage. Children who eat a lot of junk foods may develop nutritional deficiencies that lead to low energy, mood swings, sleep disturbance and poor academic achievement, among other health conditions, according to the University of New Hampshire Cooperative Extension.

Sodium and Heart Disease

High sodium levels are a defining characteristic of many junk foods and one of the contributing factors to the over consumption of salt that typifies the Western diet and contributes to high blood pressure and heart, liver and kidney diseases, according to Harvard Health Publications. The average American eats five to 10 times more salt than the 2,300 milligrams per day recommended by the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Considering the high rates of high blood pressure among Americans, that level should be even lower -- about 1,500 milligrams per day -- for 70 percent of adults. However, the trend since 1988 shows that fewer people with hypertension adhere to a low-sodium diet now than did then.