If a person is struggling with weight loss, a simple Google search will open a sea of possibilities and advice one could follow. Unfortunately, most of the advice given is to follow some fad diet, which sometimes can be harmful to one’s health. For example, one of the main advices that can be found is to cut carbohydrates. Although this may be effective, it is not a healthy way to achieve weight loss goals. A lot of people do not the importance of carbohydrates. Carbs are the main source of energy for our bodies. In fact, the only source of energy that can be used by the brain is carbs. Without carbohydrates, our brain power will decrease, muscle tissues will breakdown and the weight loss that will happen will be mainly lean tissue and water. Cutting carbs is just one of the possibilities. There are also many pills that can be taken to suppress ones appetite or increase ones metabolism. These pills have many side-effects that are also harmful to one’s health. For example, these pills may block the absorption of vitamins or increasing ones heart rate.
This is where the importance of critical literacy plays in. Before believing everything we come across; we should consider the credibility of the source. Also, it is important to consider if the solution given seems “too good to be true” then it’s probably not the best. The best way to lose weight effectively would be through a balanced diet and exercise.
I found a blog post by a fellow classmate, Yuhan Jiang, that is very interesting and informative. Yuhan talked about the importance of milk and the vitamins and minerals it provides for our bodies.
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| Graela. (2009). Only Fish Had Scales [Photograph]. Retrieved on April 9, 2012 from http://www.flickr.com/photos/alaig/3594705493/sizes/m/in/photostream/ |
Watson, S. (2005). "Diet Pills: What You Need to Know" . HowStuffWorks.com. Retrieved on April 9, 2012
from http://health.howstuffworks.com/medicine/medication/diet-pill3.htm
Admin. (2011). Learning how to lose weight fast. How to Lose Weight Fast. Retrieved from April 9, 2012
from http://www.howtoloseweightfaster.org/
I couldn't agree more! Critical literacy is a skill that we must apply to every aspect of our lives and inspire others to do the same. It is frightening how much misinformation is out there, especially in the world of food and health. Even as a nutrition student myself, it can be quite confusing to wade through all the media and marketing gimmicks around food. I can only imagine how hard it must be for people who are not as familiar with the topic as we are. I am glad that we have been able to fine tune our critical literacy abilities in this class so that we can help others do the same.
ReplyDeleteI find it sad though that numerous weight loss gimmicks continue to flood the market by preying on people's misinformation as some of these diets are downright dangerous or they simply don't work. Critical literacy definitely plays a big role in circumstances like these and I believe in the saying that 'knowledge is power'. Perhaps more regulation is needed to curb these fad diets as capitalizing and profiting on the misinformed should not be allowed. Until then we have to rely on our critical literacy and become educated about things, especially if it directly concerns our health.
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