Health and Nutrition Is a Way of Life Sci 241

Health and Nutrition is a Way of Life

Axia College

SCI 241 The Science of Nutrition

Theodore Keneklis

20 January 2008

It is the beginning of a new year and what better time, if any, to resolve to be a healthier person overall. In the past nine weeks I have not only learned about nutrition, but I learned some things about myself. Looking at my family history, I’ve noticed a good number of my relatives suffer from health problems that possibly could have been prevented if they had been healthier in their younger years. I mean, I have a grandmother who passed away from complications with diabetes, an uncle living with diabetes, numerous family members with high blood pressure and a sister who is obese; and that’s just what I can remember of the top of my head. Now if that isn’t a hint, then I don’t know what is. My goal is to be healthy as I age and avoid these health complications at all costs and since high blood pressure seems to be prevalent in my family, this is my targeted health problem.

As stated in our text, “African Americans have a higher risk of heart disease than the general population because they are more likely to have high blood pressure.” (Grosvenor & Smolin, 2006) That right there says it all. I may be young right now, at 25, but we are not forever young and continuing with negative trends could be detrimental to my longevity, especially considering predetermination. To help me reach this goal of preventing hypertension, and all the goodies that come along with it, I have a few nutritional goals that will help keep me on the straight and narrow path to good health. To start off, I will strive to boost the amount of fiber in my diet. My next goal is to eat a wider variety of foods, keeping conscious of my saturated and trans-fat intake, my dietary allowances and intakes and consistently supplementing my vitamins and minerals with a multivitamin. My last goals, one being nutritional and one being a physical exercise goal, are to simply...