The 2020 coronavirus outbreak brought many health system problems to the surface. The first and most important one is that a significant number of Americans cannot afford treatment due to the high health care cost and the impossibility of getting health insurance. Therefore, many Americans might avoid medical care or even be tested. The second significant problem revealed is that the United States was not prepared for the pandemic because of its low medical capacity. All these factors made the United States and its population vulnerable to the corona crisis. It can be stated that the U.S was less prepared for the pandemic in comparison with another leading country. Third, the United States has a low number of medical care professionals per capita: 2.6 per 1,000 people (Scott). In addition, the United States experienced serious manufacturing issues related to testing kits production. As it can be seen, the US health systems required significant improvements.
To start with, there is no confirmed evidence that the COVID-19 virus can spread with food. However, since COVID-19 is a virus, it is required to take certain measures recommended to protect food from bacteria and prevent food-borne illnesses. First of all, it is necessary to wash raw fruits and vegetables before eating and cooking. It is also required to wash hands, utilities, kitchen services, and utensils with hot soapy water (“Facts for the consumers”). Furthermore, it is advisable to give preference to the food cooked at high temperatures (baked, grilled, boiled, fried) to make sure that all harmful bacteria and viruses have been destroyed. It also should be noted that fresh food should not be washed with soap, sanitizer, or alcohol. Instead, it is necessary to rinse the bought food with tap water.
Stephanie Smith happened to catch the food-borne disease caused by E.coli. This the disease started as diarrhea that then turned bloody. Later on, the 22-year-old girl experienced a range of unpleasant and threatening body reactions: “her kidneys shut down, seizures knocked her unconscious, the convulsions, and, finally, nine-week coma” (Moss). In the end, the affliction she experienced was so severe that it ravaged her nervous system and left her fully paralyzed (Moss). The investigation showed that all traces led to the meat used in hamburgers that her family had cooked lately. As a matter of fact, selling ground beef meat infected by E.coli (known as O157:H7) in grocery stores has been banned since 1994 (Moss). This law was introduced after the outbreak of food-borne disease caused by the pathogen at Jack in the Box. As it is known, the mentioned outbreak led to the death of four little children. Nevertheless, thousands of people still got sickened by E.coli every year. Eating a hamburger is the most common cause of developing a food-borne disease caused by the pathogen. However, it should be mentioned that Stephanie Smith’s case and her reaction to E. coli was extreme and rare.
It should be said that a great variety of natural and chemically produced toxins can be found in food. First, even organic food might include some number of pesticides. As for processed food, the number of toxins is significantly higher. For example, many processed products might include BHA (Hydroxyanisole) and BHT (Hydroxytoluene), Sodium Aluminum Sulphate and Potassium Aluminum Sulphate, Sodium Nitrite/Nitrate (preservative found in processed meat products) (Gandhi). Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone (rBGH/rBST) can be found in dairy, while Bisphenol-A (BPA) is usually included in diverse beverages and a number of canned food (Gandhi). It goes without saying that artificial food coloring and dyes also include toxins harmful to human health. In addition to that, food can be infected by such kinds of bacteria as Salmonella, Listeria, E.coli, and Toxoplasma.
According to Cleveland Clinic data covered in the video, extremely low-fat plant-based diet. Dr Caldwell Esselstyn asked twenty-five patients with confirmed coronary diseases to take part in his experiments. It was forbidden for the patients to eat oils, fish, meat, fowl and dairy products (Bruno). The only exception was non-fat yogurt and skim milk. Eleven of them could not continue the experiment. The angiography showed amazing results: “70% of patients experienced unclogging of their clogged arteries” (Bruno). This fact means that these patients managed to reverse their hearing problems through the diet alone.
According to the lecture, approximately 20 – 50 percent of cancer cases are influenced by diet: “foods or their components may cause cancer”, “foods or their components may promote cancer”, “Foods or their components may protect against cancer” (“Diet & Health Lecture 1”). According to the given material, almost all the types of cancer are caused by poor diet and tobacco or alcohol consumption. For example, kidney cancer can be caused by a high intake of red meat, especially if this meat is fired, sautéed, and chatted (“Diet & Health Lecture 1”). At the same time, intakes of fruit and vegetables (especially orange-colored and dark green ones) can protect the organism against cancer. Another example is prostate cancer that is possibly caused by high intakes of fats (especially the fats from red meats), milk products, beta-carotene (“Diet & Health Lecture 1”). As for stomach cancer, it might be caused by intakes of salt-preserved foods such as dried fish, refined flour consumption, smoking, and ulcer-causing bacteria (“Diet & Health Lecture 1”). The provided table shows that most of cancer types are caused by the consumption of fats, smoking, and excessive drinking. Other factors that promote cancer are aging, environmental problems, and a sedentary lifestyle.
One of the most important takeaways from Lana & Alicia’s healthy eating tips is that it is better to avoid gluten products because the last mentioned might lead to inflammation. According to the video, it is still possible to cook some pasta, products with coconut flour, and eat biscuits that are gluten-free (Zinger). At the same time, such sweet products as chocolate brownie might still contain about 4000 calories even if it is gluten-free. Lana and Alicia wanted to point out that gluten-free products lead to some health benefits but they are not low on calories. Therefore, it gluten-free products are recommended to be used for wellness and wellbeing but they have nothing to do with weight loss. On the other hand, it is neither true that gluten itself causes problems with weight. Gluten is basically a kind of natural protein. As a rule, people who avoid gluten struggle with gluten intolerance. Lana and Alicia advise to make experiments with the consumption of gluten and gluten-free products to discover whether it influences the overall energy level and wellbeing. Lana, for example, prefers gluten-free products because they make her feel good.
Works Cited
“Can Heart Disease Be Reversed?”. YouTube, uploaded by Janet Bruno MD, 2010, Web.
“Diet & Health Lecture 1”, 2020.
“Facts for the consumers”, 2020.
Gandhi, Bindiya. “13 Dangerous Toxins to Avoid in Your Food”. Mindbodygreen, 2020, Web.
Moss, Michael. “The Burger That Shattered Her Life”. Nytimes.Com, 2020, Web.
Scott, Dylan. “Coronavirus is Exposing All of The Weaknesses in the US Health System”. Vox, 2020, Web.
Zinger, Lana. “Nutrition Myths Answered!”. Web.