Healthy Eating is Healthy Living Essay Example for Free

Healthy Eating is Healthy Living Essay Did you know that the money spent to treat people with illnesses related to the lack of health makes up 9.1 percent of the America’s total medical expenses? That is about 78.5 billion dollars! (CDC). If we all eat healthier, expenses like these could be lowered. That is why kids, especially students, should eat more healthy foods. All of us know that eating our fruits and vegetables is important for our health. But how important is it? Healthy eating can actually reduce a person’s risk from developing any illnesses such diabetes, obesity, hypertension, etc. Foods with the proper nutrients and vitamins can increase a person’s immunity so that they will not be susceptible to the diseases. For example, a higher calcium intake can reduce the risk for developing diabetes (M.N.T). According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, a minimum of 400 grams of fruits and vegetables must be eaten by kids ages 11- 16 per day (CDC). These are the necessary amounts to maintain a good health and not get sick. Healthy eating helps you maintain a good weight. About one to two months ago, my school, Sutter Middle School, required everyone to be part of the physical fitness program. Students must have their weight and height measured during this program. I noticed that there were students who were really nervous about measuring their weight. I realized that kids with the lack of health can sometimes feel self-conscious when it comes to their weight, whether it being underweight, overweight, or obese. Depending on the age, a person must consume a consistent amount of calories per day to maintain a decent weight. A healthy diet consisting of whole grains, fruits, vegetables, etc. offers a good and balanced calorie supply. Fatty foods, like potato chips, soda, pizza, hamburgers, etc. contain too many calories per serving. For moderately active kids, males ages 14-18 can have 2200-2800 calories per day and females ages 14-18 can have 2000 calories per day (Exercise). We have all heard that eating a healthy diet is expensive, and people have used that as an excuse for not eating a healthy diet, but healthy foods do not necessarily cost more than less healthy foods, says Andrea Carlson, an economist from the U.S. Department of Agricultures Economic Research Service. Junk foods may be convenient and tasty, but they don’t cost any more than fresh and healthy produce. The price of carrots is half the price of potato chips by portion size. According to Andrea  Carlson’s and her colleague Elizabeth Frazà £o’s studies, when considering portion size, the least to most expensive types of food are: grains, dairy, vegetables, fruit, protein and less healthy foods. (Carlson). Another important benefit from eating healthy is energy. Eating healthy allows students to have the energy to perform well in school and sports. Foods that contain a lot of nutrients and vitamins offer a long digestion time, giving you a slower and stable release of energy (Straight Health). The longer the digestion will take, the longer your energy will last. Principals often call during the week standardized testing to say to get plenty of rest and eat a healthy breakfast. A healthy breakfast can actually help students with testing because a meal containing complex carbohydrates, protein, fat, etc. can prevent a drop in blood sugar and allow students to last throughout the day (Healthier). Many people often think, â€Å"Well foods with a bunch of sugar can make you energetic.† That is true. Though that is true, junk foods with a lot of simple carbohydrates, also known as sugar, create a big boost in energy but also create a sugar crash. A sugar crash is when you consume foods that are loaded with sugar and lack other nutrients. Then later, your blood sugar suddenly spikes down, causing fatigue and dizziness, negatively affecting students’ school performances (Straight Health). Many beneficial consequences can be made if students eat more healthy foods. It can help students reduce their risk from developing any illnesses, maintain a good and balanced weight, and allow them to have the energy to perform well in school and/or sports. What are you waiting for? Go grab a healthy snack and enjoy it!

Illiberal Institutions :: Liberalism Society Family Religion Essays

Illiberal Institutions We all lives are governed by the institutions like law, government, religion, education, family, employment market and others. All these institutions tends to look towards the formation of a society. They do not say that society is made up of aggregated individuals but that individuals are the product of society. This is a conservative notion which is in conflict with the ideology of liberalism. To look at all the institutions within which we live our lives and focus on their characteristics is beyond the scope of this essay. In this some of these institutions would be reviewed and their political approach would be examined. Where possible I would try and look at the whole institution on its own, but where the discussions about the whole institution is too broad, the focus would be on specific examples of the attitude of the institution. In case of law, I would emphasise would be on the laws treatment of women and how that shows the law approach to be illiberal. In religion I would be focusing on one kind of religion, Islam to show how all religions are conservative. In the same way focus in education would be on boarding schools. The rest of the institutions: family, employment, government and market economics are covered in singularity as institutions. As I mentioned earlier the focus in respect to religion would be Islam. I intend to look all some of the basic rules and principles of Islam and examine their attitudes. Islam believes in the authority higher then humans. It believes in the sovereign power of God which is called Allah in the religion. He is suppose to be higher than all the other beings in the world. He is referred in Quran (Muslims’ holy book) as the Creator and Sustainer of lives. This means that all the human are dependent on Him for their living. This is against the liberal theory, which believes in all beings, being equal. Thus, this concept of higher authority brings out the conservative attitude of the religion. Allah is the ultimate authority in an Islamic society and all the rules and regulations emerge from him. There are two kinds of duties that a Muslim owes one to Allah and the others to his fellow beings. The duties owed to Allah are Tauheed (believe in oneness of God), Salat (five time prayers), Fasting and Haj (the annual pilgrimage to Mecca.

Herbert Marcuse: Life and Philosophies Essay

Herbert Marcuse was born in 1898 in Berlin and studied in Freiburg where he received his PhD in 1922 in Literature. His life was mainly portrayed in his various roles as a philosopher, social theorist, and political activist and university professor. Known to us as the â€Å"father of the New Left†, he has authored many books and articles in support of his thoughts. During his early years of career, he has worked with Martin Heidegger, then one of the most influential thinkers in Germany and who he has regarded his mentor. His initial ideas on philosophical perspectives of phenomenology, existentialism, and Marxism were demonstrated in his first published article in 1928. He had offered a different view about Marxist thought and that is probably what scholars from the New Left had derived from him. He argued that there is much to Marxism that most Marxists have overlooked- it is more than a battle of transition from capitalism to socialism. He decided to join the Institut fur Sozialforschung in Frankfurt, later in Geneva and Columbia University. He studied Hegel’s Ontology and Theory of Historicity in 1932. He published in 1933, a major review of Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts written by Marx in 1844, meant to correct the early interpretations of Marxist scholars. His theories were centered on critical perspectives on modern capitalism and revolutionary change and liberation from the rich; hence the essence of his â€Å"one-dimensional† society and his concept of â€Å"the great refusal† Consequently, he became one of the most influential intellectuals in the United States during the 1960s and into the 1970s. Here he has written â€Å"Reason and Revolution† (1941), which explored the birth of the ideas of Hegel, Marx, and modern social theory, introducing to English readers the Hegelian-Marxian tradition of dialectical thinking and social analysis. He has worked as the head of the Central European bureau by the end of World War II, after which he returned to intellectual work and published Eros and Civilization in 1955 which is a synthesis of Marx and Freud arguing that the unconscious contained evidence of an instinctual drive toward happiness and freedom articulated in daydreams, works of art, philosophy, and other cultural products- a non-repressive civilization is imagined where libidinal and non-alienated labor, play, free and open sexuality manifest. He became a professor in Brandeis University and University of California in La Jolla. He died in 1979. Herbert Marcuse’s contribution to social theory transcends others in his use of Philosophy in his explanations. For one, his Philosophy of Art is best characterized as â€Å"negative art†. His idea about a great art is one that is irrational, negative and destructive. Nonetheless, it is important in the society as it is useful. Again, going back from his Freudian cum Marxian critique of the capitalist society where this notion of art emanates; Freud’s psychology places a heavy emphasis on the role of (sexual) repression. The reality principle replaces the pleasure principle in young children. This is the basis of civilized society, and nothing can satisfy these unconscious desires of adults. The self that represses and is disgusted by what is repressed is the adult, social self while the self that delights in the repressed is the childish, anti-social self. This repression is exemplified by folk characters such as Peter Pan. A modification was made by Marcuse by adding a difference between â€Å"necessary† and â€Å"surplus† repression. The former is essential for survival while the latter is demanded by other people (e.  g. rulers). Surplus repression is eliminated while necessary repression is minimized by progress. However, surplus repression is heightened by the elite. If it was necessary repression that was being challenged, we would have the duty to constrain the outrage that people express as a product of inner conflict and preserve civilization. So that we could conquer the surplus repression on the other hand, we must release our unnecessary desires from all repressions. The art then serves as the source of such revolution. These conceptions of repression are evident in his â€Å"Eros and Civilization†. Any discussion about his Philosophy on Art would have to deal with this critical work. Eros and Civilization may be considered a Marxist interpretation of Freud’s Civilization and Its Discontents. Marcuse argued contrary to Freud that repression of the Libido is not a necessary precondition of civilization but only of a civilization limited by want and toil, which is of economic scarcity. (Eidelberg, 1969) Also, in One-Dimensional Man, he argued that subtle forms of repression exists amidst the freedom and affluence manifested in American society. From these two, he was able top coin the term â€Å"repressive tolerance† which according to him is generated by an economy based on planned obsolescence and the production of wastes. While the economic establishment may produce useful and beneficial things, its existence depends primarily on the production of frivolous and even harmful things. And while it may sometimes satisfy â€Å"true† needs, more often it manufactures a multiplicity of â€Å"false† needs†¦ (Eidelberg 1969) In addition, the products of the economy, like that in the entertainment industry needs creates  this â€Å"false consciousness† thru the reactions, beliefs, ideas and feelings that it carries which immunes the industry against falseness. The â€Å"true† needs are repressed because the manufacturing and gratification of artificial needs produce a feeling of satisfaction which constrains the individual from opposing economic and political structures. This is why â€Å"great art† for Marcuse is one that is able to liberate from the manufactured rationality, positivism and subtle repressions of the society- one that goes out of the normal, accepted and gratified. There are certain forms of art that are meant to constitute the same ideas, sentiments and want that are categorized as â€Å"false† and are there to create a pleasant relationship between producers and consumers. Marcuse’s Philosophy of Art clearly follows his line of argumentations on â€Å"repression†. No good art would aim at participating in the creation of â€Å"false consciousness† and establish needs and wants that individuals do not regard as necessary. For Herbert Marcuse, â€Å"true needs† are those that the individual decides for him self because no need nor want may be dictated by any tribe, society, etc. Most of Marcuse’s philosophy arises from his interpretation of Hegel’s. In his work, Reason and Revolution, Pippin says that: Most clearly, what Marcuse wants to preserve and defend in Hegel is the central place given in his system to â€Å"negativity†, the â€Å"power† of thought and action to reject and transform any putative â€Å"positive† reality, and the impossibility of understanding any such reality except in relation to this possibility. Accordingly, in Reason and Revolution, he again rejects in Hegel all those aspects of his thought that tend to suppress or overcome this negating potential (Pippin 1988 Cited in Anderson 1993) It seems that this negativity will be the source and means of acquiring reason and knowledge that presupposes freedom from repression. This is the same negativity that Marcuse expresses in the â€Å"great† art. Anderson explains this â€Å"negativity in relation to Marx and Hegel: For Marx, as for Hegel, the dialectic takes note of the fact that the negation inherent in reality is â€Å"the moving and creative principle†. The dialectic is the dialectic of negativity†¦ Negativity is important to Marx in part because economic realities exhibit their own inherent negativity. Marcuse’s stress on Hegel’s concept of negativity is new and original. (Anderson 1993) Hence, certain types of art exhibit the principle of negativity that may not portray existing realities as the essence of reality may indeed be implicit yet is creative to convey ideas of the unknown and true. How then are Marcuse’s ideas especially his philosophies relevant in today’s society? I could only think of the prevailing culture and how such is played by media, capitalism, political structures and organizations. How is repression exhibited by their activities and ideas? Which of our â€Å"true† needs are suppressed? Which of the needs they insist on the public are considered â€Å"false† needs? Where is art as the potential revolutionary tool to resist repression? Imagine television commercials that are made to promote certain products. While many are made to patronize the product, the demand has been created as a result of a dictation for the purpose of profit for the producer, tv network, etc. The demand created may only satisfy the superficial needs of the consumer. For, even if the â€Å"will† of the individual to consume the product may be voluntary, it is nonetheless a form of participation to the orthodox or mainstream beliefs and desires. The tv commercial becomes the tool for the expansion of the â€Å"false consciousness†. The economic system created becomes a system of gratification of what seemingly appears as demand yet demand dictated by profit, ergo â€Å"false†. The â€Å"true† needs are repressed for the â€Å"true need† emerges as the ideas that are advocating liberation from the norm and comfortably accepted. Art could become a tool for this revolutionary endeavor. In the same way that Art could be appreciated readily in the societal market, it could contain subtle thoughts and ideologies aimed at pursuing â€Å"true needs† with less confrontation and hindrances. Art may take various forms; paintings, music, architecture, literature, etc. While Art is also categorized as mainstream and peripheral, only those that are based on Reason may truly reflect realities and negate the economic rationalities presented in a repressed society. Herbert Marcuse has truly contributed a lot to the understanding of various societal aspects. His Philosophy of Art is a subject that is both enlightening and liberating.

The Price Of Love By Jane Austen - 1315 Words

The Price of Love Within the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, the concept of marriage is presented in the form of a contract, true sense of love, and what society deems is acceptable, which leads to different outcomes as a result of the actions taken throughout the novel. The union of marriage during this period of time was highly prioritized within society. While it was prioritized by society, there were different motives behind the holy union. Marriage was seen as an accomplishment and way of life in some eyes. In addition, society which is comprised of different classes viewed marriage differently. The wealthy class mainly saw marriage a business arrangement that brought similarly positioned individuals together. The†¦show more content†¦Collins. In the beginning of the novel Charlotte and Elizabeth who are friends are constantly surrounded with the pressure of getting married. Elizabeth who shows an interest in Mr. Wickham receives a proposal from her relative Mr. Collins. Elizabeth rejects the proposal, which causes an uproar in her family. The idea that marriage can be used to save one s life is showcased throughout the novel. In the eyes of Mrs. Bennett Elizabeth marrying Mr. Collins would save the family by allowing their property to stay within their family instead of being removed from them. Elizabeth who is an outspoken women, who adheres to her own wishes symbolizes the true quality of what a woman should possess. However her friend Charlotte symbolizes many women at the time who choose a life of marriage not for love, but for comfortability. In chapter 22 Charlotte states to Elizabeth, I am not romantic, you know, I never was, I never was, I ask only a comfortable home, and considering Mr. Collin s character, connection and situation of life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.(p.76). She admits to Elizabeth that she does not love Mr. Collins, but she will still be happy due to his status and wealth. It is ironic that Elizabeth would not compromise her beliefs even to marry her own relative in order to save her family, while charlotte does without any hesitation. Given Charlotte s age