Essay Assignment #2: Synthesis

Name
Professor
Subject
April 2013
A Great Tip for Dieting
Many say that the key to living healthy is living by a healthy eating principle. However, there are many different principles that are associated to healthy living and some of them sometimes contradict. Is there a great diet tip that can be applicable to all situations, all diet formula, and to different kinds of individuals? I have found, a great tip that would apply to many situations. This tip is actually a quote from Michael Pollan`s book, "Food Rules". This quote is very beneficial to live by as it teaches us to live healthy in a general and basic way. Michael Pollan is a writer of international caliber, having worldwide renown for advocacy in health and wellness. He also wrote "Defense of Food" which is a number one in the New York Times bestseller list. He was a recipient of the James Beard Award for many other works. In fact, he is a Knight Professor of Journalism at the University of California at Berkley. The tip is this: "Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper".
Different types of diets and formula for dieting teach us different things. Some would focus on low carbohydrates. Some would focus on high proteins. Some would say eat heavy during supper and some would say eat heavy during breakfast. In fact, some would focus on not eating breakfast at all. However, even if it teaches us to eat differently, there can always be something that would be applicable to all types of diet formulas. The fact is that a big part of our everyday lives is eating and the best advice should be focused on how one would eat his breakfast, lunch and dinner. Living by this kind of principle is beneficial and essential for a healthy lifestyle for it teaches us how the body responds to our food intake and what amounts of food we need in each part of the day.
"Breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, dinner like a pauper", as Pollan states in his book is about eating a big meal in the earliest time of the day and gradually decreasing your meal as the end of the day approaches. His explanation for this is that, the more physically active you are after a meal, the more of the energy in that meal your muscles will burn before your body stores it as fat (Pollan, 73). We can apply simple logic to his explanation. After breakfast, we are most likely to start and active day and thus we need a lot of energy. By lunch time, we need another boost of energy to spend the rest of the day. By supper time, most likely we are going to sleep in 2-4 hours and thus our bodies would require less energy. If we eat less during breakfast, our body will adjust and lower our metabolism. If we eat a lot supper time and sleep after that, chances are, all the excess food that we took in and did not burn will be converted to fats. The more fats we have in our bodies, the higher the probability for heart disease. Pollan would actually suggest the wise quote directing us that "After lunch, sleep a while. After supper, walk a mile." This is actually very instructive on how our body regulates and stores energy. If we walk a mile after supper, then chances are, all excess food shall be burned and we shall have a good night`s rest to replenish our energy to wake up strong and active in the morning. By eating plenty in the morning, we can have more energy to use throughout the day. The energy that we took in in the morning has a higher chance of getting used by our body. The food that we took in the morning is not immediately disposed of by the body and so it is there to stay for the day. By taking in less as the day progresses, you are only taking up enough nutrition for your body to process therefore the food that you eat later in the day, being lesser, is not stuck up inside the body to become fat. By following that habit, you can significantly decrease the buildup of excess calories that will be held by the cells of your body.
Based on some people`s accounts, the understanding of the principle, or rule 54 by Pollan, is that the principle is a good plan to live by to guide you on your eating throughout the day. You start by consum...