The Western Diet

Western foods mainly include fried food, refined cereals, sugar, high carbohydrates and fats, and meat (3). It is speculated that ingesting western food increases the likelihood of depression. Why Western diet has raised the possibility of depression, and many studies have been done? As a common sense reason, Western diets contain many carbohydrates, fats and sugars, so that obesity is promoted and depression may be caused (1). According to more scientific evidence, inappropriate meals such as Western meals may have negative effects on peripheral and central dopamine, a neurotransmitter (a chemical that transmits signals throughout the system).

Western food is characterized by distinctive features. The difference between Western diet and all other traditional diet therapies in the world is not the quantity of fat, salt, carbohydrate or protein. This is a high level food processing. A typical western supermarket has many refined foods such as boxes, canned or frozen refined carbohydrates, refined oils, purified proteins, etc. Traditional Asian markets are full of fresh meat and vegetables. Many Asian cultures purchase fresh food everyday, so processing to extend shelf life is not necessary or popular. North Americans will purchase food at a time from several weeks to several months. For example, major retailer Costco relies on this.

In the Michael Polan article 'Escape from the Western Diet' he talked about the Western meal to the Americans and thought they needed it to get rid of it. The reason why Americans should avoid Western diet is to avoid harmful effects associated with them like "Western disease" (Pollan, 434). To support his view on this issue, Poland explained the factors of Western food that Americans decide what to eat. These factors include the nutritional theory of scientists, the food industry that supports the theory by manufacturing products, and the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry to support these same theories. Overall, Polan believes that people need to understand it from their hearts to get rid of this diet. In turn, he offered his own rules to escape the idea of ​​nutritionists advocated by Western meals and scientists.