American ideals

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Many American authors added American ideals to their work as a theme or other reoccurring idea, to get their point across.[40] There are many ideals that appear in American literature such as that all people are equal, the United States is the land of opportunity, independence is valued, the American Dream is attainable, and everyone can succeed with hard work and determination. John Winthrop also wrote about this term called American exceptionalism. This ideology refers to the idea that Americans are, as a nation, elect.[41]

 

 

 

 

Literary commentary

The American Dream has been credited with helping to build a cohesive American experience, but has also been blamed for inflated expectations.[43] Some commentators have noted that despite deep-seated belief in the egalitarian American Dream, the modern American wealth structure still perpetuates racial and class inequalities between generations.[44] One sociologist notes that advantage and disadvantage are not always connected to individual successes or failures, but often to prior position in a social group.[44]

Since the 1920s, numerous authors, such as Sinclair Lewis in his 1922 novel Babbitt, and F. Scott Fitzgerald, in his 1925 classic, The Great Gatsby, satirized or ridiculed materialism in the chase for the American dream. For example, Jay Gatsby’s death mirrors the American Dream’s demise, reflecting the pessimism of modern-day Americans.[45] The American Dream is a main theme in the book by John Steinbeck, Of Mice and Men. The two friends George and Lennie dream of their own piece of land with a ranch, so they can “live off the fatta the lan'” and just enjoy a better life. The book later shows that not everyone can achieve the American Dream, although it is possible to achieve for a few. A lot of people follow the American Dream to achieve a greater chance of becoming rich. Some posit that the ease of achieving the American Dream changes with technological advances, availability of infrastructure and information, government regulations, state of the economy, and with the evolving cultural values of American demographics.

In 1949, Arthur Miller wrote Death of a Salesman, in which the American Dream is a fruitless pursuit. Similarly, in 1971 Hunter S. Thompson depicted in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey Into the Heart of the American Dream a dark psychedelic reflection of the concept—successfully illustrated only in wasted pop-culture excess.[46]

The novel Requiem for a Dream by Hubert Selby Jr. is an exploration of the pursuit of American success as it turns delirious and lethal, told through the ensuing tailspin of its main characters. George Carlin famously wrote the joke “it’s called the American dream because you have to be asleep to believe it”.[47][48] Carlin pointed to “the big wealthy business interests that control things and make all the important decisions” as having a greater influence than an individual’s choice.[47] Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and leftist activist Chris Hedges echoes this sentiment in his 2012 book Days of Destruction, Days of Revolt:[49]

The vaunted American dream, the idea that life will get better, that progress is inevitable if we obey the rules and work hard, that material prosperity is assured, has been replaced by a hard and bitter truth. The American dream, we now know, is a lie. We will all be sacrificed. The virus of corporate abuse—the perverted belief that only corporate profit matters—has spread to outsource our jobs, cut the budgets of our schools, close our libraries, and plague our communities with foreclosures and unemployment.

The American Dream, and the sometimes dark response to it, has been a long-standing theme in American film.[50] Many counterculture films of the 1960s and 1970s ridiculed the traditional quest for the American Dream. For example, Easy Rider (1969), directed by Dennis Hopper, shows the characters making a pilgrimage in search of “the true America” in terms of the hippie movement, drug use, and communal lifestyles.[51]

Political leaders

Scholars have explored the American Dream theme in the careers of numerous political leaders, including Henry Kissinger,[52] Hillary Clinton,[53] Benjamin Franklin, and Abraham Lincoln.[54] The theme has been used for many local leaders as well, such as José Antonio Navarro, the Tejano leader (1795–1871), who served in the legislatures of Coahuila y Texas, the Republic of Texas, and the State of Texas.[55]

Political conflicts, to some degree, have been ameliorated by the shared values of all parties in the expectation that the American Dream will resolve many difficulties and conflicts.[59]

Public opinion

The ethos today implies an opportunity for Americans to achieve prosperity through hard work. According to the Dream, this includes the opportunity for one’s children to grow up and receive a good education and career without artificial barriers. It is the opportunity to make individual choices without the prior restrictions that limited people according to their class, caste, religion, race, or ethnicity. Immigrants to the United States sponsored ethnic newspapers in their own language; the editors typically promoted the American Dream.Lawrence Samuel argues:

For many in both the working class and the middle class, upward mobility has served as the heart and soul of the American Dream, the prospect of “betterment” and to “improve one’s lot” for oneself and one’s children much of what this country is all about. “Work hard, save a little, send the kids to college so they can do better than you did, and retire happily to a warmer climate” has been the script we have all been handed.

A key element of the American Dream is promoting opportunity for one’s children, Johnson interviewing parents says, “This was one of the most salient features of the interview data: parents—regardless of background—relied heavily on the American Dream to understand the possibilities for children, especially their own children”.[62] Rank et al. argue, “The hopes and optimism that Americans possess pertain not only to their own lives, but to their children’s lives as well. A fundamental aspect of the American Dream has always been the expectation that the next generation should do better than the previous generation.”[63]

Hanson and Zogby (2010) report on numerous public opinion polls that since the 1980s have explored the meaning of the concept for Americans, and their expectations for its future. In these polls, a majority of Americans consistently reported that for their family, the American Dream is more about spiritual happiness than material goods. Majorities state that working hard is the most important element for getting ahead. However, an increasing minority stated that hard work and determination does not guarantee success.[65]

In 2010, most Americans predicted that achieving the Dream with fair means would become increasingly difficult for future generations. They were increasingly pessimistic about the opportunity for the working class to get ahead; on the other hand, they were increasingly optimistic about the opportunities available to poor people and to new immigrants. Furthermore, most supported programs to make special efforts to help minorities get ahead.[65]

In a 2013 poll by YouGov, 41% of responders said it is impossible for most to achieve the American Dream, while 38% said it is still possible.[66] Most Americans perceive a college education as the ticket to the American Dream.[67] Some recent[when?] observers warn that soaring student loan debt crisis and shortages of good jobs may undermine this ticket.[68] The point was illustrated in The Fallen American Dream, a documentary film that details the concept of the American Dream from its historical origins to its current perception.[69] A 2020 poll found 54% of American adults thought the American Dream was attainable for them, 28% believed it was not, and 9% rejected the idea of the American Dream entirely. Younger generations were less likely to believe this than their older counterparts, and black and Asian Americans less likely than whites, Hispanics and Native Americans.[12]

Research published in 2013 shows that the U.S. provides, alongside the United Kingdom and Spain, the least economic mobility of any of 13 rich democratic countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).[71][72] Prior research suggested that the United States shows roughly average levels of occupational upward mobility and shows lower rates of income mobility than comparable societies.[73][74]

Jo Blanden et al. report, “the idea of the U.S. as ‘the land of opportunity’ persists; and clearly seems misplaced.”[76] According to these studies, “by international standards, the United States has an unusually low level of intergenerational mobility: our parents’ income is highly predictive of our incomes as adults. Intergenerational mobility in the United States is lower than in France, Germany, Sweden, Canada, Finland, Norway and Denmark. Research in 2006 found that among high-income countries for which comparable estimates are available, only the United Kingdom had a lower rate of mobility than the United States.”[77] Economist Isabel Sawhill concluded that “this challenges the notion of America as the land of opportunity”.[78][79][80]Several public figures and commentators, from David Frum to Richard G. Wilkinson, have said that the American Dream is better realized in Denmark, which is ranked as having the highest social mobility in the OECD.[81][82][83][84][85] In the U.S., 50% of a father’s income position is inherited by his son. In contrast, the amount in Norway or Canada is less than 20%. Moreover, in the U.S. 8% of children raised in the bottom 20% of the climbed to the top 20% as adult, while the figure in Denmark is nearly double at 15%.[86][87][88] In 2015, economist Joseph Stiglitz stated, “Maybe we should be calling the American Dream the Scandinavian Dream.”[89]A 2023 paper written by academics at Bocconi University, the Rockwool Foundation, and Stockholm University found that “Intergenerational poverty in the U.S. is four times stronger than in Denmark and Germany, and twice as strong as in Australia and the UK,” and that an American child who grows up in poverty has “a 43 percentage point higher mean poverty exposure during early adulthood (relative to an adult with no child poverty exposure),” the highest of the five countries and exceeding the next highest by over 20 percentage points. The researchers found that “the persistence of poverty is strongly connected to tax rates and what they call transfer insurance effects, which can be considered as akin to a social safety net,” and that the “U.S. is the archetype of a liberal and residualist welfare state, featuring stratified access to higher education and employment, strong earnings returns to higher education, and a comparatively weak welfare state to insure against risks in adulthood,” as well as that “exposure to childhood poverty is particularly severe in the US.”[90]

A 2017 study stated that the UK, Canada, and Denmark all offered a greater chance of social mobility.[91] Black families were stated to be disadvantaged relative to white families when it comes to both upward mobility from the bottom and downward mobility from the top according to the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, with social mobility nationwide appearing to have declined since 1980.[92] Social mobility can also vary widely geographically according to a 2014 paper, with the Southeast and lower East North Central states ranking near the bottom.[93]

In the United States, home ownership is sometimes used as a proxy for achieving the promised prosperity; home ownership has been a status symbol separating the middle classes from the poor.[94]

Sometimes the American Dream is identified with success in sports or how working class immigrants seek to join the American way of life.[95]

According to a 2020 American Journal of Political Science study, Americans become less likely to believe in the attainability of the American dream as income inequality increases.[96] A 2022 study in the same journal found that exposure to “rags-to-riches” narratives in entertainment make Americans more likely to believe in upward mobility.[6]

According to a 2023 private opinion survey of American people by a Boston-based organization, Populace, the American Dream has shifted its narrative from fame and wealth to personal factors such as secure retirement, financial independence, parenthood and finding fulfillment in their work.[97]

Four American Dreams

Ownby (1999) identifies four American Dreams that the new consumer culture of the early 20th century addressed:

  • The “Dream of Abundance”, offering a cornucopia of material goods to all Americans, making them proud to be the richest society on earth.
  • The “Dream of a Democracy of Goods”, whereby everyone had access to the same products regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, or class, thereby challenging the aristocratic norms of the rest of the world where only the rich or well-connected were granted access to luxury.
  • The “Dream of Freedom of Choice”, with its ever-expanding variety of good allowed people to fashion their own particular lifestyle.
  • The “Dream of Novelty”, in which ever-changing fashions, new models, and unexpected new products broadened the consumer experience in terms of purchasing skills and awareness of the market, and challenged the conservatism of traditional society, culture, and politics.Ownby acknowledges that the American Dreams of the new consumer culture radiated out from the major cities, but notes that they quickly penetrated the most rural and most isolated areas, such as rural Mississippi. With the arrival of affordable automobiles such as the Ford Model T in the 1910s, consumers in rural America were no longer forced to only buy from local general stores with their limited merchandise and high prices, and could instead visit cheaper, better-stocked shops in towns and cities. Ownby demonstrates that poor black Mississippians shared in the new consumer culture, and it motivated the more ambitious to move to Memphis or Chicago.[98][99]

American Dream

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The “American Dream” is a phrase referring to a purported national ethos of the United States: that every person has the freedom and opportunity to succeed and attain a better life.[1] The phrase was popularized by James Truslow Adams during the Great Depression in 1931,[2] and has had different meanings over time. Originally, the emphasis was on democracy, liberty, and equality, but more recently has been on achieving material wealth and upward social mobility.[3]that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. […] It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position[4]

The tenets of the American Dream originate from the Declaration of Independence, which states that “all men are created equal“, and have an inalienable right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness“.[5] The Preamble to the Constitution states similarly that the Constitution’s purpose is to, in part, “secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity”.[a] It is said to be a set of ideals including representative democracy, rights, liberty, and equality, in which freedom is interpreted as the opportunity for individual prosperity and success, as well as the chance for upward social mobility for each according to ability and achievement through hard work in a capitalist society with many challenges but few formal barriers.[citation needed]

Evidence indicates that in recent decades social mobility in the United States has declined, and income inequality has risen.[6][7] Social mobility is lower in the US than in many European countries, especially the Nordic countries.[8][9] Despite this, many Americans are likely to believe they have a better chance of social mobility than Europeans do.[10] The US ranked 27th in the 2020 Global Social Mobility Index.[11] A 2020 poll found 54% of American adults thought the American Dream was attainable for them, while 28% thought it was not. Black and Asian Americans, and younger generations were less likely to believe this than whites, Hispanics, Native Americans and older generations.[12] Women are more skeptical of achieving the American Dream than men are.[13]

Belief in the American Dream is often inversely associated with rates of national disillusionment.[6] Some critics have said that the dominant culture in America focuses on materialism and consumerism, or puts blame on the individual for failing to achieve success.[14] Others have said that the labor movement is significant for delivering on the American Dream and building the middle class,[15][16] yet in 2024 only 10% of American workers were members of a labor union, down from 20% in 1983.[17] The American Dream has also been said to be tied to American exceptionalism,[18] and does not acknowledge the hardships many Americans have faced in regards to American slavery, Native American genocide, their legacies, and other examples of discriminatory violence.[19]

18th century

Historically, the Dream originated in colonial mystique regarding frontier life. As John Murray, 4th Earl of Dunmore, the colonial Governor of Virginia, noted in 1774, the Americans “for ever imagine the Lands further off are still better than those upon which they are already settled”. He added that, “if they attained Paradise, they would move on if they heard of a better place farther west”.[20] The idea of the American Dream is ever evolving and changing. When the Declaration of Independence was signed on July 4, 1776, the founding fathers believed that this would ratify the role of government and society in the United States. Jim Cullen claims:

Ever since, the Declaration of Independence has functioned as the banner of the American Dream, one repeatedly waved by figures that included women’s rights activists, populists, homosexuals, and anyone who has ever believed that happiness can not only be pursued, but attained. The U.S. Constitution, which marked the other bookend of the nation’s creation, lacks the mythic resonances of the Declaration, though it takes little reflection to see that it is the backdrop, if not the foundation, for all American Dreams. Whatever their disagreements about its scope or character, most Americans would agree that their national government is legitimate insofar as it permits a level playing field of dreams. Many of us have doubts that the government does serve this function; few have doubts that it should.[21]

19th century

Many well-educated Germans who fled the failed 1848 revolution found the United States more politically free than their homeland, which they believed to be a hierarchical and aristocratic society that determined the ceiling for their aspirations. One of them said:

The German emigrant comes into a country free from the despotism, privileged orders and monopolies, intolerable taxes, and constraints in matters of belief and conscience. Everyone can travel and settle wherever he pleases. No passport is demanded, no police mingles in his affairs or hinders his movements … Fidelity and merit are the only sources of honor here. The rich stand on the same footing as the poor; the scholar is not a mug above the most humble mechanics; no German ought to be ashamed to pursue any occupation … [In America] wealth and possession of real estate confer not the least political right on its owner above what the poorest citizen has. Nor are there nobility, privileged orders, or standing armies to weaken the physical and moral power of the people, nor are there swarms of public functionaries to devour in idleness credit for. Above all, there are no princes and corrupt courts representing the so-called divine ‘right of birth’. In such a country the talents, energy and perseverance of a person … have far greater opportunity to display than in monarchies.[22]

The discovery of gold in California in 1849 brought in a hundred thousand men looking for their fortune overnight—and a few did find it. Thus was born the California Dream of instant success. Historian H. W. Brands noted that in the years after the Gold Rush, the California Dream spread across the nation:

The old American Dream … was the dream of the Puritans, of Benjamin Franklin’s “Poor Richard”… of men and women content to accumulate their modest fortunes a little at a time, year by year by year. The new dream was the dream of instant wealth, won in a twinkling by audacity and good luck. [This] golden dream … became a prominent part of the American psyche only after Sutter’s Mill.[23]

The 18th century provided Americans with new sources of wealth and new means of travel. When looking at immigration in history, it is important to consider the different experiences due to gender as much as due to race. Often, tensions between economic and political agendas come into play. After 1776, the United States became a significant part of the global economy. This paragraph highlights the complex relationships between global integration and American history:

Historian Frederick Jackson Turner in 1893 advanced the frontier thesis, under which American democracy and the American Dream were formed by the American frontier. He stressed the process—the moving frontier line—and the impact it had on pioneers going through the process. He also stressed results; especially that American democracy was the primary result, along with egalitarianism, a lack of interest in high culture, and violence. “American democracy was born of no theorist’s dream; it was not carried in the Susan Constant to Virginia, nor in the Mayflower to Plymouth. It came out of the American forest, and it gained new strength each time it touched a new frontier,” said Turner.[25]

complicated transnational networks themselves are not the only story. Along with global integration went attempts to assert national distinctiveness amid growing global competition. Americans conceived of and responded to these pressures by striving to create national economic independence because they wanted to maintain political and social independence. Thus there was tension between the economic imperatives of global integration, and national political debates and economic agendas – such as the enhancement of national security through a strong industrial and financial base.[24]

In Turner’s thesis, the American frontier established liberty by releasing Americans from European mindsets and eroding old, dysfunctional customs. The frontier had no need for standing armies, established churches, aristocrats or nobles, nor for landed gentry who controlled most of the land and charged heavy rents. Frontier land was free for the taking. Turner first announced his thesis in a paper entitled “The Significance of the Frontier in American History“, delivered to the American Historical Association in 1893 in Chicago. He won wide acclaim among historians and intellectuals. Turner elaborated on the theme in his advanced history lectures and in a series of essays published over the next 25 years, published along with his initial paper as The Frontier in American History.[26] Turner’s emphasis on the importance of the frontier in shaping American character influenced the interpretation found in thousands of scholarly histories. By the time Turner died in 1932, 60% of the leading history departments in the U.S. were teaching courses in frontier history along Turnerian lines.[27]

 

Culture of the United States

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The culture of the United States encompasses various social behaviors, institutions, and norms, including forms of speech, literature, music, visual arts, performing arts, food, sports, religion, law, technology, as well as other customs, beliefs, and forms of knowledge. American culture has been shaped by the history of the United States, its geography, and various internal and external forces and migrations.[1]

America’s foundations were initially Western-based, and primarily English-influenced, but also with prominent French, German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Scottish, Welsh, Jewish, Polish, Scandinavian, and Spanish regional influences. However, non-Western influences, including African and Indigenous cultures, and more recently, Asian cultures, have firmly established themselves in the fabric of American culture as well. Since the United States was established in 1776, its culture has been influenced by successive waves of immigrants, and the resulting “melting pot” of cultures has been a distinguishing feature of its society. Americans pioneered or made great strides in musical genres such as heavy metal, rhythm and blues, jazz, gospel, country, hip hop, and rock ‘n’ roll. The “big four sports” are American football, baseball, basketball, and ice hockey. In terms of religion, the majority of Americans are Protestant or Catholic. The irreligious element is growing. American cuisine includes popular tastes such as hot dogs, milkshakes, and barbecue, as well as many other class and regional preferences. The most commonly used language is English, and English was made the official language of the United States on March 1, 2025, although the United States did not have an official language for most of its history.[2] Distinct cultural regions include New England, Mid-Atlantic, the South, Midwest, Southwest, Mountain West, and Pacific Northwest.[3]

Politically, the country takes its values from the American Revolution and American Enlightenment, with an emphasis on liberty, individualism, and limited government, as well as the Bill of Rights and Reconstruction Amendments. Under the First Amendment, the United States has the strongest protections of free speech of any country.[4][5][6][7] American popular opinion is also the most supportive of free expression and the right to use the Internet.[8][9] The large majority of the United States has a legal system that is based upon English common law.[10] According to the Inglehart–Welzel cultural map, it leans greatly towards “self-expression values“, while also uniquely blending aspects of “secular-rational” (with a strong emphasis on human rights, the individual, and anti-authoritarianism) and “traditional” (with high fertility rates, religiosity, and patriotism) values together.[11][12][13] Its culture can vary by factors such as region, race and ethnicity, age, religion, socio-economic status, or population density, among others. Different aspects of American culture can be thought of as low culture or high culture, or belonging to any of a variety of subcultures. The United States exerts major cultural influence on a global scale and is considered a cultural superpower.[14][15]

Languages

More than 300 languages nationwide, and up to 800 languages in New York City, besides English, have native speakers in the United States—some are spoken by indigenous peoples (about 150 living languages) and others imported by immigrants. English is not the first language of most immigrants in the US, though many do arrive knowing how to speak it, especially from countries where English is broadly used.[32] This not only includes immigrants from countries such as Canada, Jamaica, and the UK, where English is the primary language, but also countries where English is an official language, such as India, Nigeria, and the Philippines.[32]

According to the 2000 census, there were nearly 30 million native speakers of Spanish in the United States. Spanish has official status in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, where it is the primary language spoken, and the state of New Mexico; numerous Spanish enclaves exist around the country as well.[33]

Customs and traditions

Iconic American dishes such as apple pie, donuts, fried chicken, American pizza, hamburgers, and hot dogs derive from the recipes of various immigrants and domestic innovations.[35][36] French fries, Mexican dishes such as burritos and tacos, and pasta dishes freely adapted from Italian sources are consumed.[37]

The types of food served at home vary greatly and depend upon the region of the country and the family’s own cultural heritage. Recent immigrants tend to eat food similar to that of their country of origin, and Americanized versions of these cultural foods, such as Chinese American cuisine or Italian American cuisine often eventually appear. Vietnamese cuisine, Korean cuisine, and Thai cuisine in authentic forms are often readily available in large cities. German cuisine has a profound impact on American cuisine, especially Midwestern cuisine; potatoes, noodles, roasts, stews, cakes, and other pastries are the most iconic ingredients in both cuisines.[38] Dishes such as the hamburger, pot roast, baked ham, and hot dogs are examples of American dishes derived from German cuisine.[39][40]

Americans generally prefer coffee over tea, and more than half the adult population drinks at least one cup of coffee per day.[41] Marketing by U.S. industries is largely responsible for making orange juice and milk (now often fat-reduced) ubiquitous breakfast beverages.[42] During the 1980s and 1990s, the caloric intake of Americans rose by 24%;[37] and frequent dining at fast food outlets is associated with what health officials call the American “obesity epidemic“. Highly sweetened soft drinks are popular; sugared beverages account for 9% of the average American’s daily caloric intake.[43]

The American fast food industry, the world’s first and largest, is also often viewed as being a symbol of U.S. marketing dominance. Companies such as McDonald’s,[44] Burger King, Pizza Hut, Kentucky Fried Chicken, and Domino’s Pizza among others, have numerous outlets around the world,[45] and pioneered the drive-through format in the 1940s.[46]

Sports

In the 1800s, colleges were encouraged to focus on intramural sports, particularly track and field, and, in the late 1800s, American football. Physical education was incorporated into primary school curriculums in the 20th century.[48]

Baseball is the oldest of the major American team sports. Professional baseball dates from 1869 and had no close rivals in popularity until the 1960s. Though baseball is no longer the most popular sport,[49] it is still referred to as “the national pastime“.

Ice hockey is the fourth-leading professional team sport. Always a mainstay of Great Lakes and New England-area culture, the sport gained tenuous footholds in regions like the American South since the early 1990s, as the National Hockey League pursued a policy of expansion.[50]

Soccer is very popular as a participation sport, particularly among youth, and the US national teams are competitive internationally. A twenty-six-team (with four more confirmed to be added within the next few years) professional league, Major League Soccer, plays from March to October, but its television audience and overall popularity lag behind other American professional sports.[51]

Soccer is very popular as a participation sport, particularly among youth, and the US national teams are competitive internationally. A twenty-six-team (with four more confirmed to be added within the next few years) professional league, Major League Soccer, plays from March to October, but its television audience and overall popularity lag behind other American professional sports.[51]

Namesv

Creativity has also long been a part of American naming traditions and names have been used to express personality, cultural identity, and values.[59][60] Naming trends vary by race, geographic area, and socioeconomic status. African Americans, for instance, have developed a very distinct naming culture.[60] Both religious names and those inspired by popular culture are common.[61]

Fashion and dress

Blue jeans were popularized as work clothes in the 1850s by merchant Levi Strauss, a German-Jewish immigrant in San Francisco, and adopted by many American teenagers a century later. They are worn in every state by people of all ages and social classes. Along with mass-marketed informal wear in general, blue jeans are arguably one of US culture’s primary contributions to global fashion.[62]

Marriage and divorce

State law provides for child support where children are involved, and sometimes for alimony. “Married adults now divorce two-and-a-half times as often as adults did 20 years ago and four times as often as they did 50 years ago… between 40% and 60% of new marriages will eventually end in divorce. The probability within… the first five years is 20%, and the probability of its ending within the first 10 years is 33%… Perhaps 25% of children (ages 16 and under) live with a stepparent.”[70]

History

Origins, development, and spread

The European roots of the United States originate with the English and Spanish settlers of colonial North America during British and Spanish rule. The varieties of English people, as opposed to the other peoples on the British Isles, were the overwhelming majority ethnic group in the 17th century (the population of the colonies in 1700 was 250,000) and were 47.9% of percent of the total population of 3.9 million. They constituted 60% of the whites at the first census in 1790 (%: 3.5 Welsh, 8.5 Scotch Irish, 4.3 Scots, 4.7 Irish, 7.2 German, 2.7 Dutch, 1.7 French, and 2 Swedish).[16] The English ethnic group contributed to the major cultural and social mindset and attitudes that evolved into the American character. Of the total population in each colony, they numbered from 30% in Pennsylvania to 85% in Massachusetts.[17] Large non-English immigrant populations from the 1720s to 1775, such as the Germans (100,000 or more), Scotch Irish (250,000), added enriched and modified the English cultural substrate.[18]

Jeffersonian democracy was a foundational American cultural innovation, which is still a core part of the country’s identity.[19] Thomas Jefferson’s Notes on the State of Virginia was perhaps the first influential domestic cultural critique by an American and was written in reaction to the views of some influential Europeans that America’s native flora and fauna (including humans) were degenerate.[19]

Non-indigenous cultural influences have been brought by historical immigration, especially from Germany in much of the country,[20] Ireland and Italy in the Northeast, and Japan in Hawaii. Latin American culture is especially pronounced in former Spanish areas but has also been introduced by immigration, as have Asian American cultures (especially in the Northeast and West Coast regions). Caribbean culture has been increasingly introduced by immigration and is pronounced in many urban areas. Since the abolition of slavery, the Caribbean has been the source of the earliest and largest Black immigrant group, a significant source of growth of the Black population in the U.S. and has made major cultural impacts in education, music, sports and entertainment.[21]

Indigenous cultures remains strong in both reservation and urban communities, including traditional government and communal organization of property now legally managed by Indian reservations (large reservations are mostly in the West, especially Oklahoma, Arizona and South Dakota). The fate of indigenous cultures after contact with Europeans is quite varied. For example, Taíno culture in U.S. Caribbean territories is undergoing cultural revitalization and, like many Native American languages, the Taíno language is no longer spoken. By contrast, the Hawaiian language and culture of the Native Hawaiians has survived in Hawaii alongside that of immigrants from the mainland U.S. (starting before the 1898 annexation) and to some degree Asian immigrants. Indigenous Hawaiian influences on mainstream American culture include surfing and Hawaiian shirts. Most languages native to what is now U.S. territory are endangered.[22]

American culture includes both conservative and liberal elements, scientific and religious competitiveness, political structures, risk taking and free expression, materialist and moral elements. Despite certain consistent ideological principles (e.g. individualism, egalitarianism, and faith in freedom and republicanism), American culture has a variety of expressions due to its geographical scale and demographics.[23]

As a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities, the U.S. has been shaped by the world’s largest immigrant population. The country is home to a wide variety of ethnic groups, traditions, and values,[24][25] and exerts major cultural influence on a global scale, with the phenomenon being termed Americanization.[26][27][14][15]

The Bhagavad Gita on Love

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In the Bhagavad Gita (the Song of the Lord) Krishna comforts and advises his troubled disciple Arjuna by telling him about three paths. Each, he says, is a kind of yoga—a way to live in the world and at the same time maintain inner peace. They are the path of action, the path of devotion, and the path of knowledge.

The Gita opens as Krishna champions the yoga of action, or the path of karma yoga. Krishna is persuasive, setting out guidelines that are as true for gardening as they are for waging war. Karma yoga, he says, is the ability to conscientiously evaluate one’s motivation, to act with skill and determination, and yet not be attached to the outcome of the action.

On the path of bhakti yoga, help is proffered and spirits are healed through love—through the soul’s love for that which is eternal, and through the love of the eternal for each soul.

But Krishna does not stop there. In Chapters 7–12 of the Gita he teaches the path of devotion and love, bhakti yoga. This path is commonly associated with those who express themselves through music, poetry, dance, and other fine arts, and it is synonymous with a life of service, prayer, and meditation—a life devoted to God. But you do not need to be an artist or a member of a religious order to find joy on the path of devotion. Ultimately, this path is about uplifting human hearts. On the path of bhakti yoga, help is proffered and spirits are healed through love—through the soul’s love for that which is eternal, and through the love of the eternal for each soul.

The path of bhakti yoga unfolds spontaneously. For some, its appeal stems from an inherent attraction to God. For others, gratitude toward yoga matures into love and respect for a teacher, for a system of practice, or for the natural universe.

A false sense of devotion, however, may lead us in the wrong direction. Most of us know of persons whose fanatical faith in a teacher or dogma has resulted in disappointment or worse in the end. We can avoid this by asking questions about bhakti yoga at the outset. For example, as practitioners, are we expected to devote ourselves to a certain person, god, or tradition? What is the nature of devotion in yoga? And how is it given voice? Let’s see what the Gita says in response.

Krishna’s Voice

The path of devotion begins with a shift in our perspective—a shift that Krishna himself initiates in the Gita. It is signaled by a change in language: when Krishna talks about the path of devotion, he is no longer speaking in the third person.

I am the same to all beings, and my love is ever the same; but those who worship me with devotion, they are in me and I am in them. 

For if even one who does evil were to worship me with all his soul, he must be considered righteous, because of his righteous will.

He will soon become pure and reach everlasting peace. For be aware, Arjuna, that he who loves me shall not perish. (9:29–31)

Verses like these resound throughout the middle chapters of the Gita. They are virtually identical to the words of Jesus and other great teachers who also inspired followers on the path of bhakti. They speak with the voice of Light that is aimed at every human heart.

But who is Krishna? And what is his spiritual authority? His name gives us an important clue. The name Krishna is derived from the Sanskrit verb root krsh, a word that means “to draw or pull in, to draw to one’s self.” Krishna is not merely an embodied teacher. He is also the indwelling force that is constantly calling to us, drawing us to our self. Like a flower whose form and color attracts wandering bees, Krishna is the voice of beauty and truth within us—drawing us inward to drink from our own being.

The name Krishna is derived from the Sanskrit verb root krsh, a word that means “to draw or pull in, to draw to one’s self.”

Although I am unmanifest, the unwise think that I am that form of my lower nature which is seen by mortal eyes: they know not my higher nature, imperishable and unsurpassed. (7:24)

When we are summoned by Krishna’s voice, however, we are not expected to join a new religion or develop a sentimental dependence upon a teacher. And if some of us find ourselves drawn to Krishna’s stories and teachings, we are not compelled in yoga to accept Krishna’s tradition. The call of the self is to know the Self. It is a call issued by one’s heart—a call that clears away fears and past faults. In yogic terms, Krishna’s voice is the voice of love, truth, and self-acceptance, flowing through one’s own soul.

Finding the Heart

Yogis depict the heart as the seat of human feeling—the seat of the Self. Krishna himself says:

I am the Self, dwelling in the heart of all beings, and the beginning, the middle, and the end of all that lives as well. (10:20)

Thus, in many areas of India people greet one another by bowing their heads and bringing the palms of their hands together at their heart. Similarly, in the West a sign of prayer is to lower the head and join the palms at the chest. These gestures reflect the belief that it is the heart, not the mind or ego, in which we see ourselves most truly.

Meditators find, however, that the mind and heart are not really so opposed as they might seem. A silent dimension of the mind exists, called the buddhi, that brings the energy of the heart to awareness. In fact, in a sense, the buddhi consists of heart energy. When we have awakened it by quieting our senses and lower mind through prayer or meditation, we feel the various forces of life, including our own desires and emotions, moving within. And if we are very still, we will sense the presence of that which is eternal among those forces.

The Way of Love

When we love someone, we want to be near them—to give gifts, share experiences, and receive the other’s love. Out of love, we offer support during periods of illness, and encouragement during challenging times. We do not hurt or harm those we love. Love unites us.

But why does love compel us to behave like this? What is it about love that is so transforming? There is no answer to these questions. It is simply love’s nature. Giving, receiving, sharing, and uniting are love’s way. They are blossoms that bloom wherever love grows.

Krishna appeals to us to love Love. Still speaking in the first person, he asks that we behave as one who is in love. Unseen and unheard except in the quietness of the soul, he calls:

Give me your mind and give me your heart, give me your offerings and your adoration; and thus with your soul in harmony, and making me your goal supreme, you will in truth come to me. (9:34)

But how do we do this? What change in life announces that we have discovered Love and worship it in the midst of life’s busy affairs?

He who offers to me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even a little water, that offering of devotion I accept from him whose self is pure.

He who offers to me with devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit, or even a little water, that offering of devotion I accept from him whose self is pure.

This is the core of the bhakti path: with hands and mind we pursue life, but with our heart we pursue God.

Universal Love

Krishna asks us to give, but he is also the giver, the Lord of life. We feel his hidden presence in the splendor of nature, in the beauty of human life, and in acts of personal sacrifice. But we are so often consumed by our daily lives that we lose sight of the significance of these gifts. Rabindranath Tagore, the Nobel Prize-winning poet of India, reminds us of their importance:

Love spontaneously gives itself in endless gifts. But those gifts lose their fullest significance if through them we do not reach that love, which is the giver.

The question is, in what manner do we accept this world, which is a perfect gift of joy? Have we been able to receive it in our heart where we keep enshrined things that are of deathless value to us? 

As Krishna lists the many ways in which his presence is made visible in the world, his words ignite a deep passion in Arjuna. He longs to see Krishna, to reach him not as he is in his human form but in his universal form. And in the eleventh chapter of the Gita Krishna gives Arjuna that vision. Arjuna is engulfed in the wonder of the moment:

In every direction I behold your infinite form: innumerable arms, innumerable eyes, innumerable mouths, and innumerable bellies. Nowhere do I see a beginning or middle or end of you, O Lord of all, whose form is the entire universe!

Crowned, armed with a club, bearing a discus, illumining the whole universe, I see you: as blazing fire, as the sun, as immeasurable radiance, beyond seeing or knowing. (11:16–17)

Indian Culture & Tradition – The Basis Behind Its Elements

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Indian Culture & Tradition – The Basis Behind Its Elements

 

 

 

Yogi and mystic, Sadhguru, looks at the basis behind the various elements of Indian culture and customs, and explains how every detail in this tradition was geared towards a human being’s immediate and ultimate wellbeing.

Often, many practices in Indian culture that we label today as blind superstition have very logical explanations behind them. This post lists various articles by yogi and mystic, Sadhguru, as he explains how Bharat has always been a magnet for spiritual seekers, and looks at the basis behind the various elements of Indian culture and customs.

Sadhguru: Every culture is valuable to that particular population largely for emotional and territorial reasons. But the significance of Indian culture is that it is a scientific process towards human liberation and well-being. No other culture has looked at a human being with as much depth and understanding as this culture has. No other culture has looked at it as a science and created methods to evolve a person into his ultimate nature. We know if you do certain things, this will happen to a human being. To put it very bluntly, I would say we have technologies as to how to manufacture an enlightened being.

Indian Culture: A Tool for Wellbeing

This spiritual ethos is not about belief systems. It is about systematic practices which sharpened the mind and body in a certain way. Wherever I travel, whatever kinds of groups of people I meet, I have spoken to top-level scientists, academics and students at very prestigious universities, and various other kinds of people, but I always find that the groups I meet in India are far sharper and smarter than most people anywhere in the world. The country is so effortlessly going ahead in the information technology age while everyone else is struggling essentially because the spiritual ethos in the culture has sharpened the intellect in a certain way. This ethos was so magnificently and intelligently presented in the past, but because of over two centuries of extreme poverty, it has gotten twisted out of shape over a period of time. Every generation has to twist it back into shape where it can be an effective tool for one’s liberation and wellbeing.

Western societies talk about freedom and liberation in political systems. But liberation is the core value of who we are. The significance of this culture is that in every way, we created support for a human being to nurture himself towards his liberation because the only goal in this country was mukti. In the West, they may talk about freedom in physical and social atmospheres, but in terms of real life, there is no freedom because God will decide. Here, God does not decide anything. Here we say whatever is happening to you is your karma. That means it is your making. You are the maker of your life. This is constantly present in everything we do. Somewhere along the way because we lost battle after battle and were conquered, the same karma came to be perceived in a fatalistic negative way. Otherwise, when you say, “Your life is your karma,” we are saying your life is your making. No God is influencing you. And the ultimate goal, the core value of your life is freedom – freedom from prejudice, fear, death – everything.

If you want a family and work towards your liberation, you work that way. If you don’t need it, you work directly. But the only value once you are born in this culture is your mukti. That is how every aspect of this culture – even the simplest thing – was arranged. How should you be if you want to move towards your ultimate freedom?

Indian Culture: Strategically Designed

For example, people who come to our Isha Vidhya schools for the first time notice the children sit on the floor. This is not to save furniture. Sitting cross-legged has immense benefits for your physiology and the development of your mind. Like this, every aspect of life was thought of very strategically.

This is the reason this culture must be nurtured – not because we are emotional about it but because it is a scientific process. It would take thousands of years to set up such a complex scientific mechanism that constantly drives you towards your liberation. Whether you sit, stand, or do anything else, it leads to your wellbeing. Music, dance – everything – is oriented towards making you free. People who get deeply involved in classical music or dance naturally turn spiritual. There is no other way to be.

If we look at ourselves as a nation, the way people look, their language, food, way of dressing, music and dance, everything is different every 50 or 100 kilometers in the country. Everything about people who live in this country is different, but a cultural thread has held us together. This culture of what India has been, which cannot be quantified, is simply there. Wherever you go in the world, if you see an Indian, the very way he sits and walks, you know he is an Indian! It is extremely important that we strengthen this cultural thread because if you destroy this culture, there will be no spiritual process on the planet. There may be individual people in the rest of the world but culturally, there will be no spiritual process on the planet because this is not a culture that accidentally happened for convenience. This is a culture that was engineered by realized beings where every human being is working towards his ultimate liberation.

Indian Culture: Engineered with Gentleness

A certain gentleness was engineered into this culture by the enlightened ones of the past to ensure that its basic skeleton can never be misused in the name of the divine. Individual people may misuse so many things but it will never be empowered by divine sanction. Because of this, a certain gentleness flowered, but when this gentleness was treated as weakness by outside forces, the culture has paid a price and they were exploited.

Now that the world has moved on from military power to economic power, this is the time for this culture to manifest itself. A time has come to reinstate these cultural strengths. If the fundamental focus of this culture, which is to work towards liberating yourself from everything, is reinstated, and everyone strives for that, physically and intellectually, people can function effortlessly. Reestablishing that focus is most important today because every human being tends to get encumbered hugely by these things. But once a person is seeking his liberation and nothing else is important for him, he is greatly empowered.

 

Indian Culture and Tradition

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Indian culture and tradition are famous all over the world. As we all know that India’s culture and traditions are very diverse, colorful and unique due to which these are celebrated every year in the same ways or trends. Because of these traditions, many tourists love to come and visit India. Below this, there are some amazing Indian customs and traditions which are celebrated across the place.

 

1. The Namaste

Namaste is a well-known gesture in India tradition to welcome guests. Namaste, namaskar, or ‘namaskaara’ are one of the five forms of ancient salutation mentioned in the ancient Hindu scriptures, The Vedas. It means “I bow to you”, and greeting each other, is a way of saying “Meet our minds”, indicates the fold palms placed before the chest. The word namaha cab be translated as ‘na ma’ (not mine), which denote the reductions of ego in the presence of the other one.

2. Always a Festive Season

India has lot of festivals because diverse number of religions and groups like, Muslims celebrate Eid, Christians celebrate Christmas and Good Friday, Sikhs celebrate Baisakhi famous for harvesting of crop, and in Sikhisim, Sikhs celebrates the birthdays of their Gurus and the Hindus have Diwali, Holi, Makar Sakranti,Jains have Mahavir Jayanti, Buddhists celebrate the Buddha’s birthday on Buddha Poornima and many more. All these religions and festivals have their own values and we usually celebrate by giving holiday in our book.

3. Joint Families

In India, the concept of combined family or joint family is universal. Families used to live together and they still live. This is because of the tackiness behavior of the Indian society, and it is also said to be helpful in managing standards and stress.

4. Fasting

Fasting is an important part of Hindu culture. In Hindi language, Fast is known as Vrats or Upvas. People usually take fast to show their sincerity or giving thanks to the Gods and Goddesses. They observe fast on various religious occasions and also some people like to observe fast on different days of a week in favour of special God or Goddess connected with that particular day. The idea behind this is to strengthen the body and punishing yourself for cleansing the sins by taking fast.

5. Holy Cow

In Indian culture, Cow worshiped as a Holy animal.Its worshiped as a symbol of mother. God Lord Krishna, who grew up as a calf is often described as playing between the cows and the Gopis(milkmaids) dancing to his music. Lord Krishna is also known by the name of ‘Govinda’ or ‘Gopala’ which means “friend and protected of cow”. That’s why, cows play an important role in Indian culture and religion. Even Lord Shiva’s vehicle was Nandi- The Holi cow. So, raising a cow or making contributions for cow shelters is an important belief in Indians. Cows are a source of livelihood. Although cow dung is a major factor and fuel consumption, especially in rural India. Killing the cow or consuming cow meet is considered as a crime and many states in India some laws regarding cows just to save them.

6. The Science Behind Temples

Most of the temples are located along with the magnetic wave lines of the earth which usually help to boost energy efficiency. Temple is a place where anyone can get good wives, peaceful mind and increase the physical strength which will improve the performance of human being. Also, while entering to the temple, it will practice to remove footwear before entering religious places as they bring the mud to a clean and dedicated environment.

 7. Arrange Marriage System

The idea of arranged marriage in India starts from the early Vedic age. For royal families, an event called ‘Swayambar’ will be organized for the bride. Competitions from all over the state were called to compete to win the bride or the bride choose her best. Even today, the concept of arranged marriages is a favorite among Indians, a definite part of ‘Indian Culture’.

8. Religious Symbols

Indian traditions and scriptures have many signs and symbols that have many meanings. For example, the use of the Swastika, in the Indian context, does not refer to Adolf Hitler or Nazism. The sign is Lord Ganesha, the removal of curtains. The Swastika’s hands have a variety of techniques. These represent the four Vedas, the four groups, or the four themes that people pursue.

9. Atithi Devo Bhavah

In India, the term ‘Atithi Devo Bhavah’ is also included. It means ‘the guest is like a God’. A Sanskrit verse taken from Hindu scriptures later became part of the ‘Methodology for Hindu’ groups because the visitor is very important in Indian culture.

10. Indian Ethnic Wear

Indian women are most commonly seen in ‘saris’ sport. The sari is a single piece of fabric that does not need to be stitch; it is easy to wear, and it adheres to religious traditions. At first it started out as a Hindu but very beautiful tradition that has spread throughout all religions. This is similar to the ‘Kurta-Pajama’ and the ‘Sherwani’ religious attire for Indian men of all religions.

11. Indian Dances

India is a country of ‘unity in diversity’. There are many types of forms in dance which classified as folk or classical which come from different parts of country, and they represent the cultural background. Basically there are eight dance forms, referred to as Indian dance music and the Hindu Sanskrit word ‘Natyashashtra’:

 10. Indian Food

Indian food and cuisine are not only part of Indian culture, but they are also one of the main factors in the popularity of India worldwide. The style of cooking varies from region to region, although Indian cuisine is very popular for its extensive use of spices and herbs. Just like dances, religious activities, language and clothing, people may find a variety of foods throughout the country. Every region is known for its signature dish. Although, vegetarian food is an integral part of Gujarati South Indian and Rajasthani cuisine whereas non-vegetarian dishes are a central part of the Mughlai, Bengali, North Indian and Punjabi cuisines. Even the McDonald in India has more vegetarian menu than non vegetarian.

Healthy diet

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Key facts

  • A healthy diet helps to protect against malnutrition in all its forms, as well as noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), including diabetes, heart disease, stroke and cancer.
  • Unhealthy diet and lack of physical activity are leading global risks to health.
  • Healthy dietary practices start early in life – breastfeeding fosters healthy growth and improves cognitive development, and may have longer term health benefits such as reducing the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing NCDs later in life.
  • Energy intake (calories) should be in balance with energy expenditure. To avoid unhealthy weight gain, total fat should not exceed 30% of total energy intake (1, 2, 3). Intake of saturated fats should be less than 10% of total energy intake, and intake of trans-fats less than 1% of total energy intake, with a shift in fat consumption away from saturated fats and trans-fats to unsaturated fats (3), and towards the goal of eliminating industrially-produced trans-fats (4, 5, 6).
  • Limiting intake of free sugars to less than 10% of total energy intake (2, 7) is part of a healthy diet. A further reduction to less than 5% of total energy intake is suggested for additional health benefits (7).
  • Keeping salt intake to less than 5 g per day (equivalent to sodium intake of less than 2 g per day) helps to prevent hypertension, and reduces the risk of heart disease and stroke in the adult population (8).
    • WHO Member States have agreed to reduce the global population’s intake of salt by 30% by 2025; they have also agreed to halt the rise in diabetes and obesity in adults and adolescents as well as in childhood overweight by 2025 (9, 10).

    Overview

    Consuming a healthy diet throughout the life-course helps to prevent malnutrition in all its forms as well as a range of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and conditions. However, increased production of processed foods, rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles have led to a shift in dietary patterns. People are now consuming more foods high in energy, fats, free sugars and salt/sodium, and many people do not eat enough fruit, vegetables and other dietary fibre such as whole grains

    Consuming a healthy diet throughout the life-course helps to prevent malnutrition in all its forms as well as a range of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) and conditions. However, increased production of processed foods, rapid urbanization and changing lifestyles have led to a shift in dietary patterns. People are now consuming more foods high in energy, fats, free sugars and salt/sodium, and many people do not eat enough fruit, vegetables and other dietary fibre such as whole grains.

    For adults

    • Fruit, vegetables, legumes (e.g. lentils and beans), nuts and whole grains (e.g. unprocessed maize, millet, oats, wheat and brown rice).
    • At least 400 g (i.e. five portions) of fruit and vegetables per day (2), excluding potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava and other starchy roots.
    • Less than 10% of total energy intake from free sugars (2, 7), which is equivalent to 50 g (or about 12 level teaspoons) for a person of healthy body weight consuming about 2000 calories per day, but ideally is less than 5% of total energy intake for additional health benefits (7). Free sugars are all sugars added to foods or drinks by the manufacturer, cook or consumer, as well as sugars naturally present in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates.
    • Less than 30% of total energy intake from fats (1, 2, 3). Unsaturated fats (found in fish, avocado and nuts, and in sunflower, soybean, canola and olive oils) are preferable to saturated fats (found in fatty meat, butter, palm and coconut oil, cream, cheese, ghee and lard) and trans-fats of all kinds, including both industrially-produced trans-fats (found in baked and fried foods, and pre-packaged snacks and foods, such as frozen pizza, pies, cookies, biscuits, wafers, and cooking oils and spreads) and ruminant trans-fats (found in meat and dairy foods from ruminant animals, such as cows, sheep, goats and camels). It is suggested that the intake of saturated fats be reduced to less than 10% of total energy intake and trans-fats to less than 1% of total energy intake (5). In particular, industrially-produced trans-fats are not part of a healthy diet and should be avoided (4, 6).

      For infants and young children

      In the first 2 years of a child’s life, optimal nutrition fosters healthy growth and improves cognitive development. It also reduces the risk of becoming overweight or obese and developing NCDs later in life.

      Advice on a healthy diet for infants and children is similar to that for adults, but the following elements are also important:

      • Infants should be breastfed exclusively during the first 6 months of life.
      • Infants should be breastfed continuously until 2 years of age and beyond.
      • From 6 months of age, breast milk should be complemented with a variety of adequate, safe and nutrient-dense foods. Salt and sugars should not be added to complementary foods.

        Practical advice on maintaining a healthy diet

        Fruit and vegetables

        Eating at least 400 g, or five portions, of fruit and vegetables per day reduces the risk of NCDs (2) and helps to ensure an adequate daily intake of dietary fibre.

        Fruit and vegetable intake can be improved by:

        • always including vegetables in meals;
        • eating fresh fruit and raw vegetables as snacks;
        • eating fresh fruit and vegetables that are in season; and
        • eating a variety of fruit and vegetables.

        • Fats

          Reducing the amount of total fat intake to less than 30% of total energy intake helps to prevent unhealthy weight gain in the adult population (1, 2, 3). Also, the risk of developing NCDs is lowered by:

          reducing saturated fats to less than 10% of total energy intake;

        • reducing trans-fats to less than 1% of total energy intake; and
        • replacing both saturated fats and trans-fats with unsaturated fats (2, 3) – in particular, with polyunsaturated fats.

    .

    Fat intake, especially saturated fat and industrially-produced trans-fat intake, can be reduced by:

    • steaming or boiling instead of frying when cooking;
    • replacing butter, lard and ghee with oils rich in polyunsaturated fats, such as soybean, canola (rapeseed), corn, safflower and sunflower oils;
    • eating reduced-fat dairy foods and lean meats, or trimming visible fat from meat; and
    • limiting the consumption of baked and fried foods, and pre-packaged snacks and foods (e.g. doughnuts, cakes, pies, cookies, biscuits and wafers) that contain industrially-produced trans-fats.

      Salt, sodium and potassium

      Most people consume too much sodium through salt (corresponding to consuming an average of 9–12 g of salt per day) and not enough potassium (less than 3.5 g). High sodium intake and insufficient potassium intake contribute to high blood pressure, which in turn increases the risk of heart disease and stroke (8, 11).

      Reducing salt intake to the recommended level of less than 5 g per day could prevent 1.7 million deaths each year (12).

      People are often unaware of the amount of salt they consume. In many countries, most salt  comes from processed foods (e.g. ready meals; processed meats such as bacon, ham and salami; cheese; and salty snacks) or from foods consumed frequently in large amounts (e.g. bread). Salt is also added to foods during cooking (e.g. bouillon, stock cubes, soy sauce and fish sauce) or at the point of consumption (e.g. table salt).

      Salt intake can be reduced by:

      • limiting the amount of salt and high-sodium condiments (e.g. soy sauce, fish sauce and bouillon) when cooking and preparing foods;
      • not having salt or high-sodium sauces on the table;
      • limiting the consumption of salty snacks; and
      • choosing products with lower sodium content.Some food manufacturers are reformulating recipes to reduce the sodium content of their products, and people should be encouraged to check nutrition labels to see how much sodium is in a product before purchasing or consuming it.

        Potassium can mitigate the negative effects of elevated sodium consumption on blood pressure. Intake of potassium can be increased by consuming fresh fruit and vegetables.

        Sugars

        In both adults and children, the intake of free sugars should be reduced to less than 10% of total energy intake (2, 7).  A reduction to less than 5% of total energy intake would provide additional health benefits (7).

        Consuming free sugars increases the risk of dental caries (tooth decay). Excess calories from foods and drinks high in free sugars also contribute to unhealthy weight gain, which can lead to overweight and obesity. Recent evidence also shows that free sugars influence blood pressure and serum lipids, and suggests that a reduction in free sugars intake reduces risk factors for cardiovascular diseases (13).

        Sugars intake can be reduced by:

        • limiting the consumption of foods and drinks containing high amounts of sugars, such as sugary snacks, candies and sugar-sweetened beverages (i.e. all types of beverages containing free sugars – these include carbonated or non‐carbonated soft drinks, fruit or vegetable juices and drinks, liquid and powder concentrates, flavoured water, energy and sports drinks, ready‐to‐drink tea, ready‐to‐drink coffee and flavoured milk drinks); and
        • eating fresh fruit and raw vegetables as snacks instead of sugary snacks.

          How to promote healthy diets

          Diet evolves over time, being influenced by many social and economic factors that interact in a complex manner to shape individual dietary patterns. These factors include income, food prices (which will affect the availability and affordability of healthy foods), individual preferences and beliefs, cultural traditions, and geographical and environmental aspects (including climate change). Therefore, promoting a healthy food environment – including food systems that promote a diversified, balanced and healthy diet – requires the involvement of multiple sectors and stakeholders, including government, and the public and private sectors.

          Governments have a central role in creating a healthy food environment that enables people to adopt and maintain healthy dietary practices. Effective actions by policy-makers to create a healthy food environment include the following:

          • Creating coherence in national policies and investment plans – including trade, food and agricultural policies – to promote a healthy diet and protect public health through:
          • increasing incentives for producers and retailers to grow, use and sell fresh fruit and vegetables;
          • reducing incentives for the food industry to continue or increase production of processed foods containing high levels of saturated fats, trans-fats, free sugars and salt/sodium;
          • encouraging reformulation of food products to reduce the contents of saturated fats, trans-fats, free sugars and salt/sodium, with the goal of eliminating industrially-produced trans-fats;
          • implementing the WHO recommendations on the marketing of foods and non-alcoholic beverages to children
          • establishing standards to foster healthy dietary practices through ensuring the availability of healthy, nutritious, safe and affordable foods in pre-schools, schools, other public institutions and the workplace;
          • exploring regulatory and voluntary instruments (e.g. marketing regulations and nutrition labelling policies), and economic incentives or disincentives (e.g. taxation and subsidies) to promote a healthy diet; and
          • encouraging transnational, national and local food services and catering outlets to improve the nutritional quality of their foods – ensuring the availability and affordability of healthy choices – and review portion sizes and pricing.

26 Foods to Eat to Gain Muscle

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The best foods to build muscle include items high in protein and low in saturated fat. That said, exercise and a well-balanced diet that also includes carbs and fats are the best for optimal results.

Nutrition and regular exercise are both very important for muscle building.

Foods that are high in protein play a key roleTrusted Source in retaining and building muscle mass.

Alongside resistance training, research suggests consuming 1.4–2 grams (g)Trusted Source of protein for each kilogram of body weight per day to maximize muscle building.However, it’s important to consume a well-balanced diet that includes healthy carbohydrates and fats. These also play important roles

Keep reading to learn more about 26 foods to eat that could help you gain muscle.

Fitness & Healthy Lifestyle Blog

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Many women have traditionally avoided weightlifting because of the common misconception that it will make them “get big.” Fortunately, the power of this myth seems to be fading, as more and more women are turning to weightlifting as a means of improving their strength, balance and overall well-being. In 2004, only 17.5% of women in the United States participated in strength training two or more times per week. Fast–forward 16 years, and in 2020 it was reported that 26.9% of women met the guidelines for muscle-strengthening physical activity.

So, let’s turn this myth on its head and talk about how women who have a goal of gaining muscle can do so safely and effectively through resistance training.

Before we get into the “how” of weight training, let’s look at some proven principles and clear up some misconceptions.

1. Lifting Heavy

To stimulate muscle growth, or hypertrophy, a stimulus must be placed on the muscle. Some women, in response to a fear of “getting big,” tend to stick with weights that they are comfortable using for a full three sets. However, a greater stimulus must be placed on the muscles to see any real changes. You need to get out of your comfort zone using appropriate load progressions and put greater physiological demands on your muscles. Once you can make this paradigm shift in your mind, you will be able to make substantial progress in both your strength and muscle gains. Generally, it is recommended to increase your load in 5% increments until the weights are heavy enough to complete each set within the goal repetition range. For example, if you currently bench press 10 repetitions using 100 pounds (45 kg), increase to 105 pounds (48 kg) to see if this decreases the number of repetitions you can perform. If you can still complete 10 repetitions on your next set, add another 5 pounds (2.3 kg).

 Women often underestimate their strength and, by default, grab lighter weights. This is a mistake. Instead, choose a weight that can be lifted 10 times, with the last two repetitions posing a significant challenge. It is important to maintain good form throughout the set, so as soon as you notice your form starting to fail, reduce the amount of weight being lifted or take a rest. The goal is to lift heavy and well, not lift heavy and get hurt. Be sure to have a spotter when performing exercises such as a back squat, bench press and overhead press, especially when learning a new exercise or going up in weight.

2. Sets and Reps

The typical recommendation for building muscle is to complete three to six sets of six to 12 reps of an exercise. If you choose a heavier weight and do fewer repetitions (e.g., three to six), you’re more likely to gain muscular strength, while using lighter weights and higher repetitions lead to gains in muscular endurance. If you’re aiming for greater strength, take a little extra rest time between sets (2 to 5 minutes). If your primary goal is to increase muscle size, reduce the amount of rest you take between sets (30 to 90 seconds).

3. Frequency.

One of the most important elements of achieving muscle gains is consistency, so aim to weight train four to five days a week, if possible. Recording your exercises and weights in a journal is a great way to track gains. You can have good intentions to lift heavy, but the only way to know if you are getting stronger is by writing down the sets, reps and weights used during each workout. Another thing to consider is the breakdown of your weight-training sessions. Will you perform total-body workouts or focus exclusively on upper- or lower-body exercises? Or maybe two body parts per workout? Whatever you end up deciding, the key is consistency and overload.

4. Exercise Selection

There are countless ways to create a workout to gain muscle mass. Ideally, perform exercises requiring larger muscle groups first, such as squat/squat variations, bench press, deadlifts, lat pull-downs and overhead press. Doing so enables you to expend greater energy on these movements, while still being able to perform well on movements involving smaller muscles/muscle groups toward the end of your workout. Choose six to eight exercises to perform on any given day. You can split them up into circuits or do them separately, utilizing rest periods between sets that are specific to your training goals.

Sample Muscle-building Exercises 

As mentioned above, stimulating muscle growth happens when muscles are pushed beyond their comfort zones. Be sure to include some of these movements in your workouts to maximize your muscle hypertrophy. To further explore proper form and variations for the exercises below, visit the ACE Exercise Library, which features step-by-step instructions for each movement.

Squat

Whether you choose heavy dumbbells, a barbell or the squat rack, this exercise is great for shaping and building muscle in your quads and glutes. Maintaining proper form is key, so gradually add weight as you train while maintaining good form. Ideally, when you look into the mirror, you should pretend you are sitting in a chair at the bottom of your squat, with your heels on the ground and hips back.

Shoulder Press

There are a number of shoulder-press variations, including the dumbbell press, Arnold press and behind-the-neck press. These exercises are great for the shoulders, traps and upper body. Don’t be afraid to add some weight and be sure to have a spotter if you are really pushing yourself.

Deadlift

Whether you choose the single-leg or traditional deadlift, using dumbbells or barbells, this versatile exercise engages the hamstrings, glutes and back muscles. Form is critical on this exercise, so be sure to keep a flat back and slight bend in your knees. If you feel your back rounding, reduce the weight and refocus on your form.

Chest Press

There are myriad ways to perform a chest press, including on an incline, decline, flat bench or the floor, each of which will target the chest from different angles. Dumbbells or a barbell can be used, and if you are really pushing your upper limit, be sure to have a spotter.

Biceps curls

Although a smaller muscle group, the biceps can lift some heavier weight when pushed. Incorporate a few curl variations into your program, such as barbell curls, dumbbell seated curls, hammer curls or rope curls. Be sure not to rock for momentum and if you feel your back starting to arch, it’s time to lower the weight.

Triceps Kickback

Show off that “horseshoe” by sculpting the triceps. Start with your upper arm parallel to the floor and bend the elbow until your forearm is perpendicular to the floor. Then, contract your triceps until your elbow is fully extended. Remember to keep momentum out of the equation to truly isolate the triceps and shape those arms.

मिल गया BJP की जीत का मंत्र, AIMIM प्रमुख असदुद्दीन ओवैसी ने खोला भाजपा का राज

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Asaduddin Owaisi on BJP: “अगर मैं हैदराबाद, औरंगाबाद, किशनगंज और कुछ अन्य सीटों पर चुनाव लड़ता हूं और बीजेपी 240 सीटें जीतती है, तो क्या मैं इसके लिए जिम्मेदार हूं?”

 

 

ऑल इंडिया मजलिस-ए-इत्तेहादुल मुस्लिमीन (AIMIM) के प्रमुख और हैदराबाद के सांसद असदुद्दीन ओवैसी (Asaduddin Owaisi) ने भारतीय जनता पार्टी (BJP) की लगातार चुनावी जीत के पीछे का राज खोलते हुए बड़ा बयान दिया है। ओवैसी ने कहा कि बीजेपी की जीत का मंत्र विपक्ष की नाकामी और हिंदू वोटों का एकीकरण है। 17 मई 2025 को हैदराबाद में मीडिया एजेंसी पीटीआई को दिए एक साक्षात्कार में ओवैसी ने कहा, “बीजेपी लगातार चुनाव जीत रही है क्योंकि विपक्ष पूरी तरह नाकाम रहा है और बीजेपी ने हिंदू वोटों को अपने पक्ष में एकजुट कर लिया है।” ओवैसी ने सवाल उठाया, “अगर मैं हैदराबाद, औरंगाबाद, किशनगंज और कुछ अन्य सीटों पर चुनाव लड़ता हूं और बीजेपी 240 सीटें जीतती है, तो क्या मैं इसके लिए जिम्मेदार हूं?”

विपक्ष पर निशाना, मुस्लिम नेतृत्व की वकालत

ओवैसी ने विपक्षी दलों पर निशाना साधते हुए कहा कि उनकी नाकामी के कारण बीजेपी को मजबूती मिली है। उन्होंने कहा, “विपक्ष को मेरे साथ बैठकर आंकड़े दिखाने चाहिए। बीजेपी मेरी वजह से नहीं, बल्कि विपक्ष की विफलता की वजह से सत्ता में है।” उन्होंने मुस्लिम समुदाय के लिए मजबूत नेतृत्व की वकालत की और कहा, “यादव नेता होंगे, मुसलमान भिखारी होंगे। ऊंची जाति के लोग नेता होंगे, मुसलमान भिखारी होंगे। यह कहां का न्याय है?”

AIMIM का विस्तार और रणनीति

AIMIM ने हाल के वर्षों में बिहार और महाराष्ट्र जैसे राज्यों में, विशेष रूप से मुस्लिम बहुल क्षेत्रों में, अपनी उपस्थिति बढ़ाई है। हालांकि, ओवैसी ने यह भी स्वीकार किया कि उनकी पार्टी को अभी लंबा सफर तय करना है। उन्होंने कहा, “हम नागरिक बनना चाहते हैं।” उनकी पार्टी ने 2024 के लोकसभा चुनाव में कुछ सीटों पर अच्छा प्रदर्शन किया, लेकिन बीजेपी की जीत को रोकने में विपक्ष की तरह ही सीमित रही।

BJP की ‘B-टीम’ का आरोप खारिज

कई विपक्षी दल, खासकर कांग्रेस, AIMIM पर बीजेपी की ‘B-टीम’ होने का आरोप लगाते रहे हैं। इस पर ओवैसी ने तीखी प्रतिक्रिया दी और कहा, “यह सरासर झूठ है।” उन्होंने विपक्ष से आंकड़ों के साथ बहस करने की चुनौती दी।

राजनीतिक विश्लेषण

राजनीतिक विश्लेषकों का मानना है कि बीजेपी की रणनीति, जिसमें हिंदुत्व और राष्ट्रवाद के मुद्दों को केंद्र में रखा गया, ने उसे व्यापक समर्थन दिलाया है। वहीं, विपक्षी दलों के बीच एकजुटता की कमी और रणनीतिक कमजोरियां उनकी हार का बड़ा कारण रही हैं। ओवैसी का यह बयान न केवल बीजेपी की रणनीति पर प्रकाश डालता है, बल्कि विपक्ष को आत्ममंथन के लिए भी मजबूर करता है।

AIMIM क्षेत्र में सक्रियता

ओवैसी का यह बयान भारतीय राजनीति में नई बहस छेड़ सकता है। जहां एक ओर बीजेपी अपनी जीत के मंत्र को और मजबूत करने में जुटी है, वहीं विपक्ष के सामने एकजुट होकर प्रभावी रणनीति बनाने की चुनौती है। AIMIM भी अपनी पहुंच बढ़ाने के लिए नए क्षेत्रों में सक्रिय हो रही है, लेकिन उसका प्रभाव अभी भी सीमित है।