View Full Version : Eye-opening food book!
atraildreamer
09-02-2006, 03:11
I have been reading a book by Nina Planck titled:
"Real Food-What To Eat And Why"
(Bloomsbury Publishing, 175 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY, 10010
$23.95)
She goes into extensive detail about the origins of what she calls industrial (manufactured) modern-day foods versus traditional(non-processed, or lightly processed) traditional foods.
While this is not a book specifically written for the hiking community, she does give much sound advice on selecting nutritous foods, and avoiding detrimental foods. She also has an extensive index which can be used to further research and plan menu choices which can be readily adapted to preparation of trail food.
It would be an understatement to say that this book has been an eye-opener with regards to the food fallacies that have been foisted on the public. Some of the things she discusses are: Why butter is healthier than margarine. Olive oil is better to use that corn, canola or soybean oils. How salt is overprocessed and made dangerous, while offering a healthier alternative. The extensive "sugaring" of our diet and how that it has led to an epidemic of obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
There are too many topics to go into in this post, but the book is well worth finding and reading!
There was an interesting article in some newspaper I read a few days ago on the 'net about a similar subject involving the preponderant amount of over processed food in many of our diets.. At least 60% of the US are overweight and 40% are even classified as obese, most of which have even developed type 2 diabetes needlessly. It is sad. Most of those I see riding those battery powered carts around the supermarket aisles buying those same processed foods are the very same that should be walking around them instead.
Why butter is healthier than margarine. Olive oil is better to use that corn, canola or soybean oils. How salt is overprocessed and made dangerous, while offering a healthier alternative. The extensive "sugaring" of our diet and how that it has led to an epidemic of obesity, heart disease and diabetes.
While I have not read the book, I have "heard" from other sources the same thing. I have switched back to real butter, coarse sea salt, and olive oil. (FWIW, there is a HUGE difference in olive oils. What you find at the grocery store doesnt even begin to compare to the quality of oils found at specialty stores. But, be prepared to pay for it. I recently bought a small (18oz) bottle of olive oil for only? $22. But there is more expensive stuff too!!
Maybe we can start the bandwagon and get everyone healthy again?!
If you have a Trader Joes, go there for olive oil. All we use is butter and olive oil. We also avoid trans fats and anything with corn syrup or high fructose corn syrup :)
atraildreamer
09-03-2006, 02:14
(FWIW, there is a HUGE difference in olive oils. What you find at the grocery store doesnt even begin to compare to the quality of oils found at specialty stores. But, be prepared to pay for it. I recently bought a small (18oz) bottle of olive oil for only? $22. But there is more expensive stuff too!!
I live in an area with a large hispanic and portuguese population. There is a great variety of reasonably-priced imported olive oils available, due to the high demand of these groups. Check out your local ethnic grocery stores. :o
Google the terms "glycation" and "aging" in the same search, then "high fructose corn syrup" and "diabetes" in the same search.
http://www.lef.org/newshop/cgi-shop/LEFAdvisor.cgi
Tha Wookie
09-03-2006, 09:40
It took me a while to learn a lot of this stuff you are mentioning. Not sying I know what all's in that book, but the descriptions above are some of the lessons that helped me get back in health after I quit playing year-round sports and put on weight because I was still eating garbage.
The best thing for me is to live on this organic farm. When you get to make a relationship with your food from seed to diner, you start to look at all the "commercial" food as the junk that it usualy is.
I can't beleive we have such complex laws to protect our economy, but not our health. How can it be legal to poison the population woth so much crap? Often times, like on the road, you can't even find real food.
Hiking gives a great excuse for people to start eating more healthy. This is because if you go to a health food store you will find foods that have higher nutritional values for less weight in your pack. Better yet, you can grow and dehydrate your own, or learn to pick fresh food on the trail -it's all around you!
Thanks for the good rec! I'll check it out.
I can't beleive we have such complex laws to protect our economy, but not our health. How can it be legal to poison the population woth so much crap? Often times, like on the road, you can't even find real food.
That is SO true. When we traveled to Yellowstone and the Tetons this summer, we carried our ARB cooler we have (it plugs in, and can actually freeze food, think a mini frig for truckers). We carried juice, soy milk, bread, fruit, healthy meat and cheese...there was not much to eat of real food for many, many miles. This saved us! Otherwise it would have been a steady diet of Ho-Hos, chips and Coke. :mad:
My tummy thanked me for not doing that:rolleyes:
stumpknocker
09-03-2006, 10:00
Often times, like on the road, you can't even find real food.
I never have that problem. :)
Amigi'sLastStand
09-03-2006, 11:22
This author sounds like they know what's up. Might have to buy that one. ***Avoid all salt with aluminun silicate in it.***
Thanks for the info, ATD
atraildreamer
09-04-2006, 21:13
This author sounds like they know what's up. Might have to buy that one. ***Avoid all salt with aluminun silicate in it.***
Thanks for the info, ATD
The author actually recommends a natural sea salt that has all kinds of minerals in in and is grey in color. Many so-called natural sea salts are over-refined.
IMHO the best salt is Himalyan Crystal Salt, what's interesting is where it is harvested. It is packaged in rocks right out of the mountain - no refining whatsoever. A great book called Water & Salt (http://www.amazon.com/Water-Essence-Life-Barbara-Hendel/dp/0974451517/sr=1-1/qid=1157420549/ref=pd_bbs_1/103-8960532-3746226?ie=UTF8&s=books) it's a really interesting book, and talks about how important salt has been in history - not the kind of salt we use today - but from it's beginnings. Roman Solders were often paid in Salt and it was reserved for Kings and 'valuable" members of society. I used the daily 'Sole' (sol-ay) recommended in this book on my hike this year, it made a huge difference in keeping me hydrated.
As for the book, thanks for the tip! I'd also like to suggest this videoThe Future of Food (http://www.amazon.com/Future-Food-Deborah-Koons-Garcia/dp/B000BQ5IXM/ref=sr_11_1/103-8960532-3746226?ie=UTF8), it may have you heading to the organic food section of your supermarket after you watch it :)
atraildreamer
09-20-2006, 10:24
I live in an area with a large hispanic and portuguese population. There is a great variety of reasonably-priced imported olive oils available, due to the high demand of these groups. Check out your local ethnic grocery stores. :o
I picked up a 15 ounce can of Goya extra virgin olive oil at PriceRite for $3.49.:)
I have been reading a book by Nina Planck titled:
"Real Food-What To Eat And Why"
(Bloomsbury Publishing, 175 Fifth Avenue, NY, NY, 10010
$23.95)
Sounds great, atraildreamer. Just ordered it from my library.
I recently read
The Omnivore's Dilemma (http://rd.a9.com/srv/redirect/?key=jOZwMyFROIeml7FHGsKZegXfCoA_&awt=1&s=)
by Michael Pollan (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author-exact=Michael%20Pollan&rank=-relevance%2C%2Bavailability%2C-daterank/103-0772929-7111845)
http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Michael-Pollan/dp/1594200823/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product/103-0772929-7111845?ie=UTF8
It sounds like a similar subject on a macro scale. It dealt with the politicalization of industrialized farming in America. In the beginning of the book he talks about the "river of corn" flowing from US farms, and how the corn subsidies have destroyed the free market for our farmers. Who benefits? - not the farmers or the consumer or the small towns - the big corporations who have the pols in their pockets. A good read!
Just Jeff
09-20-2006, 14:21
Farm subsidies are about national security also. It's not a good investment to produce something on our own if we can buy it for cheaper, but in this case giving up our domestic food production could put us in a bad position and be used as a weapon. Given that we want to keep the capacity in reserve, it's better for us pay the farmers to not work than to pay higher prices for the product.
I'm not saying corporate profit doesn't play a role, but there's more to it than greed.
Great point, JJ. Complex issues like corn subsidies are never simply rationalized. You raise a good argument that the book does not deal with.
I'm not well read on the subject of corn subsidies, but the way this book explained it, the subsidies are not so much about not growing corn. They guarantee the farmer a certain strike price. If the market price goes below that strike price, the govt kicks in the deficit. The result is that farmers grow as much corn as they can, no matter what the market conditions. Where they used to adjust their crop types to match market needs, now they are motivated to grow as much corn as possible because the money is good no matter what. Result - the "river of corn".
The book has some interesting things to say about how the govt and corporations have found ways to utilize the corn, from the ubiquitous high fructose corn syrup to ethanol fuel to forcing cattle to eat corn which is not a natural food for them (they are really grass eaters).
It is a very thought provoking book at any rate. I found it enjoyable.
Brrrb Oregon
09-20-2006, 21:25
I was with you until you got to the salt. Even yellow prussiate of soda, which sounds very bad--sodium ferrocyanide--has vanishing low toxicity because of how strongly the cyanide groups attach to the iron atom. That cyanide is going nowhere.
There is no reason to believe that salt additives are remotely as bad for you as a diet that is too high in sodium. It would be like arguing that high fructose corn syrup would be better for you if it were made from organic corn! If you use an appropriate amount of salt in your diet, it isn't the salt additives that will get you....although I won't argue that you won't miss what processed salts may be missing. There are plenty of ways in which a healthier diet is more expensive than a cheaper one, though. Save your money to use where it counts!
For instance, instead of pressing full-fat over skim milk, one might fairly ask how much in the way of dairy products a healthy adult was likely to get in the past. In the natural course of a year, old Bossy dries up. You do without butter, cream, and milk. Or you have a bunch of kids....they get dibs on the milk. When the hens quit laying, you do without eggs. (Well, unless you wanted to use water glass in your root cellar, but I think we're staying clear of "unnatural" silicates.) Pounds of meat per person were not the weekly fare. Some of the year, there was plenty. Some of the year, or even most of the year, the pickings are pretty slim. The preserved meats were doled out in condiment amounts. Obesity, for most of humankind's history, was only to be dreamt of. A certain amount of fasting was a fact of life, not a lifestyle choice. Those rich enough to get fat died of rich man's diseases....like the ones we're getting now.
In studies done on rats, for instance, one of the best ways to get the animals to live far longer than their peers was to restrict the amount of food they got to well below what they would elect to eat, given the choice. In humans, which families survived? The ones who could pack on the fat when the food was there. Anybody with a Labrador retriever knows what we are naturally up against.
I do not disagree one bit with a skepticism towards putting stuff in your food that never even existed before modern chemistry....trans fats, all of that. I am relieved that they quit putting mercury in our fillings. I don't disagree with voluntarily adopting the light level of processing that formerly was the norm. You need fiber. You need minerals. You need sugars that release slowly into your bloodstream. You don't need a year-round heavy helping of cholesterol. The biggest food fallacy going, after all, is not in the types of foods we ought to be eating, but in the amounts.
I would just add that we ought to consider voluntarily adopting the kind of moderation that was forced upon our forebearers....most of whom could only have dreamt of living actively for as long as we do.
Caloric restriction increases lifespan, but I think that restriction of sugars is where the most life extending bang is at. Insulin is an aging factor. Glycation of cells from higher bloodsugars causes everything from wrinkles to cognitive decline. I highly recommend the books by Dr. Perricone advertised on this site. Although it's all about selling wrinkle creams and stuff and I don't reccomend buying any of this stuff once you get past the advertising the books are full of insights into diet and nutrition and how it's related to aging and disease. I've done a lot of reading over the years on this stuff and the perricone books spell it all out...btw I am a diabetic and can attest that my blood sugar readings are definitely lowered by use of Alpha Lipoic Acid (one of the substances Perricone reccomends as a supplement...) just one facet of his plan that I could test objectively...anyhow great reading, lot's of recipes and stuff if you are into that sort of thing, I just skip to the science....
http://www.nvperriconemd.com/templates/infomessage.cfm?zq=16085163&rowstart=1&whichord=33001493&wherefrom=HOMEPAGE&special=H&class=N&CFID=285515&CFTOKEN=2e53ea21cae8336-CE7E952F-65B8-C83C-2231E4BB6D3F6821
N.V. Perricone M.D., Ltd
"The perricone Perscription" and the "Perricone Promise" are the books you want....
Brrrb Oregon
09-21-2006, 15:23
Caloric restriction increases lifespan, but I think that restriction of sugars is where the most life extending bang is at....
Yes....not just the table sugar, but fiber-free carbs, in general. Eat to keep the bloodsugar stable, load on the veggies, and don't over-do the animal-based foods. I think it is wise to be wary of the synthetic foods and additives, too, though. I love the divine artificiality of Orange Crush as much as anybody, but I try to make it a rather rare indulgence.
Oh, and chocolate. Whatever you do, don't anybody talk you out of the chocolate. Fads may come and fads may go, but if you cut out the chocolate, you'll regret it on your deathbed.
IOW: Eat to live forever, but not so that the first month makes it seem like it.
atraildreamer
10-26-2006, 20:34
I recently read
The Omnivore's Dilemma (http://rd.a9.com/srv/redirect/?key=jOZwMyFROIeml7FHGsKZegXfCoA_&awt=1&s=)
by Michael Pollan (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/index=books&field-author-exact=Michael%20Pollan&rank=-relevance%2C%2Bavailability%2C-daterank/103-0772929-7111845)
http://www.amazon.com/Omnivores-Dilemma-Michael-Pollan/dp/1594200823/ref=si3_rdr_bb_product/103-0772929-7111845?ie=UTF8
It sounds like a similar subject on a macro scale. It dealt with the politicalization of industrialized farming in America. In the beginning of the book he talks about the "river of corn" flowing from US farms, and how the corn subsidies have destroyed the free market for our farmers. Who benefits? - not the farmers or the consumer or the small towns - the big corporations who have the pols in their pockets. A good read!
I am about halfway through this book. I thought the Nina Planck book was an eye-opener, but this book just floored me! :eek: If someone develops a bug that attacks corn, the USA is really screwed, seeing as how much of our food supply is dependent on this ONE crop!
The points that the author brings up about how much fossil fuel it takes to produce and ship our food is also disturbing and thought provoking. :-?
I liked the account about Polyface Farm and the integrated approach to farming that is employed there, and the problems that the owner has with the govt. while trying to maintain his independence and consistently high standards of food production. Seems to me that as the oil supply gets more expensive, there will be great economic incentive that will force a return to smaller, integerated, sustainable farming techniques. :o
This is a complex subject and I don't pretend to be an expert -- or to believe all I read. We switched from butter to margarine 40 years ago because the books said margarine was more healthy -- and back to butter a decade or so ago when the scientific evidence began to suggest the contrary.
No one can totally escape corn syrup these days, but I eat less than most. My primary sweetened food is the jelly I make each summer from the elderberries that grow wild in a boggy spot on my two acres. If as usually happens a batch doesn't set properly, it becomes syrup for my blueberry pancakes.
Each fall we also cook up a batch of crab apple jelly to provide variety and a few xmas presents.
I'm convinced that sea salt contains useful minerals, but I've never bought any. I instinctively stay away from expensive fad foods. We use iodized salt on the table and buy big bags of pickling salt for pickles and every other salt need -- including occasionally getting up my steep driveway on icy mornings.
WE used to use mostly canola oil, but lately have been buying olive oil when I find it on sale -- mostly for the flavor, rather than good health.
I've never heard that canola was especially unhealthy. I'll have to check. The trouble with olive oil is the price. Just today I was looking at the prices in the local supermarket. I forget the units, but olive oil prices ranged from $45 to $75 per unit -- probably per quart or gallon, or pound. Canola was only a third as much. It will have to be terribly unhealthy to convince me to make a total switch to olive oil.
My wife and I wander through health food stores from time to time, but rarely buy anything other than yeast for baking bread. Such stores are the cheapest source of yeast. Everything else there strikes us as less than a bargain.
I know I'll probably regret our failure to pay extra for health foods. I'll probably never live beyond the three-quarter century mark.
All my town land trust directors are heavily into organic and health foods. Last winter after trying one saturday morning they all announced they were too old to drag rough sawn planks a half mile to build some bog bridges -- so I dragged them all in myself.
I could understand their reluctance. Several were in their 50s and a few were as old as 60, or even older.
Weary
Weary, an affordable way to get olive oil is to either buy it at Costco or Sams Club or Trader Joes!
The West Coast may be lucky in some ways-out here finding organic food isn't hard, and in many cases is the same price now. Organic products=no corn syrup. I am sure someone will eventually invent organic high fructose corn syrup..hopefully not any time soon ;)
I buy a lot of my fruit and veggies at a local market down the road. They buy local, and even if something isn't certified organic (expensive to do) they note when the grower backs up that they grow naturally with no pesticides, etc.
I usually avoid 'health food stores' due to price. Trader Joes makes my heart smile-I love their stuff!!
Of coure eating healthy isn't doing anyone any favors if they don't exercise ;)
Alligator
10-27-2006, 12:23
...Organic products=no corn syrup. I am sure someone will eventually invent organic high fructose corn syrup..hopefully not any time soon ;)...Evaporated cane juice is a masked sweetener.
Evaporated cane juice is a masked sweetener.
I can deal with cane sugar and rice syrup. Corn syrup is my enemy of choice. It annoys me to no end what you find it in: salsa, bread, ketchup, mayo, mustard, ice cream....there doesn't need to be corn syrup in "honey mustard" or salsa! It is a cheap filler that stays soft and helps preserve food: and add in the supporting of the corn industry by our gov't....well, it makes one wonder.
One thing that never ceases to amaze me is that food from everywhere else in the world rarely contains corn syrup! In the US canned fruit is packed in it, but pretty no one else does that! And canned vegetables: since when do they need corn syrup added? Yet.......many do!
Alligator
10-27-2006, 16:17
I can deal with cane sugar and rice syrup. Corn syrup is my enemy of choice. It annoys me to no end what you find it in: salsa, bread, ketchup, mayo, mustard, ice cream....there doesn't need to be corn syrup in "honey mustard" or salsa! It is a cheap filler that stays soft and helps preserve food: and add in the supporting of the corn industry by our gov't....well, it makes one wonder.
One thing that never ceases to amaze me is that food from everywhere else in the world rarely contains corn syrup! In the US canned fruit is packed in it, but pretty no one else does that! And canned vegetables: since when do they need corn syrup added? Yet.......many do!I agree with you about corn syrup it's everywhere these days. But there's a similar trend occuring with other "natural" sweeteners that is creeping even into organic foods. Companies are going overboard with sweetening agents and whether it's cane sugar, rice syrup, or corn syrup, they all add to our waistlines:o .
I agree with you about corn syrup it's everywhere these days. But there's a similar trend occuring with other "natural" sweeteners that is creeping even into organic foods. Companies are going overboard with sweetening agents and whether it's cane sugar, rice syrup, or corn syrup, they all add to our waistlines:o .
Very true! I won't argue with that :( I get the odd feeling sometimes I am a dying breed of people who eat unsweetened cereal....or salsa with no sweetener!
Mountain Maiden
10-27-2006, 21:14
I can deal with cane sugar and rice syrup. Corn syrup is my enemy of choice. It annoys me to no end what you find it in: salsa, bread, ketchup, mayo, mustard, ice cream....there doesn't need to be corn syrup in "honey mustard" or salsa! It is a cheap filler that stays soft and helps preserve food: and add in the supporting of the corn industry by our gov't....well, it makes one wonder.
One thing that never ceases to amaze me is that food from everywhere else in the world rarely contains corn syrup! In the US canned fruit is packed in it, but pretty no one else does that! And canned vegetables: since when do they need corn syrup added? Yet.......many do!
I try to avoid white sugar and hidden sugars as much as possible.
I really hate it when I go to buy HONEY and the ingredients read "Honey and high fructose corn syrup!" Just recently, I was really annoyed when I read the "vanilla extract" label. It is hard enough to find 100 % PURE Vanilla extract rather than flavoring. But, then--to find out they have added corn syrup---that really set me off!! :mad: Since when does vanilla extract need corn syrup??!!
It is EVERYWHERE! :eek:
I never have that problem. :)
I dont suppose it is as important for a thruhiker to watch their diet as it is for someone with a more sedentery lifestyle.
The last of April 2004 I sat and talked with you at Neel's gap while you ravenously devoured some crackers from the hiker's box. You were not stopping but continuing on, going to Trail Days, as I vaguely recall. I also vaguely recall you leaving the little yellow smiley faces in the shelter journals as you passed ahead of me. Anyway, with the miles you put in each day, whatever refined and processed and hydrogenated poisons you coursed through your body were pretty much through it some miles up the trail.
i am sorry for your recent loss.
RockyTrail
10-28-2006, 09:32
I know I'll probably regret our failure to pay extra for health foods. I'll probably never live beyond the three-quarter century mark.
Weary
Weary:
Nonsense! You already have! (if your header info is correct)
And if you're dragging planks a half mile then you must be doing pretty well...I know a lot of 50 y.o. folks that can't do that.
So keep your chin up, you have a lot left in ya!
Rocky
Boat Drinks
10-28-2006, 12:32
I read parts of Natural Cures by that infomercial goof, Kevin Trudeau. Although not a good book, (Too much conspiracy theory stuff and too much referring you to his web site), some information is right on and scary. The foods we eat day to day are poisoned and done so for profit. If you are not eating organic, you are poisoning yourself. I, myself, like the poison :eek: :rolleyes:and organic is too much a pain in the arse and too expensive. Fast food is the worst. Also he has a good list of like 20 things to do to get healthy including drinking pure water, eating a good breakfast, getting a Candida cleanse and colon cleanses! WooHooo:banana
Weary:
Nonsense! You already have! (if your header info is correct)
And if you're dragging planks a half mile then you must be doing pretty well...I know a lot of 50 y.o. folks that can't do that.
So keep your chin up, you have a lot left in ya!
Rocky
I don't know. When I get a chance I'll check the math again. 1929 from 2006, can't be 77. Why it seems like only yesterday that I walked home from Georgia.
Weary
Playoutside
10-31-2006, 17:42
try using Stevia as a sweetner...its a herb from south america...USDA does not allow it to be advertise as a sweetner in the US, but it on every table in japan.
Mountain Maiden
11-01-2006, 08:44
Stevia is great! I have used it as a liquid, powder and fresh (leaves). This summer, I grew my own. It is easy to grow and use.
Best of all, it is truly a NATURAL sweetener. Nothing chemically derived or artificial. And, it has been proven to actually have health benefits as well as sweetening properties.
The only word of caution I would add is that if you try the drops and experience a BITTER taste--try a different brand. May be a quality thing but I have noticed a definite difference.
Enjoy!
atraildreamer,
another book that may interest you;
"Sugar blues" by William Dufty.
atraildreamer
01-07-2007, 01:46
atraildreamer,
another book that may interest you;
"Sugar blues" by William Dufty.
I think I read that book, or something similar, a few years ago. I stopped using sugar after reading it. :eek:
oldfivetango
01-07-2007, 20:40
High Fructose Corn Syrup! It's a case of "we have seen the
enemy and it is us!"I ought to know.Yes folks,I have a confession
to make.I used to work in the processed food industry!I know some
of you may think that makes me evil or something but before you
draw too many conclusions there is something you need to know.
Our company offered canned fruit in "lite syrup" but there was only
one problem with that-NOBODY WOULD BUY IT BECAUSE IT WAS
NOT SWEET ENOUGH! Think about that one for awhile-ok?
In capitalist societies the market generally produces what the
public demands and sweetened food is certainly no exception.
It is there because YOU,the American Public,demands it!
Sort of like the same reason there is a fast food restaurant on
every corner in America-the dummies are too busy(poor planners)
or too lazy(more like it) to pack a lunch or even breakfast for Pete's
sake.So what do they do?They go in a fast food joint and not only
get dosed with high fructose but all sorts of animal fats and high
carbs to boot! NOBODY is making us eat that stuff!When enough
people wake up and demand that we take another direction with the
food supply in this country,then it will change for the better and
hopefully soon.And one more thing,we originally had been using pure
sucrose in the fruit until our competitors switched over to the cheaper
stuff so we were forced to follow suit or go bankrupt.But becase it was
still expensive we did not put it in our line of canned vegetables.Oh no,
you guys wanted SALT in the peas and sqaush so that's what you got.
Now go read the label on some of those nutricious freezer bag entrees
you have been buying.The good news is that the public,and therefore
the market,is catching on to the transfat and hydrogenated and
partially hydrogenated oils and that is a good thing.I think I saw on
the news that one of the major coffee chains was yanking transfat
off their menus.More will follow suit if the public will either boycott
transfats and highfructose foods or demand of their elected officials
that they put bans or restrictions on their use.As for the fast food
industry,pressure needs to be brought to bear by either means as
it is pretty obvious that they are killing us.But on the other hand,
they are NOT making you waddle in there and purchase their fries.
But they sure do smell good,don't they?
Eat at home,read the label,exercise,and live well.
Cheers,
OldFiveTango
OldFiveTango,
For me it isn't an issue-I don't buy anything that you mention above. My dollars vote their way-which is whole foods with minimal processing, and a lot of organic foods.
Starbucks was the one who removed transfats, but had been doing it for 2 years to get it off the menu (I can see how it takes time to get outside vendors to change over.)
Jones Soda Co is going over to cane sugar this year, and ditching HFCS.
There will always be those who don't care what they eat though.
High Fructose Corn Syrup! ...But on the other hand,
they are NOT making you waddle in there and purchase their fries.
But they sure do smell good,don't they?
Eat at home,read the label,exercise,and live well.
Cheers,
OldFiveTango
Its like smoking, sort of...
since the tobacco companies dont force anyone to buy their tobacco products...yet folks still do no matter how bad they know it is for them.
Just as overweight folks who should know better continue to roam the aisles of their markets, stuffing their carts with the very same items they know is killing for them, too.
Habit is a cruel affliction so many of us have as a species. Just as deep within most every smoker is a non-smoker dieing to emerge, it must be the same with most every overweight person, with a skinny one trying to emerge as well. Its just that the pain-whether real or imagined- of breaking those bad habits is so damned tough. But, once broken, the rewards for the effort are tremendous. And, at least in the case for smoking part, the pain for kicking the habit was mostly imagined anyway.
Everyone I know still eats, though. the trick is not to do so much of it:D
oldfivetango
01-08-2007, 13:59
I have a dream!Someday enough people are going to change
their habits and DEMAND the market to respond in turn AND
it will! Putting the truth out about trans fats and hydrogenated
and partially hydrogenated oils is a huge step.It is so hard not to
pick up something at the grocery that doesn't have the HFCS
or hydrogenated stuff in it that our choices are severly limited.
Today's kids are the ones paying the highest toll.As a kid I remember
only one or two fat kids out of about 100.Recently the wife and I
saw one of those 50 yr reunion photos of a 1950 or so graduating class.
She asked me what I noticed as unusual about the picture.I responded-
"NO FAT KIDS!!" It is true.If you want to get sick,just go to a public
school and look at the children-hardly a normal height/weight ratio
kid in the bunch!! And it is due to soda pop,fast food,and HFCS and
the fact that the kids are inundated with all of it and the parents are
NOT involved.By making them obese at a young age it probably sets
them on that course for life from a cellular level if I were to wager a
guess.What a shame!America should be able to do better than this.
Oh,and the video game industry is not helping either.When's the last
time you saw a kid on a bike or a skateboard after school?
Urge your school to eliminate the drink machines-it's a start.
Sorry to blow off about this issue but it hits very close to home.
Cheers,
OFT
I have a novel idea..rather than worry what kind of sugar is in your food, why not just cut back on eating sweets? Rather than what kind of fat is in your food...why not cut back on fatty food?
Ditch the soda (organic or not), ditch the scones at Starbucks (transfat or not), Ditch the desert (made with with whole flour or processed white flour) etc.
It is good to eat healthy..but think people are over anlayzing the "micro part" of eating healthy and are missing the overall picture.
Lean meat. Lots of fruits and veggies. Whole grains. Eats sweets and fats sparingly. Cook your own food. EXERCISE.
Then again, I could be wrong....
WE used to use mostly canola oil, but lately have been buying olive oil when I find it on sale -- mostly for the flavor, rather than good health.
Why not just cut back on the oil in the food? No need to worry about how expensive oil has become. :)
This whole olive oil fad...seems a good chunk of the population of say Boston to Philly was ahead of the curve on this one. Who woulda thunk it! :)
I have a novel idea..rather than worry what kind of sugar is in your food, why not just cut back on eating sweets? Rather than what kind of fat is in your food...why not cut back on fatty food?
Ditch the soda (organic or not), ditch the scones at Starbucks (transfat or not), Ditch the desert (made with with whole flour or processed white flour) etc.
It is good to eat healthy..but think people are over anlayzing the "micro part" of eating healthy and are missing the overall picture.
Lean meat. Lots of fruits and veggies. Whole grains. Eats sweets and fats sparingly. Cook your own food. EXERCISE.
Then again, I could be wrong....
Or, cut back on quantity...
if one overeats...one becomes overweight.
Consume more calories than you burn and the excess goes to fat